3 Takeaways From The Hijacking

Guilty of a very slow start in their last two games, the Montreal Canadiens flew out of the gate tonight. They were in complete control and looked to be flying straight to victory, but playing a dominant first frame wasn't enough, especially not against the Winnipeg Jets.

A Dominant 20 Minutes Is Not Enough...Especially When It's The First

The Canadiens didn't want to make the same mistake they made in their last two games, so they started the match with an avalanche of shots on Connor Hellebuyck's net. Unfortunately, those 15 shots only yielded one goal. Furthermore, the Jets were opportunistic, and even though they only got seven shots on Samuel Montembeault's net, after 20 minutes, it was 1-1. Martin St-Louis says it often hurts not to be able to separate yourself from the opponent when you play such a good frame, and it was the case on Tuesday night.

Related: Demidov Scores First KHL Hat Trick

Gallagher Will Always Be A Warrior

In the first frame, the diminutive winger got three shots on goals, creating many opportunities. In the second frame, when the Canadiens didn't have a single shot on goal until half the period had gone, he was one of the three players who got one on the net (the other two were Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson). Unfortunately for Gallagher, the best chance he manufactured in the second frame landed on Michael Pezzetta's stick, and he could not convert. It was the Gallagher, Christian Dvorak and Pezzetta line that was on the ice in the dying seconds of the second frame when the Jets scored thanks to botched defensive coverage however.

The Biggest Loss

While losing the two points in the standings will hurt, they won't hurt nearly as much as losing Kaiden Guhle for now and the future. When Kent Hughes signed him long-term last Summer, I wrote that my one concern with the signing was about his injury history. There is no word yet on the extent of the injury, but the way he left the ice doesn't bode well. All we know so far is that it's a lower body injury and that it will require further assessment.

Related: Canadiens: About the Guhle Contract...

Throughout this season, the blueliner has looked more and more impressive and has shown time and time again how good a move it was for the GM to extend him long-term. It would be a cruel twist of fate for the Canadiens to lose him for an extended period of time, especially since aside from the injuries to Patrik Laine and David Reinbacher in the preseason, the Habs have been fairly healthy this season and they are on the cusp of playing some meaningful hockey when it really matters. Losing Emil Heineman already hurt, but loosing a top-four defenseman would be even worse.

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