The Montreal Canadiens hosted the Utah Mammoth on Saturday night, looking to put a frustrating overtime loss against the New Jersey Devils behind them in a bid to build a little momentum in November.
The Habs were down 2-1 early in the second period, but a flood of goals, including two from Cole Caufield, resulted in a highly-entertaining 6-2 win.
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Editor’s Note: This post was written by Montreal Hockey Now special contributor David Landsman. You can follow David on Twitter by clicking on this link.
Let’s dive into the highlights!
Rookie Impact
The game started a little rocky for Montreal, as for the third time in a row, they gave up a goal on the first shot against.
But the good news is that the entire team, including starter Samuel Montembeault, regrouped rather quickly, with a little help from Jake Evans.
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With just over five minutes left in the first, the Alex Newhook, Oliver Kapanen and Ivan Demidov line clicked again. Demidov fed the puck to Kapanen who buried it five-hole past Mammoth goaltender Karel Vejmelka for his sixth of the campaign, taking over for the NHL rookie lead in the process.
In the early goings of the second the teams played a back-and-forth match before a non-call as Montreal forward Josh Anderson was hauled down, and instead of finishing the play, complained to the officials and a poor line  change led to a tic-tac-toe for Utah.
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However, the Habs found their focus, and quickly bounced back as just 42 seconds later when Cole Caufield walked in alone from behind the net and wired a shot off the right post for his 11th of the season, his first of two on the night.
The goal also tied him for 45th all-time in Montreal goal scoring with Hall of Famer Frank Mahovlich.
I’se the B’y
Seven minutes later we were treated to a highlight-reel goal by Newfoundlander Alex Newhook. He identified that he was facing a forward, which gave him an opportunity to dance around J.J. Peterka, and score a beautiful goal. Newhook, who also added an assist later in the contest, now has five goals and 10 points through his last nine games.
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Changing The Montreal Canadiens Narrative
The Habs started the third period knowing they didn’t want just a one-goal lead. Having played seven straight one-goal games, they kept peppering as many chances as they could.
At the other end of the ice, Montembeault was having a great game, seeing the puck really well, and making the big saves when needed.
He ended the game stopping 25 out of 27 for his fourth win of the season, as the Bell Centre faithful chanted his name.
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With just over six minutes left in the frame, Caufield doubled up Montreal’s when he forced the puck behind the Mammoth netminder. It was Caufield’s league-leading 12th goal of the season, and already his fifth multi-goal game.
The kids were resilient and didn’t stop with the offence. With just two minutes left on the clock after a poor Utah line change where they tried pulling their goaltender, Newhook fed captain Nick Suzuki, who made no mistake for his fourth of the season. Suzuki saw his 12-game point streak snapped on Thursday, so I guess he’s starting a new one tonight.
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The final nail in the coffin for Utah saw Kirby Dach break up a Mammoth play in the offensive zone, then zoom all the way to the other end of the ice, doing his best Gordon Bombay triple-deke homage before undressing Vejmelka. Dach now has four goals in his team’s last three games.
Montreal Canadiens Brass Tacks
Fun stat of the night: The Montreal Canadiens currently have two rookies with over 10 points, in Demidov and Kapanen. It is the first time they have had a rookie duo with over 10 points this early since the 1985-86 season when Stephane Richer and Kjell Dahlin did it.
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That was the same year they won the Stanley Cup.
Is it too early to dream?
The Montreal Canadiens are back in action on Tuesday. They will host the Los Angeles Kings at the Bell Centre, with the puck drop scheduled for 7 pm ET.
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