Mike Matheson Protects Zach Benson From Skates in Game 2 Scrum

Mike Matheson did the right thing.

During Friday night’s Game 2 between the Canadiens and Sabres in Buffalo, the Habs defenseman went from aggressor to protector in seconds. Matheson covered Buffalo forward Zach Benson with his body and shielded Benson’s head from incoming skates during a chaotic scrum near the Montreal net.

Late in the second period, both teams piled in around rookie Habs goalie Jakub Dobes after a tangle. Benson hit the ice. Sabres forward Tyson Kozak’s skate started flashing dangerously close to Benson’s exposed helmet.

Matheson saw what was happening and laid himself across Benson. Stayed on top of him until things calmed down.

Watch the moment for yourself:

Matheson was the same guy who threw himself at Benson seconds earlier defending Dobes. Hits the guy one second, saves the guy the next.

That’s the part that gets me. Guys will rough each other up all night within the rules. They’ll make you feel it the next morning. But not many guys are out there hoping to put someone in real danger. Matheson got it right.

Benson hasn’t made it easy on the Habs. The young Sabres forward has been a pest all series, playing exactly like a young Brendan Gallagher. Minutes after the scrum, he beat Dobes for Buffalo’s only goal and made sure the goalie heard about it.

Take a look at the chirp:

The whole thing brought me right back to 2021. Nikolaj Ehlers turned into a human shield for an unconscious Jake Evans after Mark Scheifele’s brutal open-ice hit knocked Evans cold. That picture of Ehlers standing guard belongs in a frame somewhere. So does this one.

Here’s the shot we tweeted out at the time:

Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette said it perfectly:

Game 3 goes Sunday at the Bell Centre with the series tied 1-1. Both teams are playing hard, physical, intense playoff hockey. Doing it the right way.