2023020041
[NHL.com Boxscore](https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/2023020041)
|Teams|1st|2nd|3rd|Total|
|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|
|[MIN](/r/wildhockey)|2|2|1|5|
|[MTL](/r/habs)|0|1|1|2|
##Team Stats
|Team|Shots|Hits|Blocks|FOW%|Giveaways|Takeaways|Power Play|PIM|
|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|
|[MIN](/r/wildhockey)|35|9|8|47.3%|10|6|3/8|44|
|[MTL](/r/habs)|28|26|20|52.7%|15|4|0/5|40|
##Goals
|Period|Time|Team|Strength|Description|
|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|
|1st|09:20|[MIN](/r/wildhockey)|Short Handed|[Brandon Duhaime (2) wrist shot, assist(s): Jake Middleton (2)](https://players.brightcove.net/6415718365001/EXtG1xJ7H_default/index.html?videoId=6339351724112)|
|1st|09:45|[MIN](/r/wildhockey)|Short Handed|[Connor Dewar (1) tip-in shot, assist(s): None](https://players.brightcove.net/6415718365001/EXtG1xJ7H_default/index.html?videoId=6339352650112)|
|2nd|02:17|[MIN](/r/wildhockey)|Power Play|[Joel Eriksson Ek (2) snap shot, assist(s): Mats Zuccarello (3), Kirill Kaprizov (3)](https://players.brightcove.net/6415718365001/EXtG1xJ7H_default/index.html?videoId=6339354414112)|
|2nd|09:47|[MTL](/r/habs)|Even|[Tanner Pearson (2) wrist shot, assist(s): None](https://players.brightcove.net/6415718365001/EXtG1xJ7H_default/index.html?videoId=6339354832112)|
|2nd|17:22|[MIN](/r/wildhockey)|Power Play|[Kirill Kaprizov (1) snap shot, assist(s): Mats Zuccarello (4), Calen Addison (2)](https://players.brightcove.net/6415718365001/EXtG1xJ7H_default/index.html?videoId=6339357013112)|
|3rd|05:20|[MIN](/r/wildhockey)|Power Play|[Joel Eriksson Ek (3) wrist shot, assist(s): Kirill Kaprizov (4), Mats Zuccarello (5)](https://players.brightcove.net/6415718365001/EXtG1xJ7H_default/index.html?videoId=6339356879112)|
|3rd|17:34|[MTL](/r/habs)|Even|Alex Newhook (3) wrist shot, assist(s): David Savard (1), Cole Caufield (1)|
##Penalties
|Period|Time|Team|Type|Min|Description|
|:–:|:–:|:-:|:–:|:–:|:–:|
|1st|06:10|[MTL](/r/habs)|MIN|2|Josh Anderson roughing against Mats Zuccarello|
|1st|08:43|[MIN](/r/wildhockey)|MIN|2|Ryan Hartman tripping against Josh Anderson|
|2nd|01:25|[MTL](/r/habs)|MIN|2|Juraj Slafkovsky tripping against Marco Rossi|
|2nd|02:01|[MTL](/r/habs)|MIN|2|Kaiden Guhle slashing against Marcus Johansson|
|2nd|05:46|[MTL](/r/habs)|MIN|2|Cole Caufield tripping against Brock Faber|
|2nd|11:14|[MTL](/r/habs)|MAJ|5|Michael Pezzetta fighting against Brandon Duhaime|
|2nd|11:14|[MIN](/r/wildhockey)|MAJ|5|Brandon Duhaime fighting against Michael Pezzetta|
|2nd|14:09|[MIN](/r/wildhockey)|MIN|2|Joel Eriksson Ek interference against Nick Suzuki|
|2nd|15:46|[MTL](/r/habs)|MIN|2|Juraj Slafkovsky interference against Marcus Johansson|
|2nd|18:00|[MIN](/r/wildhockey)|MIN|2|Brandon Duhaime hooking against Arber Xhekaj|
|2nd|20:00|[MTL](/r/habs)|MIN|2|Arber Xhekaj roughing against Marcus Johansson|
|3rd|00:35|[MTL](/r/habs)|MIN|2|Mike Matheson roughing against Joel Eriksson Ek|
|3rd|00:35|[MIN](/r/wildhockey)|MIN|2|Joel Eriksson Ek slashing against Sam Montembeault|
|3rd|03:41|[MTL](/r/habs)|MIN|2|Tanner Pearson high-sticking against Jake Middleton|
|3rd|13:15|[MIN](/r/wildhockey)|MIN|2|Dakota Mermis instigator against Michael Pezzetta|
|3rd|13:15|[MIN](/r/wildhockey)|MAJ|5|Dakota Mermis fighting against Michael Pezzetta|
|3rd|13:15|[MTL](/r/habs)|MAJ|5|Michael Pezzetta fighting against Dakota Mermis|
|3rd|13:15|[MIN](/r/wildhockey)|MIS|10|Dakota Mermis instigator-misconduct|
|3rd|14:08|[MTL](/r/habs)|MIN|2|Josh Anderson roughing against Joel Eriksson Ek|
