About Last Night: Duck Takes Place in the Top Line

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Kirby Duck scored two goals as the Montreal Canadiens beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 at Bell Center on Wednesday.

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The Hub cruised most of the game before Sam Montambour’s shutout bid ended in the third. But Dach’s second was the exclamation mark he needed to close out the chaotic Canucks team that had played the night before, like the Habs.

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Nick Suzuki scored and assisted, with 17 points on the season and Cole Caulfield had an assist. Mike Hoffman scored his third goal in two nights.

The hub did not have two suspended players. Josh his Anderson hit in Saturday’s game against Vegas and missed game two, and Juraj his Slavkowski missed his first of two games as he boarded Detroit’s mat in his rough on Tuesday did. Michael Pezetta joins the lineup.

The Canucks were off from the start, taking a penalty in the opening minutes before allowing Suzuki a power-play goal.

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Just eight minutes later it proved costly as JT Miller was thrown out of the faceoff circle and Arber Xhekaj’s point shot just after the draw slashed through traffic to give Montreal a 2-0 lead.

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Miller’s frustration was just beginning. In a soft clear in midfield, Duck stole the puck and slipped it under a surprised Thatcher Demko, giving Montreal a 3–0 advantage.

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The second was Brendan Gallagher doing the Brendan Gallagher thing. He hit the net hard and angered not only Oliver Ekman Larson, but Demko himself. Both Vancouver players roughed the hub forward, so the officials sent all three into the box, giving Montreal a power play.

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Goalscorers often score in bunches, so perhaps this is Hoffmann’s time to shine. After his two games with the Wings, he added another Wednesday after Jack Rathbone tipped it off at the Blue Line in Montreal. Liveblog commenters have asked Hoff to shoot more. He earned his 4-0 Habs lead.

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The hubs relieved the gas in the third, nearly allowing the Canucks to turn back. Luke Shen got his team on the board with a fluttering point shot that Montembaugh had never seen before.

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After Jonathan Druin missed a wide-open net, Nils Hoglander was left alone in front and the two-man Habu defense came to a halt. Hoglander’s opening game of the season gave Vancouver his chance to go 4-2.

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The Canucks hit two posts on the ensuing power play, including a still-frustrated Miller post. Dach then closed the game 5-2 after everyone was left lined up along the right board.

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Liveblog commenters were sad when the general manager gave up on Alexander Romanov and swung a trade for Kirby Duck in this summer’s draft, but understood the hub needed skill before anything else So far Romanov is doing well on Long Island, but the Montreal trade is going well. The Duck isn’t just riding the top line as he’s scored nine points in his last six games. Just like that, Habs scored four points in his two days and crossed . 500 with a 7-6-1 record.

3. “It was a bit of a worrying moment, but Dach’s goal calmed them down… Two good games in a row… Go Habs Go!”

2. “The hubs aren’t used to being 3rd by 4 goals. Marty just taught them how to come back to win 3rd.” — Bob Taylor

1. “(Duck) Reminded me of Gorton winning Zibanezado in New York.” — Jon Crewe