MONTREAL — It seems no matter what Canadiens forward Alexander Radulov does, he’s going to have his detractors.
As one scout in attendance for Montreal’s 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals put it, “I’ve seen this act before.”
The scout was referring to Radulov’s one-goal, one-assist performance in the first period and cautioning not to get too excited about it.
“The Canadiens took a smart risk on a one-year deal for this guy, but we’ll see what happens as the games get more and more important,” he said.
But you won’t get Canadiens fans to temper their enthusiasm after Radulov’s dazzling display Tuesday night.
Radulov scored just 4:12 into the game, setting things up in the offensive zone before curling to the front of the net to get his stick on defenceman Greg Pateryn’s blistering shot from the point.
Later in the first, Radulov picked up a head of steam in the neutral zone, popped his visor up so he could see better, cut across the offensive zone and feathered a seeing-eye pass to defenceman Nathan Beaulieu who one-timed it behind Capitals goaltender Vitek Vanecek.
Both goals came on the power play.
“He’s unbelievable,” said Canadiens forward Andrew Shaw. “He moves the puck well, he sees the ice very well, and he’s great in all aspects. He made some nice plays and he’s not scared to go to the dirty area. He goes to the front of the net and he goes to the corner and we expect that from him now all season.”
The 30-year-old Russian has said and done all the right things since the opening of training camp. If Tuesday’s performance is an indication of what’s to come, he’ll be a big factor in reviving a power play that’s been punchless over the last two seasons.
“He’s so confident on the half-wall, and maybe that was something we were missing,” said Beaulieu, who finished with a goal and three assists in the game. “With that confidence, he’s almost like [Chicago Blackhawks forward] Patrick Kane. I don’t want to compare, but he just calms everything down and he knows where guys are.
“It was only his first game and he found chemistry with six guys out there tonight.”
Shaw, who started the game on Radulov’s line, also made an impression in his first outing as a Canadien.
At 17:50 of the second period, Shaw took a nasty run at Capitals forward Connor Hobbs. He then fought forward Nathan Walker before he was assessed 30 minutes in penalties — 10 of which came for inciting the fans with histrionic gestures while he punched away at Walker.
“I love it, [Shaw’s] my favourite player,” said Beaulieu. “That’s also something we were probably missing the last couple of years—a little bit of emotion, and that’s something he brings. I absolutely love seeing that and he’s instantly a fan favourite just from doing that. … I can guarantee you everyone in this room absolutely loved it.”
The hit on Hobbs, which was deemed a five-minute boarding infraction, got Shaw ejected from the game. It’s likely to be reviewed by the NHL’s department of player safety, which will assess whether or not supplementary discipline will be necessary.
“It’s out of my hands now,” said Shaw. “I just wanted to finish my check. I’m just happy he’s okay. My intentions were obviously not to hurt him.”
Hobbs left the ice for the remainder of the second period before returning in the third. He would go on to assist on Washington’s second goal of the game.
Neither Radulov nor Shaw are expected to play in Montreal’s next exhibition game — which will be against the Ottawa Senators, at the Bell Centre Thursday — though Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty, alternate captain Tomas Plekanec, and 2016 first-round pick Mikhail Sergachev should make their pre-season debuts.
Sergachev returned to the team on Tuesday from an upper-body injury that’s kept him out of training camp thus far.
