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“We did not play nicely and it begins with me,” goalie Montembeault says.
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We dedicate this version of the Hidden Sport to the 1917 Seattle Metropolitans.
The Metropolitans have been the final NHA workforce to win the Stanley Cup. Seattle additionally grew to become the primary American-based workforce to seize the chalice, defeating Montreal 3-1 within the best-of-five sequence.
Given the very fact Halloween is Thursday, we are able to solely think about the Metropolitans have been reincarnated within the our bodies of the Seattle Kraken Tuesday evening on the Bell Centre.
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The guests, held to eight targets of their final 4 video games, someway found an offensive elixir towards the Canadiens, pasting them for an 8-2 victory. Seattle scored the profitable purpose at 7:27 of the primary interval, beating goaltender Samuel Montembeault on the primary two pictures he confronted. The Kraken required solely 25 seconds to open the scoring in undoubtedly Montreal’s most embarrassing efficiency this season.
In fact, with 72 video games remaining, loads of time stays for the Canadiens to set the bar even larger. Or decrease. Take your choose.
By the way in which, the NHA was rebranded because the NHL in November 1917.
Information you want (Half I): The Metropolitans, representing the Pacific Coast Hockey Affiliation, exploded for 23 targets in these 4 video games towards Montreal. The offensive hero was one Bernie Morris, who scored 14 of them, together with six — a double hat trick — within the series-clinching sport. Maybe the Canadiens ought to have had somebody shadowing Morris, however Claude Provost wasn’t born but.
Tuesday evening nightmare: There gained’t be any pictures taken at Montembeault on this area. We preserve he’s an NHL-calibre goalie who has held the Canadiens in video games over the past two seasons. However he was eliminated early within the second interval after permitting 5 targets on 10 pictures. Final Tuesday, Montembeault allowed 4 New York Rangers targets on 10 pictures earlier than being derricked. For what it’s value, the Canadiens entertain Calgary subsequent Tuesday.
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Information you want (Half II): The Canadiens have been driving a two-game profitable streak earlier than assembly the mighty Kraken. Montreal didn’t produced a three-game profitable streak till late February final season. All three video games have been performed on the highway, Montreal defeating Seattle, Colorado and Philadelphia by a mixed 11-3.
Information you want (Half III): If these exorbitant costs proprietor Geoff Molson fees for tickets and parking on the Bell Centre aren’t dangerous sufficient, the Canadiens at the moment are 3-4-0 on house ice. They by no means ought to have moved from the Discussion board.
What a distinction a 12 months makes: Not solely did Montreal twice defeat the Kraken final season — 5-1 and 4-2 — it outscored Seattle 5-0 within the first interval of these video games. 4 of these targets have been scored at Seattle.
Go determine: Jordan Eberle and Jared McCann have carried the Kraken offensively this season, the 2 gamers combining for 11 of the workforce’s 28 targets earlier than dealing with the Canadiens. Extremely, neither participant scored on Tuesday.
Subsequent time, decline the penalty: The Canadiens went 0-for-4 on the ability play, however did generate seven pictures with the person benefit.
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Hit of the evening (Half I): Arber Xhekaj — who else — on Matty Beniers within the 14th minute of the third interval.
Hit of the evening (Half II): Juraj Slafkovsky, who denied it was a shoulder damage that pressured him to overlook three video games, took Joshua Mahura into the Canadiens’ bench within the sport’s remaining minute.
Information you want (Half IV): It took 30-year-old Kraken defenceman Brandon Montour 9 seasons to supply the primary hat trick of his profession. Montour, who gained the Cup final season with Florida, had 50 million good causes to signal a seven-year contract with the Kraken. He now has 4 targets and 9 factors this season.
He’s additionally value each penny: Seattle centre Chandler Stephenson, signed to a seven-year, US$43.75-million contract, produced 4 assists towards Montreal.
Transfer of the evening: Early within the first interval, Kirby Dach crawled laterally some 100 ft again to the bench after shedding a skate blade.
Shift of the evening: Within the sport’s sixth minute, Xhekaj channelled his inside Lane Hutson, solely to be denied by goalie Joey Daccord.
Information you want (Half V): Cole Caufield scored the Canadiens’ opening purpose at 16:11 of the primary interval after the Kraken had scored 4. It was Caufield’s ninth purpose this season. He required 35 video games final season to achieve the identical whole.
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Dumb penalty: Alex Newhook’s slash on Beniers on the Seattle blue line within the opening minute of the second interval.
Momentum, schmomentum: It hardly mattered at this juncture, however 13 seconds after the guests scored their eighth purpose, Josh Anderson tallied for Montreal.
Fast stats: Dach was the clubhouse chief at minus-3, one stroke forward of each Hutson and Logan Mailloux. Dach’s now minus-12 this season. Hutson logged a team-high 23:27. Mike Matheson was on the ice for 21:14 and produced 4 pictures, as did each Caufield and Nick Suzuki. Montembeault’s save share was .500. Cayden Primeau, his alternative, got here in at .769.
They stated it: “Nothing I can say about it,” Montembeault stated. “I’ve bought to be higher, stronger mentally, too, if I’ve a foul begin like this. I want to remain centered and make a save. The workforce wanted it when we’ve a foul begin like that. I believe I used to be possibly an excessive amount of in my head going again within the second there. We didn’t play nicely and it begins with me.”
“It’s so irritating proper now, to reply all these questions,” Matheson stated. “I don’t need to let my feelings say one thing tomorrow I’ll remorse. Undergo the course of 82 video games and these are the one two ones and so they occur to be shut to one another. I’m by no means desirous about them once more. It’s simple to enlarge them proper now.”
“You’re down 4-0 10 minutes in after we performed two good video games,” Suzuki stated. “I’m simply making an attempt to maneuver on proper now. We have been gradual proper from the beginning. We weren’t forechecking very nicely.”
hzurkowsky@postmedia.com
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