After a four-game road trip winning all eight points, the Montreal Canadiens returned home to face the Pittsburgh Penguins.
asserted
Canadiens → win → Penguins
They didn’t play tight hockey, but they played winning hockey.
asserted
they → play → hockey
It’s five straight wins after a 5-4 win over the Penguins.
asserted
It → ’ → Penguins
The Canadiens were flying on offence against a Penguins team that didn’t find a body they wanted to hit.
asserted
they → fly → body
Even the fourth line got into the act.
asserted
line → get → act
Florian Xhekaj pushed the puck nicely up to Owen Beck who fed Oliver Kapanen for the one-timer.
asserted
who → push → timer
.
24 seconds later, it was Josh Anderson with a shot absolutely wired into the top corner just under the cross bar.
asserted
it → wire → bar
The second accidentally hit him on a Lane Hutson point shot.
asserted
second → hit → shot
The Canadiens struck quickly for two straight in the second period as well.
asserted
Canadiens → strike → period
Right after, it was Chris Kreider doing what he does best.
asserted
he → do → what
Kreider was standing in front of the net by himself.
asserted
Kreider → stand → himself
His first attempt was stopped, but he calmly persevered to slide home the rebound.
asserted
he → stop → rebound
What happened instead is the fourth line showed exactly what a fourth line is supposed to do.
asserted
line → happen → what
On one shift, Florian was immovable in front of the net, then Beck absolutely destroyed a defenseman with a hit.
asserted
Beck → destroy → hit
With Kapanen, they had big pressure and were a handful to play against.
asserted
they → have → pressure
Look at history, fourth lines that play like that are fourth lines on cup winners.
asserted
that → look → winners
It’s a formula: the first two lines score, the third line often defends the best of the opposition, and the fourth line punishes anything that moves while being a complete annoyance.
asserted
that → ’ → anything
The first three lines will all be able to score as a big change from the usual blueprint.
asserted
lines → score → blueprint
That’s because the GM has managed his cap so well that the Canadiens will be able to afford scorers on all three lines.
asserted
Canadiens → ’ → lines
Considering both Beck and Kapanen are excellent defensive players, with Florian, they might just a defensive line and a punishing line.
uncertain
they → punish → Florian
Beck has the best Expected Goals on the team but hasn’t garnered a lot of respect yet.
asserted
Beck → have → respect
The Canadiens get a bit too excited to play in front of their fans at the Bell Centre.
asserted
Canadiens → get → Centre
On the road, especially in Dallas, they won four straight.
asserted
they → win → four
Except for a poor third period in St. Louis, they played controlled and composed hockey.
asserted
they → play → hockey
They didn’t take any chances.
asserted
They → take → chances
They allowed almost few two-on-one rushes, and even fewer breakaways.
asserted
They → allow → rushes
They respected the blue line and cleared the puck over it.
asserted
They → respect → it
The opposition had to earn their offensive chances.
asserted
opposition → have → chances
Back at home, it’s wide open.
asserted
it → ’ → home
The mood changes.
asserted
mood → change → ?
The Canadiens are flying on offence, but they’re also reckless on defense.
asserted
they → fly → defense
It’s how differently they play.
asserted
they → ’ → ?
Even Alexandre Carrier made an extremely ill-advised pinch in the first period.
asserted
Carrier → make → period
It’s like they want to win the entire game in the first ten minutes; instead, they make so many clumsy errors.
asserted
they → ’ → errors
On the road, they look like a championship club, and at home, they look like they haven’t been taught how to control a game at all.
asserted
they → look → game
The result is the top goalie in the league Jacob Fowler saw that lofty status challenged.
asserted
status → see → league
Fowler allowed four goals on 29 shots.
asserted
Fowler → allow → shots
His save percentage fell from .942 to .932.
asserted
percentage → fall → .932
However, his Goals Saved Above Expected went up to a league leading 10.2.
asserted
Goals → save → 10.2
The Alex Newhook line with Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky had a difficult night.
asserted
line → have → night
…and 21 more, not listed.
The Aporia
