SUMMARY
MONTREAL — After a stint that took them to Western Canada and Seattle, the Canadiens returned home against Philip Danault and the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. They won 4-2. Here is the summary of the meeting in five observations.
Kings carried by their veterans
The Kings have been resolutely carried by their veterans since the start of the season and tonight’s game was no exception, as it was Anze Kopitar and Viktor Arvidsson who scored the first two goals of the game in the space of 19 seconds in the middle of the first period.
Kopitar scored his eighth of the season after a particularly skillful pass from newcomer Kevin Fiala, then Arvidsson also scored his eighth after fooling CH goalkeeper Jake Allen with a quick wrist shot into the top of the net.
Fiala hasn’t disappointed since signing a 7-year deal worth $55.125 million with the Kings this summer, as he now has 9 goals and 22 assists in 30 games. The California club acquired the rights to the Minnesota Wild on June 29 as he prepared to become a restricted free agent. The Swiss had had the best season of his career in 2021-2022, scoring 33 goals and getting 52 assists in 82 games.
Hoffman scores on his return
Back in the lineup after an eight-game absence, Mike Hoffman had a quiet night until he scored his sixth goal since the start of the season with a wrist shot that left Phoenix Copley no chance.
To some extent, Hoffman picked up where he left off as he was having his best moments of the campaign when he fell in battle. The forward is riding an interesting streak of six points (four goals and two assists) in as many games at the moment.
That said, while some observers clamored to claim his presence on the ice on the power play, he failed to end the unit’s slump in one-man lead play, which continued for the third straight game.
Dach in the middle, then again on the wing
In the absence of Sean Monahan, who missed a second successive game with what appears to be a foot injury, Kirby Dach found himself in the center of the back row alongside Juraj Slafkovsky and Hoffman. But hard to say that he had a good evening …
Indeed, the first time Dach really made his presence felt was when he found himself to the right of his former linemates Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield for the moment of an ice presence, returning from a shorthanded position during which Josh Anderson had been Used. Posted on the net, Dach allowed Suzuki and Caufield to have some fun.
It is therefore certainly no coincidence that Dach regained his place on the right from Suzuki and Caufield in the third period. All three players had solid presence at one point, but Caufield’s goal was disallowed after replay ruled the puck lodged on the crossbar behind Copley.
Caufield, on the other hand, recovered about two and a half minutes from the end, taking advantage of a sensational goal by Copley, which he should have saved. This had the effect of reviving an uninteresting match after the Kings’ third goal scored by Alexander Edler.
A rare start for Copley
Though he’s now 36, Jonathan Quick continues to be the Kings’ go-to man in net, as his assistant Phoenix Copley was playing in just his second game this season. Against the Ottawa Senators Tuesday night, the former Saint Louis Blues and Washington Capitals had done well making 29 saves on 31 shooting.
Manager Todd McLellan explained on Saturday that he decided to send Copley into the fray because his teammates had played well together in front of him. McLellan obviously had talent, as Habs players were uninspired up front.
It must be said that at 6 feet 4 inches, Copley takes up a lot of space in front of his cage and any rescues he made looked particularly easy. During the numerical superiority of the Canadians, he knew how to control his returns well and limit his chances of scoring.
A battered defense
With the absences of David Savard and Mike Matheson (upper body), the Canadians were obviously deprived of the services of two veteran defenders and not surprisingly, the pairing of Joel Edmundson and Kaiden Guhle were the most used by coach-chef Martin St-Louis.
Playing his first season in the National Hockey League, Guhle quickly became a mainstay in Montreal’s defensive unit but still remains a rookie and commits fouls such as in the case of Kopitar’s goal. Mesmerized by the puck brought by Fiala, who played hard, Guhle missed his cover on Kopitar that he didn’t ask for so much.
