Jerry McGuire

Here's my Three Takeaways from tonight's 4-2 Montreal Canadiens win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, brought to you by Snap Bar Sportif in Rigaud and Biggs in Hudson. 1- Keep it simple, stupid! Montreal has had a lot of success dumbing down its offense. I don't think anyone wants the Canadiens to turn into the Carolina Hurricanes, and Martin St. Louis will certainly continue to encourage smart shot selection, but when there's been traffic in front and a lane to shoot, the Canadiens have capitalized. They scored two goals off point shots from defensemen last game, and in this one, Kaiden Guhle put a puck on net that was expertly deflected in front by Alex Newhook. The line of Newhook, Kirby Dach and Oliver Kapanen had another strong game, being on the ice for two goals at 5-on-5. From a possession standpoint, they were Montreal's best line. 2- Kreider's goal total Chris Kreider showed his veteran savvy, jumping into a passing lane and taking advantage of a rookie trying to force an offensive play in a dangerous area of the ice. Kreider picked off a Gavin McKenna pass, went in on a clear breakaway and beat Sergei Bobrovsky over the right pad. It's been a relatively quiet start for Montreal's lone offseason acquisition, and he's already had his fair share of different linemates. I'm not sure where he'll ultimately fit in Montreal's lineup, but his presence will be important through the long grind of the regular season and, more importantly, hopefully into the postseason. All things considered, when you factor in the bargain contract he signed and the fact that his goal total projects to roughly 16 over an 84-game season, he's provided solid value. 3- Xhekaj's reputation The Habs were well in control of the game until an untimely Arber Xhekaj penalty. But how the Leafs ended up with a power play following the after-whistle scrum is difficult to understand. Teddy Blueger must have thrown at least four punches, and a couple of them landed flush on Kirby Dach. Xhekaj did his job and stepped in for a teammate. The easy call is to give both players a penalty and play 4-on-4. I don't think there's any debate that the referees have a different standard for Montreal's enforcer, who seemingly never gets the benefit of the doubt. And considering the call was for unsportsmanlike conduct, maybe it was warranted. I don't know what was said on the ice. Regardless, you can't just take one player. All's well that ends well, but the penalty let Toronto back into the game and could have cost Montreal two points in the standings. If I'm Kent Hughes, I want some kind of explanation from the league because this type of thing is happening way too often with #72. @tsn690