In a battle of two of last season’s Calder Memorial Trophy finalists, Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson won out again. The sophomore scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal on Calgary Flames goalie Dustin Wolf just shy of the midway point of the second period, as the Habs rolled to a 4-1 victory on Wednesday at the Bell Centre.
Game Recap
In spite of that specific quirk on the scoresheet though, Canadiens forward Alexandre Texier was the biggest difference-maker on the night, with three points, including an assist on the goal in question. He had opened the scoring earlier in the second, roofing it from in close on Wolf, after the latter had stymied the Habs for a period and change, stopping 14 shots in the opening frame. The marker represented Texier’s 100th career point, as he’s now scored a far-from-insignificant 11 in 21 games since signing with the Habs back in November.
Montreal Canadiens forward Alexandre Texier – Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
In all, Wolf made 31 saves, while his counterpart, rookie Jacob Fowler, allowed a single goal on 29 shots in a game the home team easily won, but that could have gone either way until Texier and company stepped up from the second period onward.
After Oliver Kapanen scored his 14th to give the Canadiens a 3-1 lead (and tie Anaheim Ducks forward Beckett Sennecke for the rookie goal-scoring lead), Flames forward Joel Farabee gave the visitors a pulse, fooling Fowler with a shot on which he was screened by (overall) rookie-scoring-leader Ivan Demidov. However, the Canadiens got that one back early in the third, when Cole Caufield corralled a cross-ice Texier pass and beat Wolf with a wrister from the faceoff circle.
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Flames forward Nazem Kadri seemingly pulled his team back within two with five minutes left. However, the goal was challenged by Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis and then taken back on a belated offside call. That helped ensure the Hutson goal, on which the defenseman one-timed a pass from Phillip Danault, playing his first home game at the Bell Centre since the team’s run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, would stand as the winner.
Now 24-13-6 and in second place in the Atlantic Division, the Canadiens play their second game in two nights on Thursday, when they host the Florida Panthers. The 18-21-4 Flames visit the Boston Bruins, also on Thursday, as the second leg of their current five-game road trip.