In less time than a 30-second Super Bowl TV ad — with a cost of US$7 million — Dallas scores twice en route to beating Habs 3-2.
A 30-second TV ad in the United States for Sunday’s Super Bowl game between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers will cost US$7 million.
It took less than 30 seconds for the tide to turn Saturday afternoon at the Bell Centre as the Canadiens lost 3-2 to the Dallas Stars to kick off their annual Super Bowl weekend of matinee games. The St. Louis Blues will be the visitors on Sunday (1 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM).
The Canadiens went up 1-0 on the Stars when Nick Suzuki scored his 16th goal of the season 38 seconds into the second period. Thomas Harley tied the score when he scored at 3:51 of the second period and then Tyler Seguin made it 2-1 for the Stars only 24 seconds later.
What did Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis say to his players after that?
“We got to stop the bleeding,” St. Louis said after the game. “There’s a lot of hockey left. I felt like we didn’t sink after that. I felt like we got some time in the O-zone.”
But it was the Stars who scored next with Seguin getting his second goal of the game at 17:45 of the second period. Juraj Slafkovsky cut the Stars’ lead to 3-2 when he scored his 10th goal of the season with 1:23 left in the second period.
“The big goal at the end of the period,” St. Louis said. “It’s a much easier task to come back from one than two going into the third. I felt we could carry that through that period and I thought we did that for the most part in the third.”
But the Canadiens couldn’t score again and the Stars held on for the victory, while outshooting Montreal 38-20.
Samuel Montembeault was in goal for the Canadiens and saw his record fall to 12-8-4 with a 3.06 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage. Jake Allen will start in goal Sunday against the Blues.
The Canadiens have a 15-10-3 record in 28 games on Super Bowl weekend at the Bell Centre since 2010.
More bad news for Harvey-Pinard
Rafaël Harvey-Pinard left the game early in the second period after colliding with teammate Joel Armia.
It didn’t look good as Harvey-Pinard fell awkwardly and his knee appeared to buckle. He had to be helped to the locker room and didn’t return.
After the game, the Canadiens said Harvey-Pinard was still being evaluated by the team’s medical staff. Joshua Roy was recalled from the AHL’s Laval Rocket, which means the injury to Harvey-Pinard could be serious.
Harvey-Pinard has only one goal and six assists in 24 games this season after posting 16-15-31 totals in 40 games last season and then being rewarded with a two-year, US$2.2-million contract. He has already missed 27 games this season with a lower-body injury.
Newhook returns
Alex Newhook returned to the lineup after missing the previous 27 games with a high ankle sprain suffered in a game against the Florida Panthers on Nov. 30.
Newhook didn’t look like someone who hadn’t played in more than two months and his speed was impressive as always. He started the game at centre between Harvey-Pinard and Armia and finished with 18:49 of ice time and three shots on goal, while winning four of his nine faceoffs (44 per cent).
“I felt pretty good,” Newhook said. “I felt my legs were there. Some of the timing stuff, I definitely could have been a bit sharper with. But it’s good to be back in the mix. It’s nice to feel the game again.”
Newhook was also on the first power-play unit, along with Suzuki, Slafkovsky, Cole Caufield and Mike Matheson. While the power play went 0-for-4, the first unit moved the puck around well and had some good scoring chances.
“Back in the bumper spot,” Newhook said. “I played there a lot in Colorado. I thought our power play got some good looks, unfortunate not to get one. I think if we continue to create like that it will be hard not to score.”
The Stars went 0-for-6 on their power play.
Caufield extends streak
Caufield picked up an assist on Suzuki’s goal, extending his point streak to 11 games, during which he has 6-8-14 totals.
Caufield has 17-24-41 totals this season and has more than doubled his assist total from last season when he had 26-10-36 totals in 46 games before suffering a season-ending shoulder surgery that required surgery.
The assist on Suzuki’s goal was a beauty as Caufield got the puck along the boards in his own end and then passed it across the ice, banking it off the boards at centre ice with Suzuki picking it up at the blue line at full speed. The captain then beat Stars goalie Jake Oettinger with a great shot high over his blocker.
“I have no idea if Cole saw me or not,” Suzuki said. “It’s not a bad play to just throw an area pass out wide. I got in behind everybody strong side and just ended up having a good ride with the puck and was able to put it in the net.”
While Caufield is known more for his shot, he has also become a good playmaker.
“You can’t really just be only a goal-scorer out here in this league,” Suzuki said. “You have to be able to create plays. You can’t just be thinking shot the whole time. I like where (Caufield’s) game’s at. He’s definitely been making really nice plays and we know he can shoot it when he gets in those positions. I think if all of us can be a shot threat and a passing threat, it makes our line a lot more dangerous.”
Another Slaf-shot
Slafkovsky extended his goal-scoring streak to three games, during which he has four goals. The 19-year-old has six goals in his last nine games and is back on the No. 1 line with Suzuki and Caufield.
Before practice Thursday and Friday, Slafkovsky spent time working with Glen Tucker, who started his Shoot to Score program in 1993, and is known as “Dr. Shot” after working with several big-name NHL players. Slafkovsky said Tucker has been working mostly on where to finish with his hands after a shot.
“It’s not only about (Tucker),” Slafkovsky said about his recent goal-scoring. “It’s also Adam Nicholas (the Canadiens’ director of hockey development) helping me a lot. I have a great people around me that are trying to make me better, so I’m just lucky.”
The future is starting to look very bright for the No. 1 line.
“It’s definitely fun playing with those guys,” Suzuki said. “We’ve definitely envisioned (playing together) since Slaf got drafted and a lot of hype around us playing together. It’s been fun to do that and contribute and just keep building.
“They’re two young guys that I like to help them out as much as I can all over the ice,” Suzuki added. “I think they’re ready to listen and learn. I don’t know everything, but just as a line we talk a lot on the bench and in the room, so it helps a lot.”
Some stats
Matheson logged a team-high 26:53 of ice time, had two assists and finished with a plus-2 differential. The defenceman is tied with Suzuki for the team lead in assists with 31.
Caufield had a team-high four shots, followed by Newhook and Armia with three each. Caufield leads the Canadiens with 185 shots this season, followed by Matheson with 129 and Suzuki with 113.
Josh Anderson and Arber Xhekaj both finished minus-2. Anderson has one goal in the last 13 games and seven goals this season.
Jesse Ylönen failed to get a shot on goal in 8:19 of ice time while playing on the fourth line with Brandon Gignac and Michael Pezzetta. Ylönen hasn’t scored in his last 31 games. He has three goals in 41 games this season.
Pezzetta led the Canadiens with four hits despite getting only 8:06 of ice time. Pezzetta leads the Canadiens with 161 hits this season despite averaging only 7:36 of ice time. The only other Canadien with more than 100 hits is Anderson with 107.