Call of the Wilde: San Jose Sharks comeback to beat the Montreal Canadiens in overtime

With only one regulation win in their first eight games, it’s been a difficult journey for the Montreal Canadiens so far this season. The record is good, thanks to overtime wins, but the overall tenor of the season so far hasn’t been what was hoped for.

The San Jose Sharks visit was a chance to improve on that, especially for Jakub Dobes who has surprisingly struggled in the net. However, it was the same script that has played out all season long: Montreal gets out to the big lead, but can’t hold on to win it easily.

It was yet another overtime game with the San Jose Sharks winning 4-3.

The head coaches decided to match strength against strength. Hockey lovers were the winners. It was Macklin Celebrini’s line against Nick Suzuki’s line; the defending Selke winner against a future winner for sure.

Both lines have been outstanding this season. Heading into the contest, they both had an Expected Goals share of 65 per cent for the season.

It was advantage Suzuki in the first period as they hemmed in Celebrini often. The opening goal was Suzuki’s as he took a pass from Juraj Slafkovsky and drilled a shot into the top corner glove side.

In the second period, the Suzuki line dominated. Firstly, Juraj Slafkovsky scored the best goal of his career. He faced Darnell Nurse on the rush one-on-one. Slafkovsky chipped it past Nurse with just enough force for it to not arrive at the net, then he danced around Nurse, and slid it in behind the fallen Alex Nedeljkovic.

The Suzuki line added another in the middle frame. Suzuki won the puck behind the net, then fed Cole Caufield who potted his sixth goal of the season to the far side. There was a bit of anxiety over Caufield’s start, but he now has six in nine, and no one will complain about that.

Read more: Call of the Wilde: Cole Caufield shines with two goals as the Montreal Canadiens outlast the Buffalo Sabres in overtime

There was also a bit of anxiety over the first games of Adam Engstrom. He’s been a star in the American Hockey League, but the starts in the NHL were not quality so far. That is until this one when Engstrom played his best as a Canadiens defender by a large margin.

His partnership with Arber Xhekaj was so solid that Arber finally got relied upon to play more minutes than his usual. Xhekaj seems to be finally getting comfortable, and this could be the season he solidifies his standing as a regular.

There were many strong performances. Alexandre Carrier is playing the best hockey of his career to start the season. His partnership with Kaiden Guhle is strong. The Canadiens have lacked a shutdown pair for many years, but this might be the start of it right now.

Olliver Kapanen is showing why he had a strong rookie season. The points aren’t coming, but it’s one heady play after another. He quietly does so much right. His return has improved the fourth line tremendously.

Phillip Danault had another strong contest. When he came over from Los Angeles he looked slow, maybe even out of shape. He wasn’t right. This season, Danault has upped his game from that start by a large margin. Danault has a large hockey brain. He’s always on the smart side of the puck.