It had been nearly 10 years (April 2016) since the Montreal Canadiens were able to win a game on the road against the Carolina Hurricanes, and Martin St-Louis’ men decided it was time to break the curse. It certainly wasn’t easy, however, as the young Habs took their fans on yet another rollercoaster ride.

When he was asked about his team’s resolution for the New Year, the bench boss said they wanted to continue with good starts and score early, thereby avoiding playing catch-up hockey. The Sainte-Flanelle seemed determined to stick to its resolution with a fast and furious start that saw it score twice in less than a minute, barely four minutes into the game, but they couldn’t keep up the pace. Before the end of the first frame, the Canes had stormed back to a 3-2 lead, which they improved on early in the second.

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Taming A Demon

The Habs have struggled mightily in the second frame this season, but this time, they actually had a strong middle stanza. After conceding a fourth goal, the Canadiens shook it off and scored three unanswered goals to roar back to a 5-4 lead.

Interestingly, this three-goal effort in the middle frame came against the team that had allowed the fewest goals in the second frame this season. Before Thursday night’s tilt, the Canes had only allowed 29 goals in that period while generating 34 for a plus-five differential, much better than Montreal’s minus-13.

If the Habs have finally tamed their second-period demons, St-Louis could be in for some much easier third frames for the rest of the season.

Tough Night on Defense

While Mike Matheson was meant to play, it was announced shortly before the game that he wouldn’t suit up due to an upper-body injury. That was hardly surprising considering the elbow he took to the head from Brad Marchand in the 3-2 win over the Florida Panthers, but it was nonetheless a big blow.

As always, when Matheson is missing, the Canadiens’ defence struggled mightily. Through 60 minutes of hockey, Noah Dobson had six giveaways, Jayden Struble had two, and Lane Hutson had two as well. The Hurricanes are the kind of team against whom it’s dangerous to do that. Their transition game is insanely fast, and they always have plenty of players near the opponent’s net to screen the goalie and tip some shots.

In the defeat, Sebastian Aho put up five points and was an absolute poison to deal with for the Habs’ defence corps.

A Real Team Effort

While St-Louis won’t like the fact that his team committed 23 giveaways, he will surely appreciate the fact that each line produced at least a goal tonight. Captain Nick Suzuki got the Habs rolling before Olympics hopeful Oliver Kapanen scored the second goal. In the second frame, Samuel Blais and the fourth line produced the third lamplighter (the grinder had two points and seven hits on the night), before Cole Caufield tied up the game and Josh Anderson gave the Habs the lead. Juraj Slafkovsky doubled the lead in the third, and Hutson put the icing on the cake with an empty-netter.

While the scoring came from everywhere, it’s worth noting that it was Caufield’s first career goal against the Hurricanes, the only team he hasn’t scored on now is the Winnipeg Jets. After scoring the go-ahead goal late in the second frame, Anderson left the game and didn’t return. While the power forward isn’t the Canadiens’ most productive forward, his physical impact will surely be missed if he has to miss some time.

Kirby Dach was initially set to miss four to six weeks, and it’s been six weeks, but there’s still no set date for his return. Given his injury history, it’s understandable that Montreal is being cautious; still, with the injuries piling up, he can’t come back soon enough.

Even though the game was far from a masterpiece by the Tricolore, they’ll gladly take the two points, which help them consolidate their third place in the Atlantic Division. With the Buffalo Sabres being on a fantastic 10-game winning streak, they are fast approaching the Habs’ rearview mirror. With 46 points, they are now in the second wild-card spot, and they do have a game in hand on the Canadiens. Needless to say, the two duels between the two sides coming up this month will be pivotal in the playoff race.

Montreal will now need to get ready for a couple of back-to-back matinees this weekend against the St. Louis Blues and the Dallas Stars. While the former are 29th in the league right now, the latter are second in the standings and will present quite a challenge.

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