3 Takeaways from Canadiens’ Wild 7-5 Win Over Sabers – Hockey Writers – Montreal Canadiens

The Montreal Canadiens are participating in a battle against the Buffalo Sabers in conjunction with Remembrance Day in Canada and Veterans Day in the United States. The visitors were looking to stop a six-game skid and when they got their first win in November. Mission accomplished, albeit in gonzo fashion, with a 7-5 final. A game that has always hung in the balance due to good plays and bad plays. Here are three takeaways.

The Canadiens’ Stars Are Their Own Stars

Every sports fan – hockey student or otherwise – has heard the saying: “Their stars need to be their stars tonight!” It sounds like a platitude, an ironically obvious statement. But in some cases, it really works, and Monday afternoon was one such occasion.

On TSN’s pregame broadcast, footage was shown that showed Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovsky, the top three prospects for the 2024-25 season, sitting out four or more games. Specifically, they all played a big role against the Sabres.

Caufield was back to his goalscoring ways. In addition, he scored two goals on the power play from his usual position, near the goalkeeper’s right. The first was a tipped shot from Lane Hutson in the second half, and the second was the game-winner, and it was a man advantage. He now has 12 markers in the campaign.

The Suzuki brush arrived at the perfect time. Down 3-2 with less than a minute left in the middle frame, a rare rush allowed Slafkovsky to feed his captain, who sent a low, a powerful past wrist the extended Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. After 22 seconds, Slafkovsky’s beautiful forehand in the Buffalo zone fed Suzuki another goal at close range and a 4-3 advantage on the scoreboard.

Not to be outdone, Emil Heineman scored his third of the season in the final period, and Josh Anderson opened the scoring thanks to a nice pass from Christian Dvorak. But most people will remember in this game two goals for Caufield, two more goals and an assist for Suzuki, and three assists for the tall Slovak.

What else can you say? The stars of Montreal were their stars.

Cayden Primeau cannot be trusted

A few weeks ago, we dedicated an article to Montreal’s backup netminder, Cayden Primeau. It says that if the Canadiens want to find success and consistency, they will have to play well, or at least better than usual. After all, Samuel Montembeault can’t always agree. Even so, the Quebecois goalkeeper has not been at his best this season. So, Primeau needs to help steal some matches.

That didn’t happen Monday afternoon against the Sabers. By the time he got the hook a few minutes into the third period, he had coughed up a flurry of goals with 14 shots on target. That’s a negative save percentage (SV%) of .643. Once again, head coach Martin St. Louis had to ask for help from Montembeault.

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Before Monday’s game, through six games (four starts), his save percentage was .861 and his goals against average (GAA) was 4.38. With all due respect (we don’t mean to belittle his character or minimize how challenging it is to be an NHL goaltender), those numbers are brutal. Last season, he appeared in 23 games and finished the campaign with an 8-9 record, a 2.99 GAA and a .910 SV%. Those weren’t bad at all.

But this season has been a completely different story. Of course, Montreal’s defense has done terrible things at times, giving the opposition plenty of scoring opportunities. In other words, the Habs’ nets have had to catch up more than ever before. Simply put, Primeau is never on his toes. His level of play is unacceptable. The criticism goes beyond the number of goals he concedes (although that is a solid basis for judging a goalkeeper). The list is small and still works to gain confidence. Giving up five goals in less than 45 minutes is not going to help you achieve that.

Connor Hughes and Jakub Dobes have put up good numbers for the Laval Rocket in the American Hockey League (AHL) this season. He just said.

Canadiens Back to Errors

Winning is fun. A win after a losing streak certainly brings a special treat. For those reasons, Canadians deserve to enjoy the rest of the holiday on Monday. It was a spirited competition, after all.

In the same way, the name of the game this season is finding ways to improve the club from tournament to tournament. Two points sounds good, but there were many reasons why Montreal didn’t fully qualify. It took the Sabers 28 seconds to equalize after Montreal scored the first goal. Buffalo then answered Caufield’s first goal of the second period with a tie 19 seconds later. Heading into the finals, the Canadiens lead 4-3. At the 3:51 mark of the period, it was 5-4 in favor of the Sabers.

Even victory has lessons for players and teams. Winning does not mean that the club played well. This was about as far from a perfect game as one could imagine despite coming out on top. Montreal’s mental weakness in big moments was laid bare for all to see. Well, whoever wasn’t working on Monday. Momentum is a dynamic factor in team sports, but sometimes the Habs take that concept to incredible new heights (or lows).

On the other hand, it can easily be argued that whenever the Sabers bounce back, the Canadiens sit down. Consider that they only allowed 18 shots on goal. Buffalo never found a consistent groove again, and at least some of that had to do with the tough play from Montreal’s blueliners. It sounds out of control in a 7-5 game, but that’s how the cookie crumbles.

The team’s four-game road swing concludes Thursday evening in Minnesota against the Wild. The Wild are not only having a great season so far but they will be especially pissed off after a close loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday. Wins have been rare for the Canadiens this season, so it will be interesting to see how they respond on Thursday. If they can pull off the upset, they return home to face the much-beaten Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday. But look at us now, we are moving forward. One game at a time, guys.