|3rd|14:08|[MIN](/r/wildhockey)|MIN|2|Joel Eriksson Ek roughing against Josh Anderson|
|3rd|14:08|[MTL](/r/habs)|MIN|2|Josh Anderson roughing against Joel Eriksson Ek|
|3rd|14:08|[MTL](/r/habs)|MIS|10|Josh Anderson misconduct against Joel Eriksson Ek|
|3rd|14:08|[MIN](/r/wildhockey)|MIS|10|Joel Eriksson Ek misconduct against Josh Anderson|
|3rd|18:16|[MIN](/r/wildhockey)|MIN|2|Marcus Foligno tripping against Johnathan Kovacevic|
**Officials**
* Referees: Dan O’Rourke, Michael Markovic
* Linesmen: Andrew Smith, Michel Cormier
If you notice an error with this bot [click here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=TeroTheTerror&subject=HockeyMod Issue&message=Subreddit:%0A%0AIssue:) to message TeroTheTerror.
by HockeyMod
49 Comments
So my observations through 3 games
1) Between preseason and now this, suzuki needs to get his head out of his ass. Absolutely awful showing from him so far
2) A lot of awareness/chemistry issues. Drop passes not executing, wingers and dmen unsure whos going for the puck up on the wall, etc. not sure what they do in practice
3) There is a 0% chance st louis gets fired this season (and he shouldnt), but it does appear the fan honeymoon era is over with him, as it is with HuGo as a whole. Awful special teams, too many penalties, these are coaching issues. Its true that the roster isnt good, but st louis libertarian style of coaching doesnt last for very long. At some point you gotta establish team systems
4) Will we be able to recup assets for pearson?? Looks like it so far
**Pause –> Options –> Season –> Sim To Draft**
My head canon for this game is that Dach was so depressed after his injury that the players got together and decided to show him how important he is to the team. They decided to not only lose tonight but to look so incredibly inept and loss, making the fans even wonder how they got NHL contracts, just to show their friend and teammate he is missed and loved. On to the next I guess, it can’t be worse…right?
fucking oof
brutal game from nearly everyone on the ice
just so many issues, Suzuki wtf??? Slaf doesn’t seem to want to have the puck at all, andy is just invisible etc etc
*BAD*
– Realistically, Fleury, Dach injury, Minnesota wild… Habs probably were not winning this game. It’s not that they lost, which we can expect a lot more this season, it’s that they weren’t competitive and this thing could have been much worse on the scoreboard.
– Burrows has yielded no results at all. Sooner or later, and this is going back a while now, you got to make adjustments on your staff. Eventually a good head coach also manages his staff accordingly. Yes it’s game 3, but I see just terrible special teams.
– Where is Suzuki? I haven’t noticed the captain at all only in that shootout attempt where he dumped the puck in. Just noticed him on a rush while I’m writing this in the third. Need more.
– Gallagher played better the last game. Unfortunately, this was even noticeably choppier than his average.
– Too many penalties, in a rare turn of events, I actually think most if not all were penalties.
– Xhekaj off night.
– Guhle out. Jfc at this point, pray or whatever you are into that he’s not out.
– Kovacevic could have had some goals but just an odd game from him.
*GOOD*
– Pearson with a nice shot again. Dude still has a laser it seems.
– Matheson is still noticeably smooth out there.
– Evans has been great this year so far. Keep on eye on him, this could be a quiet breakout player in this season.
– Newhook 3 Goals already!!
