The Habs lose to the Stars in a highly entertaining game

On Super Bowl weekend, the Canadiens were in action this afternoon at the Bell Centre to welcome the Dallas Stars.

For the occasion, Alex Newhook made his return to action, having not played since November 30.

Tonight’s lineup

Tonight’s lineup#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/Sb44qnc1oe

– Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) February 10, 2024

For the Stars, Jake Oettinger got the start in net.

Here’s the complete lineup, including good old Evgenii Dadonov.

Stars’ expected lineup (switching back):

Robertson-Hintz-Pavelski
Marchment-Duchene-Seguin
Benn-Johnston-Dadonov
Dellandrea-Steel-Smith

Harley-Heiskanen
Lindell-Hakanpaa
Suter-Lundkvist

Oettinger

– Mike Heika (@MikeHeika) February 10, 2024

We were treated to a hotly contested first period in which both teams had good scoring chances, but it was in the second period that we saw a lot of action.

It started with a goal from Nick Suzuki, who took advantage of a clever pass from Cole Caufield to score with a good shot into the top of the net.

11 straight games with at least one point for Caufield.

#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/kh0eeMrp50

– Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) February 10, 2024

However, things then (really) went south for the Canadiens. First, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard was involved in a heavy (accidental) collision with teammate Joel Armia.

Unable to put weight on his leg, he left the game and did not return.

Here’s the footage of RHP’s injury.

You can clearly see that his leg takes the full brunt of the impact, which is accentuated by Armia’s fall, which is no small matter.

Here’s wishing the Quebecer had avoided the worst pic.twitter.com/wyaPtYzHf1

– Anthony Martineau (@Antho_Martineau) February 10, 2024

And on the same sequence, Thomas Harley brought the two teams back on level terms with this goal.

The Stars defenseman now has 13 goals this season.

Hottest defenseman in the league pic.twitter.com/VK5QFEPuOk

– Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) February 10, 2024

Then it was Tyler Seguin’s turn, and he did it twice.

Even more impressive, he did it twice in the same way: Matt Duchene fed him when he’d been forgotten near the net by the Habs defence, giving him two easy goals.

What a pass for the lead!!! pic.twitter.com/dfMD4S8SK9

– Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) February 10, 2024

Dutchy is FEEDING Tyler today pic.twitter.com/51QhTDIewF

– Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) February 10, 2024

The good news is that the Tricolore was able to turn the tide before the end of the second period, when Juraj Slafkovský fired a beautiful shot to cut the deficit in half.

A magnificent goal for the man who now has four goals in his last three games.

CRAZY SHOT

CRAZY SHOT#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/18Dq9MzhZK

– Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) February 10, 2024

After 40 minutes, the score was 3-2 in favor of the Stars.

In the third period, the Habs’ power play had a few opportunities to score, but the Stars were able to hold on.

Jayden Struble, meanwhile, seemed inspired by the slightly warmer temperatures, as he whipped out his stick to clear the puck baseball-style.

Good save by Montembeault and a baseball clear by Struble. pic.twitter.com/0rOzhANZDW

– Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) February 10, 2024

Cole Caufield and Mike Matheson had good chances close to the net, but Jake Oettinger was able to hold down the fort in front of his team’s net.

Brandon Gignac was particularly outstanding on Matheson’s scoring chance. Gignac has been playing great hockey since he arrived in the NHL, really.

Speed + speed=good scoring chance.

Gignac and Matheson come close to tying the game. pic.twitter.com/elcMSD1MZk

– Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) February 10, 2024

As for Joel Armia, he managed to get away with a shorthanded goal(after Jake Evans had been given a four-minute penalty, which didn’t go down too well with the fans), but he couldn’t get his shot on target.

Despite a ton of opportunities in the third, the Canadian was unable to capitalize. So, in what was a great show for the fans at the Bell Centre, the Habs lost.

Final score: 3-2 Dallas

The Canadiens return to action tomorrow at 1 p.m., when the St. Louis Blues visit Montreal. We’ll see if Rafaël Harvey-Pinard will be able to play, otherwise the club will be forced to issue a recall if it wants to play with 12 forwards tomorrow.

Overtime

– It was a very, very entertaining game at the Bell Centre this afternoon. The Habs’ first line and first power-play gave the Stars a hard time, but they were the better team on the ice. A good game for those who want to see the Habs tank: the youngsters were good in an exciting game that ended in defeat.

– Juraj Slafkovský had another huge game today. Incredibly, he now has 16 points in his last 22 games, and consistently looks like one of the team’s best forwards. Things are going well for him, really.

Slafkovsky has 16 points in his last 22 games. That’s a big number for a very young man.

– Brian Wilde (@BWildeMTL) February 10, 2024

– Still.

Rare for Habs players this young to have a sequence like Caufield’s right now #Canadiens pic.twitter.com/CH8GZLkWuk

– Guillaume Villemaire (@GVillemaire13) February 10, 2024

– Alex Newhook didn’t look like a rusty guy this afternoon, far from it. The club had missed his excellent skating, and even if he didn’t blacken the score sheet, he still showed some very interesting things. His return will do a lot of good for an attack that needs it.

– Well deserved.

The winner of the Molson Cup for the month of January. Congratulations, Monty!

Your Molson Cup winner for January! #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/tUkArabRPD

– Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) February 10, 2024

– The Montreal crowd wasn’t too thrilled to see Evgenii Dadonov back, obviously.

To all the people who complain about Canadiens fans booing former players when they return, I would suggest the utter indifference to Evgenii Dadonov today is a far bigger insult. Pete DeBoer put him in the starting lineup and there wasn’t a peep when his name was announced.

– Arpon Basu (@ArponBasu) February 10, 2024

– Craig Smith played his 900th career match this afternoon.

That’s 9⃣0⃣0⃣! Congrats, Smitty!