What’s rarer than seeing Connor McDavid at work for Montreal hockey fans? Watch him score his 100th point.
• Also read: Even Chris Chelios dreams of Connor Bedard
• Also read: NHL: The last Quebecers to score their first goal
• Also read: Canadians: “It’s a little guy’s dream” – Alex Belzile
Since it took the Oilers prodigy just three to reach that milestone for the sixth time in his career, all hopes were pinned. Especially since the 26-year-old forward has been the focus of a 17-game streak with at least one point on opposing rinks.
However, the Habs players had other plans. Despite nearly 24 minutes on the court and six power plays for his team, McDavid was silenced.
Led by two goals from Jordan Harris, the first of Alex Belzile’s career, and two assists from Evgenii Dadonov, the Canadian surprised the Oilers 6-2.
With that, Martin St-Louis’s side broke the Oilers’ unbeaten streak in regulation time at 11 a.m.
“We were difficult to confront. As a team we were one. With our passes, our composure under pressure, we had very good control,” explained the Canadian head coach at the end of the match.
The Quebec Sector
After knocking on the door a few times over the past few games, Belzile finally managed to score his first NHL goal. By opening the gate, he set the table for an afternoon that Canadiens fans were sure to appreciate.
At 31 years and 165 days, Belzile became the third oldest player in the last 100 years for the Canadians to score their first NHL goal. Ahead are Herb Gardiner (35 years and 213 days) and Johnny Matz (33 years and 207 days).
“He predicted it. Before the game, during the warm-up, he said to me: “I have the impression that it will happen today,” said Rafaël Harvey-Pinard to his colleague Marc-André Perreault.
Speaking of Harvey-Pinard, his Rocket teammate, he wasn’t left out. Playing on the power play for the first time since returning to the Canadiens, the Saguenean made sure he maximized his playing time.
During an Evan Bouchard penalty, he deflected a shot from Mike Matheson to fool Stuart Skinner’s vigilance. A sixth goal in his last seven games.
Xhekaj struck
The Canadian could have lost the services of a large piece, literally. After a heavyweight bout with Vincent Desharnais, Arber Xhekaj returned to the dressing room feeling a little groggy.
Before leaving the court, he pointed his right shoulder, suggesting the Canadian claimed he was suffering from an upper-body injury. However, he was spotted wearing a shoulder brace in the dressing room.
“Arber learns. But at the same time, he didn’t really have a choice considering the guy grabbed him,” St-Louis said.
It was Xhekaj’s ninth fight of the season, possibly his last.
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Alex Belzile
Hard work and perseverance are always rewarded Alex Belzile is the latest example The Quebecer set the tone for the game, opening the scoring from a return shot from Michael Pezzetta
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Jesse Ylonen
He collected an assist on Belzile’s goal. Nevertheless, in this encounter, as so often, he was invisible. After twelve games, the Finn begins the race of hopes for the Canadian to be overtaken by the competition
First period
1-mon: Alex Belzile (1)
(Pezetta, Ylonen) 8:14
Penalties: McDavid (Edm) 4:52, Xhekaj (Mon) 9:45, Dadonov (Mon) 17:02
second period
2-Mon: Jordan Harris (2)
(Dadonov, Kovacevic) 3:54
3-Mon: Josh Anderson (15)
(Dadonov, Drouin)AN-8:23
4-Edm: Leon Draisaitl (30)
(Hyman, Bouchard) AN-12:22
5-Edm: Evander Kane (9)
(Nurse, Bouchard)14:59
6-Mon: Rafael Harvey-Pinard (6)
(Matheson, Suzuki) AN-18:41
Penalties: Ceci (Edm) 6:28, Kane (Edm) (dou min) 9:57, Desharnais (Edm) (maj) 9:57, Anderson (Mon) 9:57, Xhekaj (Mon) (min and maj) 9:57, Drouin (Mon) 10:33, Harris (Mon) 12:22, Savard (Mon) 12:54, Bouchard (Edm) 17:34
third period
7-Mon: Jordan Harris (3)
(Armia, Drouin)2:58
8-Mon: Christian Dvorak (8)
(Roof)DN-9:12
Penalties: Armia (Mon) 7:52
Shoot the net
Edmonton 8-13-10-31 Montreal 14-13-3-30
Guardian:
Edm: Stuart Skinner (P, 13-11-4) Mo: Jake Allen (G, 11-17-2)
Numerical advantages:
Edm: 1 of 6, Mo: 2 of 3
Referee:
Peter MacDougall, Kyle Rehman
linesman:
Brandon Gawryletz, Kilian McNamara
HELP:
21 105
What we noticed…
Stunning McDavid
Despite being removed from the scorers’ list, Connor McDavid gave fans at Bell Center their value. Midway through the second period, he took down Johnathan Kovacevic and Jordan Harris back-to-back with feints that were just as effective as his changes of direction. Jake Allen’s brilliance saved his two teammates from ending up in games of the week, month and season.
A great unit
During the game, the Oilers used their massive offense for 10 minutes and 21 seconds. McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman made nearly all of those power plays (8:17). Ryan Nugent-Hopkins would have felt the same if he hadn’t lost his helmet during a sequence. With such an arsenal, one can understand why this special forces unit sits at the helm of the NHL.
Joel Armia back
Injured in the upper body since mid-January, Joel Armia was back in training. The Finn, absent from the last eight games, skated the ice for 15 minutes and 17 seconds and resumed his role in the numerical inferiority unit. To make room for him in the line-up, Martin St-Louis decided to leave Rem Pitlick out.
Kind regards
After Alexander Romanov the day before, it was Brett Kulak’s turn to reconnect with his former followers. The one Kent Hughes traded on March 21, 2022 was greeted politely by the crowd as it was shown on the giant screen.
Just before a man
Christian Dvorak’s goal was the third goal the Canadians scored under a man this season.