After back-to-back losses against the Florida Panthers and Detroit Red Wings, the Montreal Canadiens looked to get back on track against the Seattle Kraken. Ultimately, they succeeded in their efforts, defeating the Kraken by a 4-2 final score. The Canadiens put together a strong in this contest, so let’s discuss three main takeaways from it now.
Anderson Breaks 27-Game Goalless Drought
Heading into this game against the Kraken, Josh Anderson had yet to score a goal in 24 games played this season. Yet, he finally broke the ice in this one and ended his 27-game goalless drought dating back to last season. While the Kraken were aggressively trying to tie the game up in the final minute, Anderson secured the puck in the Habs’ zone and fired it down the ice for an empty-net goal. This made the game 4-2, and it gave the Canadiens the insurance goal they needed to secure two points.
While this was not the prettiest of goals, it is hard not to feel happy for Anderson. The 29-year-old winger has been snakebit this season, but now the monkey is finally off his back. It was only a matter of time before Anderson would score his first goal of the season, as his play has picked up as of late. The same can be said about his performance in this game, too.
Besides getting his first goal of the season, Anderson also got an assist on Sean Monahan’s first-period goal. The power forward beautifully set up Monahan before the latter put it home. After his two-point night, Anderson now has one goal and five points in 25 games.
Monahan & Pearson Get Back on the Board
While Anderson broke his 27-game goalless streak, Monahan and Tanner Pearson also ended their long goal droughts. Monahan entered this game with no goals in 14 games, while Pearson had not scored in 19 contests. However, they both finally ended them, which was a big reason why the Habs secured two points.
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Monahan was the Canadiens’ top skater of the night, as he had a two-goal game. As noted above, he got the scoring started for the Canadiens by snapping an Anderson feed past Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer. Then, later on in the second period, Monahan scored a power-play goal after one-timing a Nick Suzuki pass by Grubauer. As for Pearson, the veteran winger worked hard in front of the net and secured a Brendan Gallagher rebound before scoring.
Seeing Monahan and Pearson get back on the board was excellent. In 25 games this season, Monahan now has eight goals and 15 points, while Pearson has four goals and eight points in just as many contests.
Montembeault’s Strong Start
While the Canadiens’ offence was understandably a big reason for their win, one should not overlook Sam Montembeault’s performance. The recently extended netminder was very busy during this game, as he saved 31 out of 33 shots. Without a strong start like this, the Canadiens could have easily lost.
Neither goal that Montembeault allowed was his fault. Jared McCann’s slapshot was perfectly placed, while the same can be said for Vince Dunn’s snapshot. However, instead of letting these two Kraken unanswered goals get to him, Montembeault shut the door from there and helped the Canadiens get the victory. This was especially impressive when noting that Seattle had more momentum in the third period, as they had 13 shots.
With this win, Montembeault now has a 6-3-1 record, a .913 save percentage (SV%), and a 2.66 goals-against average (GAA) in 11 games on the season.
Nevertheless, this was a strong win for the Canadiens. They will look to keep this momentum going when they face off against the Los Angeles Kings on Dec. 7. While the Kings are one of the best teams in the league right now, the Canadiens should give them a challenge if they continue to play well like in this one.