This game did not help my Dachpression. Looked like a bunch of strangers in habs jerseys wandered onto the ice. Hopefully Guhle isn’t too badly hurt.
Hard to think of a worse indictment of this team’s coaching then watching them cycle the puck to no one on a six on four, TWICE
Starting to think systems are just as important as concepts
Pezzetta said the people of Montreal came for entertainment and by god someones gotta give it to em
WOOOOOOOF.
What happened after the 5-1 goal? I see there was like 10 penalties and it took forever to end
Suzuki not looking like himself, I hope he figures it out quickly
Like an old friend said :
Take a knee for Celebrini
Are we back in the big-boy Suzuki era? Man looked slower than ever tonight. Hope he gets it going but it might be time to split him and Cole.
Guys who looked good: Cole, Newhook, Slaf, Pearson, Pezz
Okay: Gally, Andy, Matheson
Everyone else
Suzuki.
Split up Coke and Nick. Give Nicky lesser matchups and let him find his game again.
Welp, that was a game
They outscored the wild 2-0 at 5 on 5?????????
That means they’ve outscored their opponents 9-2 at 5 on 5 thus year ?????????????¿???????????????????????????????????????
Good: Pez winning a fight I guess? Fleury getting a nice ovation showing our fanbase is classy
Meh: nothing really. I guess Monty hung in there while we hung him out to dry
Bad: literally everything. Both *special* teams units. The discipline *again*.
Awful ending for a 6 on 4. Multiple blind passes and no execution. Caufield isn’t the only one that the team should send the puck to and it was clear watching Flower predict every movement
Sometimes it’s like that in a rebuild
Caufield 3 game point streak
Disasterclass from the special teams units tonight. I understand we don’t have much high end talent but guys can’t look *this* lost.
Blow it up. Let’s suck this year. Draft talent for once. Please.
My kingdom for a power play goal.
Trop de dangles et pas assez de jeux simples. L’équipe est jeune, et ça paraît.
As I said over in the game thread, this was a game played by a team that had all its hopes for the season killed after Game 2. But there’s still 79 games to go, so they’re going to have to bounce back from that psychologically.
As others have said, Suzuki is just not starting the season well. Whatever’s going on, that’s another thing to get sorted out.
Guhle, sigh. Fingers crossed.
Positives: for people worried that Dach’s absence was going to be crippling for Slafkovsky’s development, early returns suggest that he and Newhook can continue to work well together. And Newhook, for that matter, had a decent start in the new role he’s been thrust into.
Tanner Pearson looked like dead weight at the start of preseason and even in the first game, but he seems to have shaken the rust off. Getting something for him at the deadline is starting to look like a possibility.
There is a lot that needs to be worked on, but we really need another goalie in the mix.
Not to beat a dead horse (and yeah our defense needs improvement too) but I genuinely cannot fathom how our management was able to watch this team for 82 games this season and not draft Michkov
The guy could have told me himself that he was 99% not going to the NHL and I still would have taken him cause man our offense is baaaad
we have to be cursed. we have to be
Pathetic effort tonight !!!!!!!!
Kovacevik and Suzuki were horrid this game. Blind passes and turnovers every shift. Ylonen and Matheson looked great.
We are taking stupid penalties, especially that Slaf one. It was completely unnecessary. On to the next.
Key takeaways :
-Something seems off with Zukes. I don’t know if it’s him being too much in his head or if he tried to put on some weight during the summer to improve his physical play, but he doesn’t seem to have his usual quiet energetic play.
-I doubt there’s any high end talent defense on the roster at the moment. Despite Matheson being great on some nights and Guhle showing promise, I don’t think either are on the top pair of a Stanley Cup winning team.
-Please put Slaf on PP1 and I’d even give him a try on the top line. Despite that his game is still a work in progress, he has an ability to create space and a hockey IQ that would complement Zukes and Cole. Right now, both seem tired of not having the support they need to do their shit. Heck, I’d even try a line of Cole – Newsy – Slaf.
-Our 4th line is great, the duo Evans/Ylo plays great in their respective roles.
-Despite all the hype around Anderson’s preseason, I’m still really not sold on him and I don’t think he fits with the team moving forward. His read of the game most often than not seems to be lacking and his value won’t ever be higher than rn.
-Arber gotta learn to not always let his temper get the best of him. Nothing would be scarier to other players if they didn’t know when he could erupt. If he plays like tonight every game, he just ends up being in the penalty box all the time.
