Sam Montembeault was pulled in a 6-2 blowout against the Golden Knights at the Bell Centre on Saturday night.
A near-weeklong layoff did the Montreal Canadiens no good, as they lost 6-2 to the Vegas Golden Knights at the Bell Centre on Saturday night.
Vegas did most of their damage in the second period, scoring five times. Jack Eichel had a three-point night for the road team.
Sam Montembeault was pulled after allowing five goals on 25 shots over two periods. Cayden Primeau replaced him to start the third, and he gave up another goal on three shots.
Let’s skip past the scoreless first and on to the second period. Tomas Hertl kicked things off after Brayden McNabb caught the Habs sliding in the wrong direction.
Then the Golden Knights added three more goals in a span of 2:17. Callahan Burke scored his first career goal, followed by Ivan Barbashev on a give-and-go with Eichel. Former Hab Tanner Pearson poured more salt in the wound to make it 4-0. Keegan Kolesar scored the fifth goal to close out the period, causing the Bell Centre boo birds to come out.
Montembeault bore the brunt of the collapse by getting pulled to start the third but, in reality, each Vegas goal resulted from some miscue by the Habs. Either way, Primeau was sent out for mop-up duty.
The Golden Knights uncharacteristically took the pedal off the gas in the final frame, and Montreal responded with two goals. Brendan Gallagher assisted on both.
Ten seconds into the third, Vegas took a penalty for delay of game and, on the ensuing power play, Emil Heineman took advantage by scoring his fourth of the season on a one-timer blast.
After Gallagher drove the net, taking Vegas goalie Adin Hill out of position, Jayden Struble jumped into the play to score his first of the campaign.
But it was too little, too late. Eichel and Barbashev once again feasted on a Montreal turnover to give Vegas a 6-2 lead in the closing minutes.
With a big night, Eichel put himself into the early-season mix for league MVP. Meanwhile, the Habs failed to extend their winning streak to a season-high three games. The Liveblog commenters wondered going in if Montreal would be rusty after not playing for four nights, and the club responded with only 17 shots.
Juraj Slafkovsky was minus-4 and landed on the fourth line with fellow one-goal scorer Kirby Dach. Their respective goalless droughts are now in the double digits: 12 for Dach and 13 for Slaf. Heineman, on the other hand, has four goals in limited ice time.
Here’s what the Liveblog commenters had to say:
3. “So after a few wins against bottom feeders and a win against a struggling Oilers team, many got all giddy. I mentioned that I would hold my excitement for a bit and was told I was pessimistic. I think I’m realistic. lol. This is still a bad team with a lot way to go before being competitive or in the mix.” — Marc Taillefer
2. “Well, that was a harsh return to reality… momentary glimpses of hope surrounded by immense periods of despair… are we going to become like Cub fans of a bygone era?” — Haari Meech
1. “You’d think a young team with 4 days rest would be flying, but there is a lot of floating out there with little, if any, sense of urgency. I really cheer for Slaf, but it appears as if he has returned to some bad habits he exhibited in his first season. One hand on his stick, out of position a lot, getting hit and going down more than usual, making some poor plays. Dach continues to be puzzling. A big guy who can fly down the wing, but then loses the puck most times once he is in the O-Zone. He also seems to shy away from getting hit.” — Bob Taylor https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/14767170/