In an eerily familiar, empty Bell Centre, the Canadiens finally win again

It was all so eerily familiar.

On Thursday night, the Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadiens became the first NHL teams this season to play in an empty building, as the Habs complied with a late-day request from the Quebec government to prevent any fans from entering the Bell Centre due to rapidly rising COVID numbers in the province.

Just like that, an arena known for being one of the most lively in the league — that is, when the Canadiens aren’t bottom-feeders, anyway — fell silent again and the odd aesthetic of NHLers competing in front of empty chairs instantly transported viewers back to the darkest days of the pandemic, when you wondered if things would ever improve.

The game itself also had a very recognizable unsettling feeling for Habs fans who’ve been watching this team all year.

Despite carrying the play and generating the bulk of the quality scoring chances, Montreal witnessed a 1-0 lead turn into a 2-1 deficit right before the second period ended. But just when it seemed like an eighth straight loss was inevitable, Laurent Dauphin scored his first NHL goal in five years and six days to pull his team even.

In Montreal’s first shootout of the season, Cayden Primeau — facing the club his dad, Keith, once captained — stopped all three Flyers shooters he saw to make Jonathan Drouin’s one-on-one tally against Carter Hart hold up, as the Habs skated off with a 3-2 victory.

It was a bright spot against the dark backdrop of once again having nobody there to scream and shout when the home side won. While they may not have had any fans to celebrate with, the Canadiens had to be pretty happy not only about how this one turned out, but the effort they put in. Here are some takeaways from Montreal’s first win in nearly three weeks.

Cole Caufield is feeling it

Stuck on one goal this season, Cole Caufield entered Thursday night’s game with a shooting percentage of 2.1. That mark actually got worse versus Philly because Caulfield fired a game-high eight shots — doubling his previous best this season — on net without getting a puck past Hart. Goal or no goal, though, this was easily one of the rookie’s best games of the campaign, as he was buzzing around the offensive zone.

During one second-period sequence, Caufield swooped in and fired a shot Hart was able to stop. Moments later, the puck found him again in the slot and Caufield juked around Philly defenceman Kevin Connaugton and forced Hart into an even better save than the one he’d just previously made.

While his confidence will only truly return once those attempts start finding the back of the net, Caufield has to take something from the fact he was all over it on this night. If he keeps creating chances like this, that shooting percentage is going to spike.

Other eye-catching youngsters

If Caufield was impossible to miss on this occasion, Kale Clague wasn’t far behind. Picked up for his offensive potential on the waiver wire on Dec. 5, Clague carried the puck like a guy who believes he can make a difference out there. Playing beside Brett Kulak on the right side as a left-hand shot, Clague made a great play in the second period when he pinched down to snare the puck at the half-wall, then skittered inside the checking of Zack MacEwen to get a shot on Hart.

And for all the times he was pushing the pace, it never came at the cost putting himself out of position defensively or causing play to run back toward the Montreal goal.

When Philly did get its chances, Primeau was largely up to the task of shutting the door. While Jackson Cates’ go-ahead goal late in the middle frame was a between-the-pads shot Primeau should have rebuffed, he made a couple terrific saves on Travis Sanheim — including one in overtime — before a perfect showing in the shootout.

Even Ryan Poehling, though he didn’t directly factor in the scoring, looked strong on the puck, as his line featuring Caufield on the right and the always-chugging Artturi Lehkonen on the left side had more than one impressive shift.

Chiarots of Fire

It’s basically a forgone conclusion that pending-UFA Ben Chiarot will be traded at some point this season and, if the asking price is high, it’s not hard to see why.

Chiarot will always make his money being a big, punishing defender who can move well enough to stay in front of today’s shifty players. Burying Sean Couturier in overtime — and getting a penalty in the process — after the Philly forward whacked at a puck Primeau was trying to cover? That’s classic Chiarot.

But the defenceman has also shown an ability to get involved in the offence this year, as evidenced by his season-high seven shots on goal in this game. One of those attempts lead directly to Dauphin’s tying goal, as Chiarot wheeled across the top of the offensive zone and whipped a puck on goal that Hart spat out and Dauphin swatted home.

Whoever forks over a first-round pick for Chiarot this season will be doing it because they want a playoff-tested, top-four guy who you can count on to thrive in a physical role when the games get a little more greasy. Increasingly, though, No. 8 is showing there’s more to his game than just pure muscle.