Canadiens: Dobes Pulls Magnificent Performance And Gets The Two Points

Over the last few years, the Montreal Canadiens have often struggled against the Carolina Hurricanes , and Tuesday night’s tilt at the Bell Centre was no different. Martin St-Louis can keep his cards close to his chest when it comes to his lineup, all he wants, but it’s not going to make an iota of difference if the players he puts on the ice aren't ready to go when the puck drops. After missing the last two games with an upper-body injury, Josh Anderson was back in the lineup, taking over from Joe Veleno.

At the same time, the coach had elected to go back to Jakub Dobes in net, despite Jacob Fowler winning the last game. A wise decision considering the Czech netminder made 14 saves in the first frame while his team was largely “sleepskating” on the ice. Canadiens’ Caufield Has A Knack For Scoring Important Goals Canadiens Take On The Hurricanes And Hope To Create Some Distance Canadiens Hard At Work Ahead Of Duel With Carolina A Worrying Start The first period, especially its first 12 minutes, was worrying for the Canadiens.

It looked like the puck was a hot potato none of their players were comfortable handling; perhaps it had to do with the coaches' warning them about the Canes' intense, fast forecheck. Whenever they’d get the puck, they’d get rid of it in a hurry, often handing it right back to the visitors. After 20 minutes, the shots were 16-4 Carolina, and had it not been for Dobes, the score would have been much worse than 2-1.

The goalie was peppered with shots, and they were not easy ones either. The first goal came when Mike Matheson tried to block a shot from the blueline with his stick and deflected it past Dobes. As for the second goal, it came from Oliver Kapanen turning the puck over in the defensive zone, inexplicably sending it from the blueline to the slot where Jordan Staal was all alone.