The Montreal Canadiens faced off against the Wild on Thursday night, aiming to secure their first victory in Minnesota since 2011.
The Habs showed marked improvement in their defensive play compared to previous games, but it wasn’t sufficient, as their offense faltered at crucial moments, leading to a 3-0 defeat against the Wild.
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**Slow Start**
The first period wasn’t particularly thrilling, which suited the Canadiens just fine. Despite the excitement of Monday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres, keeping the Wild scoreless in the opening 20 minutes represented progress for Martin St-Louis’ team. Unfortunately, the Habs only mustered two shots during that period.
Special recognition goes to Mike Matheson for stepping up physically against one of the NHL’s top forwards, Kirill Kaprizov.
**Hutson’s Influence**
I try not to over-praise rookie Lane Hutson for every impressive play, but his outstanding performances have become a regular occurrence early in his NHL career. While there are some defensive issues that require attention, including his positioning, it’s evident that he is the player who generates offense when others struggle. As expected, he created several opportunities out of nothing on Thursday night. Although it wasn’t enough to lead the Canadiens to victory, the rookie has already established himself as one of the team’s top players.
It won’t be long before we start referring to him as the team’s most valuable player.
**Referee Decisions**
Occasionally, referees refrain from making clear calls to avoid stealing the spotlight, hoping teams will sort it out themselves—a commendable yet often confusing and frustrating approach that contradicts their duties.
For instance, when Ryan Hartman collided with Juraj Slafkovsky and pushed him into his own goalie, the referees not only allowed play to continue but also overlooked Filip Gustavsson’s actions, which warranted a penalty.
The Wild scored shortly after during the ensuing play, following a faceoff in the Canadiens’ zone that should have been preceded by a clear penalty call. Although this lack of timely officiating doesn’t happen frequently, it certainly led to the only goal in the first two periods, putting the referees in the spotlight.
**Key Takeaways**
While the Canadiens struggled offensively, both the first and second lines performed decently in managing shot control. However, they only recorded two high-danger scoring chances at 5v5, the lowest of the season. A significant issue on Thursday was a lack of accuracy; the decent opportunities from Slafkovsky and Kirby Dach were both fired directly at Gustavsson’s chest, making things easy for a goaltender who usually excels in tough situations.
The Montreal Canadiens will be back in action on Saturday, hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Bell Centre, with a puck drop set for 7 pm ET. All statistics for the Montreal Canadiens are 5v5 unless otherwise indicated, via Natural Stat Trick.
