After a turbulent summer, Montreal Canadiens fans finally got their teeth into National League hockey. The CH folded the spine 2 to 1 once morest the New Jersey Devils, Monday at the Bell Center.
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Beyond the result – futile in a preseason game – there is the way. Several young Habs players stood out during this duel, which surprised by its intensity.
Kaiden Guhle impressed with his great mobility and attacking instincts. Owen Beck continued his momentum from training camp and excelled in the face-off circle. Anthony Richard once once more showed great fire.
As for the “veterans” of CH, Cole Caufield proved that he had not lost his offensive touch. He opened the scoring on the power play in the first period with a fierce one-timer from Alexander Ovechkin’s desk.
Jake Allen, meanwhile, didn’t need to chase the rust. He stopped all 18 shots he faced before handing over the cage to Cayden Primeau halfway through the game.
The young goalkeeper had more difficulties than his teammate. He was solely responsible for the winning goal, scored by Graeme Clarke from a tight angle with just over six minutes remaining. Primeau also faltered once morest Tomas Tatar, on the power play, in the second period.
Moments before the end of hostilities, Michael Pezzetta believed he had forced an extension. He skillfully deflected a shot from the point by Mike Matheson, but a video replay confirmed that an offside had preceded the sequence.
Moreover, before retreating to the locker room, Tatar took a moment to greet his Slovak compatriots Filip Mesar and Juraj Slafkovsky. The latter had a game half fig, half grape, but he will certainly have other opportunities to assert himself in the coming days.
The CH will visit the Queen City to face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday, and will play six other preparatory meetings.