Aiiiight off to the next one boys lets get em
Way she goes boys.
One thing for sure, RHP is not our missing piece for our first line. Not that I don’t like him but he’s just too small to complete a zuk-caufield line. Not sure who we can swap him with tho, my gut feeling would’ve been heineman because he’s big, fast and plays on edge but … He’s injured.
Outscored a good even strength team 2-0 at even strength.
Assuming we replace the assistants at the end of the year, that’ll improve the special team problems.
Whoot, we got this.
Flower power
Dach and Guhle stayed healthy for longer than I expected.
what happened with Anderson and Eriksson Ek?
The first of many ugly games to come this season considering the injuries are already starting. PP, PK, 5v5 execution was awful all across the lineup/board.
I remember Xhekaj saying that he’d choose his fights this year so he doesn’t get injured again. Funny that he’s going head hunting in a blowout game… It’s fun and all but guys need to get good work ethics at this point of the rebuild.
I like some aspects that I see evolved in Slaf’s game. Last year he avoided contacts at pretty much all cost and we can see that he’s now initiating them, next just work in the timing of the hits and he’ll be gucci.
Monahan and Pearson please stay healthy so we can trade you at TDL.
Ylonen is coming into his own and it’s pretty! Fast skater, smooth hands, blazing wrister and two way IQ, me likey.
Worst game I’ve watched in months!
That was a classic scheduled L
Well. This game generated lots of memeable material and I need compilation of all MSL facepalms
For some reason, when we play against the Wild, all their players turn into prime Gretzkys and prime Jagrs
Tough game to watch. Evans and Ylonen looked good though. Would like to see Gallagher play with them, him and Evans had some good chemistry at the end of last year. Liked what I saw from Newhook and Slaf (minus the bad penalties) too.
“Saison terminée” for Dach, officially. Man today sucked for so many reasons. Here’s hoping Guhle’s ok.
thoughts:
1. i love alex newhook
2. i think the boys might be shaken up from dach’s injury. i mean that’s kind of expected. seeing your friend and teammate do down in a potentially devastating injury like that, that early in the season must be incredibly upsetting, possibly traumatizing. like, i’m completely heartbroken about it and i don’t even know kirby nor play for the team, so i can’t imagine what the team must be feeling as his friends. i know they preach a “move on” mentality but i think it’s natural that they would struggle after something like that, any human would have a lot of emotions and that can affect your game. it’s easier said than done to just move on. it’s important to remember that they’re not just athletes we watch, they’re real people. they just need time to process and work through emotions. allow their mental health to improve.
i think that’s why they didn’t have a ton of chemistry tonight. we know they have chemistry, we saw it in the first two games and during parts of the preseason. the chemistry will come back with time i think.
3. god guhle please be okay. please lord.
4. suzy has been slow to start but i believe it’s just a slump. happens with athletes all the time. he hasn’t had many stand out moments so far (tho i do remember a sick behind the back pass during the second period i believe) but it’s only game 3. i’m not too worried. he’ll come roaring back eventually. tho i hope it’s sooner rather than later because he can be a huge difference maker when he’s at his best. again, patience. i feel like a fans patience is something we need to work on lol, including me.
5. slaf is still looking good, steadily improving, building his confidence. that makes me happy 🙂 if he continues to gradually improve he’ll be a menace.
6. jake evans has been good. love to see it.
7. cole is still on track for 82 points this season !
8. rough game to watch overall but hoping it’s just an off night. idk if we’ll surprise people as much as i was hoping this season without dach, but hopefully we can still pull together. i don’t think it’s necessary to start the doom and gloom about the potential future just yet.
GHG!
Anyone has a shot of the Pez face in the box after the fight. Guy looks on such an adrenaline rush.
[Jango postgame update: Jango didn’t like this game](https://imgur.com/a/dHPpj6B)
Oof, my second favourite team is the Jets, and tonight DuBois got his first of the season to open the scoring against the Jets, LA went on to stomp the Jets 5-1 for their first win. Hurts for Jets fans, they really wanted to beat LA after the DuBois debacle.
Oh and Danault had a goal and two assists to rub it into me as Habs fan. I actually like Bergevin but he should’ve given Phil the money he gave to Gally.