Montreal Canadiens Lose To New York 4-3 In Emotional Homecoming For Patrick Roy, Noah Dobson, and Emil Heineman

The Montreal Canadiens hosted the New York Islanders on Thursday in the first game back for both teams following the Olympic break. The Montreal Canadiens lost 4-3. Of note in this first meeting between these two teams of the season were three homecomings. First, Patrick Roy, the Islanders’ head coach, was a Hall of Fame goaltender for the Montreal Canadiensand the Colorado Avalanche.

Second, the Islanders and the Canadiens made a trade this offseason, swapping Noah Dobson and Emil Heineman. They played their first games against their former teams. Do you think players have extra motivation against their former teams?

Montreal-Islanders Scoring Summary

Past games do not matter that much in Montreal tonight, because of the Olympic break, which was three weeks long. However, it is the expectation that teams will revert to where they are in the standings. Here is a scoring summary from the game. In the first period, Dobson scored against his former team, giving the Canadiens a 1-0 lead. That is how the period ended.

In the second period, Dobson scored again. That gave the Canadiens a 2-0 lead. His second goal was a power-play goal. Then Matthew Schaefer scored on the power play for the Islanders. That made the score 2-1. Then he scored again to tie the game at two. With his two goals, he now has 18. He is the only 18-year-old to score 18 goals in a season. It is not even March yet.

In the third period, Cole Caufield scored for the Canadiens, giving them a 3-2 lead. That was his 33rd goal of the season. Then, the Islanders pulled the goaltender, and Anders Lee scored to tie the game at 3 in his 900th game. Then, Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored in overtime, and the Islanders won 4-3.

900 Games For Lee

This was the 900th game for Lee. Casey Cizkas played his 900th game for the Islanders earlier this season. 900 games is quite an achievement for a hockey player.

Season Series

This is the first of three matchups between the Islanders and Canadiens this season. It is interesting that in the last season, these two teams played four games, and three went to overtime. The Islanders were 3-0-1 in the games last year.

This game is important. The Islanders are third in the Metropolitan Division with 69 points. They are one point behind the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have two games in hand. Montreal is tied with the Detroit Red Wings at 72, but they are in second place in the division with one fewer game played. The Atlantic Division standings are also tight. Tight standings are the hallmark of this season.

Player Of the Game

For scoring first against his former team, the player of the game was Dobson. He scored and gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead. Scoring against your former team is a great achievement. Then he scored again in the second period. The second goal of the game for him was only his 12th of the year.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Montreal Canadiens lost 4-3. The player of this game was Dobson, who hurt his former team by scoring against them in the first period. Then he scored a second goal. Honorable mention goes to Schafer, who set a record tonight. The Islanders play Saturday at 6 p.m. in Columbus. The Canadiens play on Saturday, also as they host the Washington Capitals at 7 p.m.

Parting Shots

In the tight standings, every game matters. That is especially the case when two division rivals get together. So, going into the third period tied at two, both teams wanted to win, plus there was the bonus that at this point in the game, there were two players who had a chance of a hat trick.