Hidden Game: Canadiens shut out Oilers for second straight win

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This edition of the Hidden Game must be dedicated to incomparable RDS broadcaster Pierre Houde.

Houde is this year’s recipient of the Foster Hewitt award, given to members of the radio and television industry who made outstanding contributions to their profession and the game. Inducted last week into the Hockey Hall of Fame, Houde, a classy and consummate professional, is the reason why many anglophones now watch Canadiens game on French television — and with good reason, given his level of competence.

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Houde, accompanied by his family, was honoured before Monday night’s game between Montreal and the Edmonton Oilers at the Bell Centre, a 3-0 Canadiens victory. He received a loud, lengthy and well-deserved ovation, rivalling the reception former Canadiens’ captain Shea Weber was given last Saturday.

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And Houde’s gracious speech was much better than any words emanating from Weber’s mouth, somewhat predictably.

We’re guessing this was no coincidence: It’s amazing what you can learn from watching the pre-game warmup. The last player to leave the ice, somewhat deliberately, was Oilers forward Corey Perry, 39, determined to wait until every Canadiens player left the ice. Perry, from deep in his own end, then slid a puck into the empty Montreal net. We can’t imagine this was the first time Perry has pulled this stunt off in his 20-year career. Of course, it was the Oilers’ only goal.

Strange, but true (Part I): The Canadiens, not a very good team, are averaging 2.83 goals per game, ranking them 20th in the NHL prior to facing Edmonton. The Oilers, who took Florida to Game 7 of last season’s Stanley Cup final, are actually worse offensively — despite the presence of captain Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl —  and rank 21st, averaging 2.78 goals per game.

Even stranger, but true: The Oilers established a single-season record last season, their power play operating at 32.4 per cent efficiency. But this season, they’re hopeless with the man advantage and rank 22nd overall, at 17.4 per cent. The visitors went 0-for-3 against Montreal.

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Strange, but true (Part II): The Oilers have now been shut out three times in 19 games this season.

Break up the Canadiens: Montreal now has won three of its last four.

Milestone: It was the 900th career regular-season game for Edmonton’s Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who marked the occasion by hitting two crossbars by our count. He produced 67 points last season. With one goal and seven assists, he’s on pace for 36 points this season.

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He’s worth the price of admission: In the game’s fourth minute, McDavid effortlessly skated around two Canadiens before setting up Zach Hyman, who missed the pass. Hyman, who scored 54 goals in 2023-24, has three this season.

Who had him in the pool?: The Canadiens didn’t register their first shot until the fifth minute. It came from Christian Dvorak, he of two goals this season; one into an empty net.

That’s got to hurt: Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard, one of the league’s hardest shooters, blasted a shot off the left arm of defenceman Kaiden Guhle in the first period. Predictably, Guhle immediately went to the dressing room, but returned and scored a third-period insurance goal.

Hit of the night: We’re not sure how Hyman arose from the devastating check administered by Arber Xhekaj in the opening period.

Dumb penalty: In the final minute of the period, Joel Armia, in the offensive zone, was guilty of high-sticking Perry.

Stats of the period: Nick Suzuki had three of the Canadiens’ eight first-period shots. Nugent-Hopkins had four of Edmonton’s 13.

Keep your head up: Early in the second period, Oilers defenceman Ty Emberson knocked Juraj Slafkovsky on his ass. Slafkovsky’s head was down and he was looking at the puck. The two players frequently came together on this night and seemed to have some sort of feud percolating.

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News you need: Veteran Brendan Gallagher finally broke the ice with the game’s opening goal in the final minute of the second period, deflecting Mike Matheson’s shot for his eighth goal this season. It took Gallagher 46 games last season before he produced his eighth.

About that NHL officiating: Early in the third period, Hyman ran into goaltender Samuel Montembeault. While we didn’t write the rule book, it certainly appeared to be blatant interference. No penalty was assessed, providing further proof we know nothing about the game.

Sometimes it’s the little things: While Guhle beat Calvin Pickard high to the stick side from the left-wing circle nearly six minutes into the third period, the sequence wouldn’t have been possible had Cole Caufield not initiated matters by knocking Draisaitl off the puck.

He’s got competition for the Cy Young: With another assist, Caufield is now 12-4. But Gallagher, 8-2, has entered into the equation.

Quick stats: Matheson and Guhle each had four shots. Matheson, as usual, logged a team-high 24:03. Heading into the season, Montembeault hadn’t recorded a shutout since the 2021-22 season. He now has two in 15 games, giving him three in his career.

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They said it: “As the game went on we got better and better,” Gallagher said. “If we do that throughout the rest of the season we’ll be in a good spot, but it’s a matter of consistently doing it. Hopefully we can build on it.

“They’re a good team,” Gallagher added. “For the most part we limited their time and space. We got rewarded tonight. We’re going to have to learn to beat good teams. We’ve obviously dug ourselves a hole here, but if we continue to play like that, we’ll win more than we lose and slowly climb our way back into this thing.”

“It hurt, but I got some scans on it,” Guhle said of the Bouchard shot. “Taped it up, got a couple meds, (some) numbing cream and good to go. When you take a shot from a guy like that — I don’t know how fast it was; it felt pretty fast — you never know right away. It was pretty sore. After 15 or 20 minutes I started to feel good again.”

“Getting a shutout against probably the best player in the world is special,” said Montembeault, who faced 30 shots. “The guys were committed, played well defensively and didn’t give them too many chances.”

hzurkowsky@postmedia.com

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