TSM: Slafkovský starts to settle in

04/10/2022 03:44

Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images It was another loss, but there were some positive things to take away. For our new readers and members, the Top Six Minutes is a continuation of the discussion in the game thread. We try to keep it light and entertaining. Full recaps are up the morning after every game. Pre-game It’s game five of the pre-season (or game one for those of us who were knocked off the grid by Fiona), and rosters are getting trimmed down. Let’s see how Sean Monahan looks in his first game as a member of the home team at the Bell Centre. First period Early power play as Justin Barron gets his feet tangled up defending a rush, forcing Jonathan Drouin to make and emergency play The much-maligned William Nylander converts on the power play. The Leafs are going to miss him when they eventually decide to trade him. Nice little give-and-go between Evgenii Dadonov and Brendan Gallagher that almost results in a tying goal. Mike Matheson closes down a breakaway chance before his man even got to centre ice. Apparently he’s been doing this often The other writers in the Slack channel are saying this is “easily the best” Juraj Slafkovský has looked in the pre-season, which sounds both good and bad, but at least the trajectory is upward. And now he gets a chance at the side of the net, but is slightly off-balance on the release after a deflection and misses the net 2-0 Leafs on a quick counter-attack. They cheat trying to score a third and the ref yells at them for having six players on the ice. Auston Matthews really wanted that pre-season marker. A bit too much of the same hot-potato style on the power play that makes it seem like the Habs only have four players as well. More good chemistry between Dadonov and Gallagher. Montreal is getting some chances now by just driving the middle of the ice. Shot deficit has gone from six to two. And there’s zero chemistry between Dadonov and Christian Dvorak, apparently, because Dadonov just whipped a breakaway pass out of the latter’s reach. Second period Arber Xhekaj shows off his meanness to one of the players who finished ahead of Cole Caufield in Calder voting. Maybe he has a mission like Inigo Montoya to eliminate them all. Future former Leaf Nylander scores again. Slafkovský gets robbed of a goal by Matt Murray after slinging a one-timer from between his feet. Good shot. Nice pass from ... Mike Hoffman? A shift later, they almost convert in switched positions. Perfect cross-ice pass from Slafkovský. More nice puck movement, this time from Jonathan Drouin, to Monahan, to the Spiderhorse. Xhekaj nearly scores off a deflection. Good close out from Otto Leskinen stops an offensive play and switches possession to Montreal. I hope the Canadiens can maintain some of the creativity they’re showing during this second period throughout the season. Xhekaj jumps up into the rush and just about solves Murray. Effective game from him. Third period Nice rush for Monahan cutting across the zone, protecting the puck, and nearly breaking the goose egg. Sean Monahan gets robbed, but a nice effort. Looking pretty damn good for a guy who hasn't played in a year. pic.twitter.com/lwSFU7iyzB— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) October 4, 2022 Gallagher-Dadonov with another good look. This could be a good duo this year (until the deadline at least). I’m sure they’ll adjust their aim in due time. The Spiderhorse gets hauled down and draws a penalty. Marner also goes to the box for diving while the call is delayed. Still struggling to play keepaway while playing with one extra player. Now a five-on-three. Surely they’ll look a bit more settled here. Five-forward formation. Need more shots and fewer passes, even if the puck movement is nice. Slafkovský finally gets rewarded for his play by driving the puck right to the net, and having the rebound fall to Drouin for the goal. Then the Leafs score quickly at the other end. And one more time as Alex Kerfoot has his second in a matter of minutes. Habs lose again, but they get another chance tomorrow. 3 Stars 3) It can’t be this hard to fix 2) I was encouraged by the passing, but they forgot to mix in a few shots 1) Always good advice