Call of the Wilde: After strong start, Montreal Canadians fall to New York Rangers 7-4
Global News
Montreal was strong for most of the the first 40 minutes, but fell hard in the third losing 7-4. Brian Wilde has more on Thursday night's action.
After a dominating performance over the Anaheim Ducks, the Montreal Canadiens had a much more difficult test Thursday night against the New York Rangers. New York is one of the top teams, and favourites to go far in the playoffs.
Montreal was strong for most of the the first 40 minutes, but fell hard in the third losing 7-4.
The highlight for the Canadiens was, once again, the play of Juraj Slafkovsky. He had some difficulty for his first 60 games in the NHL, but has he ever figured it out since then. Slafkovsky has 22 points in his last 25 games after counting again in this one.
Cole Caufield made the pass to Slafkovsky, and he got a wrist shot away very quickly. It’s exactly what the club is looking for. Slafkovsky didn’t allow the goaltender Jonathan Quick to set up. His shot was in that perfect spot about 12 inches off the ice inside the post.
It’s a hard spot for goalies, like a dead zone, as the arm can’t extend to the shot, and it’s just above the pad. Slafkovsky is doing so much right already at the NHL level. He’s also winning many puck battles, and keeping offensive zone time alive much better than he had before.
Slafkovsky also added an assist on the second of two for Caufield. Caufield’s first was a deflection, and his second was a snap shot from 20 feet. The top line was strong again with the three players sharing six points.
Another top player was Jake Evans, who scored the opening goal on a Josh Anderson rebound. It was the second goal in two games for Evans. It will be interesting to see where Evans slots in when the rebuild is complete. He does not provide a lot of offence, but he is hardly ever a liability.
The young defence of the Canadiens is praised on most nights. They have a bright future. There are many more great young defenders to come, too. However, there are some presumptions about how they are all faring overall.
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