Habs Weekly: A Strong Showing Out West

The final week of the road trip saw the Habs play against two very tough opponents and one much weaker one.  Instead of things playing out as expected, the opposite happened as they beat Vegas and Colorado but lost to Chicago.

The Week That Was

Dec. 31: Canadiens 3, Golden Knights 2 – Things didn’t get off to a great start for the Habs (which turned into a theme for the week, honestly).  They allowed a goal less than three minutes in and then Noah Hanifin added one in the dying seconds of the first off a defensive zone giveaway.  However, Montreal didn’t fold as Cole Caufield potted one late in the second to get the game within reach heading to the third.  From there, the Canadiens pressed and were eventually rewarded with Emil Heineman lifting home the equalizer while a Kirby Dach pass went off Adin Hill and in for the strange game-winning tally.

Jan. 3: Blackhawks 4, Canadiens 2 – Going into this leg of the road trip, this was the game that many would have viewed as the winnable one.  However, they once again coughed up an early goal on a two-minute, two-man advantage when the third pairing took penalties on the same shift.  Pat Maroon gave Chicago a two-goal advantage early in the third and while Heineman batted home his second in as many games, Nick Foligno’s second of the game with four minutes left thwarted any shot of a comeback despite Montreal putting up a season-high 40 shots on Arvid Soderblom.

Jan. 4: Canadiens 2, Avalanche 1 (SO) – Once again, Montreal trailed fairly early, this time off a Mikko Rantanen power play marker, the first goal allowed of Jakub Dobes’ NHL career.  However, it remains his only one for now.  Dobes was sharp to keep the deficit at one, allowing Caufield to score in his third straight game of the week to tie it with less than seven minutes left in regulation.  After an overtime that saw late power plays and breakaways, Caufield and Dach scored in the shootout to give the Habs the extra point.

StatPack

Skaters:

Goalies:

Shootout – Skaters:

Shootout – Goalies:

Team Leaders:

Goals: Cole Caufield (21)
Assists: Nick Suzuki (27)
Points: Nick Suzuki (38)
+/-: Jake Evans (+6)
PIMS: Arber Xhekaj (57)
Shots: Cole Caufield (114)

News And Notes

– David Savard missed the last two games with an upper-body injury that’s believed to be an ongoing back issue.  There’s no word on how much time he might miss.

– Patrik Laine also missed the last two games with flu-like symptoms.  He was listed as a game-time decision against Colorado so it seems as if he won’t be out for long.

– Lane Hutson was named Rookie of the Month for December.  Emil Heineman, the forgotten rookie, finished fourth in voting.

Last Game’s Lines

Caufield – Suzuki – Slafkovsky
Pezzetta – Dach – Newhook
Heineman – Evans – Armia
Anderson – Dvorak – Gallagher

Hutson – Matheson
Guhle – Carrier
Xhekaj – Struble

The Week Ahead

Monday vs Vancouver – After changing over yet another two time zones, the Habs can at least take some solace in the fact that they’re catching the Canucks at a good time.  Thatcher Demko, Quinn Hughes, and Elias Pettersson are all injured and they’ve lost six of their last eight games.  Meanwhile, J.T. Miller, who is involved in some controversy of his own with Pettersson, hasn’t scored on a goalie since late October with only two empty-netters since then.  It’s a quick turnaround from a tough trip but this isn’t a bad time to catch them.

Friday at Washington – The Capitals are the top team in the Eastern Conference, an outcome few expected.  Their offseason changes have largely worked out, giving them more depth offensively and a quality (and very cheap) goalie tandem, helping them land in the bottom five in goals allowed while being second in goals scored.  Alex Ovechkin (who has 19 goals and 23 games) is back in the lineup while Dylan Strome continues to pace the way offensively with 44 points in 39 games.

Saturday vs Dallas – In another scheduling oddity (there have been a few this season), this is the first of two head-to-head matchups in less than a week, sandwiching one other road game next week.  They are the stingiest defensive team in the league in terms of goals allowed while their young forwards have produced at varying rates.  Wyatt Johnston’s output is a bit below expectations, Logan Stankoven has struggled compared to a year ago, and Mavrik Bourque has just seven points in 33 games in his first extended look at NHL action.  It’s not just Montreal where the young core is up and down.

Final Thought

While eight games is a pretty small sample size in the grand scheme of things, it’s fair to at least note how much better the defence has played since the acquisition of Alexandre Carrier from Nashville just before the holiday roster freeze.  Averaging over 20 minutes a game thus far, he has clearly earned the trust of the coaching staff and rightly so.

His addition has certainly helped Kaiden Guhle who looks much more comfortable on his natural side while also making a quality checking pair, allowing Mike Matheson and Lane Hutson to line up in more offensive situations.  Carrier’s addition also helps takes some pressure off David Savard which is particularly ideal since this back issue doesn’t seem to be going away and might be something that lingers throughout the second half of the season heading into the trade deadline.

With Savard expected to be dealt at some point, management and the coaching staff should be taking these next couple of months to see just how important having another serviceable veteran defenceman is on this roster.  While Logan Mailloux and David Reinbacher are in the system, continuing to make a young back end younger and putting those youngsters in big roles they might not be ready for yet isn’t going to help the team improve defensively.  If the Habs see it that way, it wouldn’t be shocking to see them try to add a capable right-shot veteran before next season even with Carrier having two years left on his contract.  In the meantime, we can all enjoy a defensive group that is more in roles they’re suited for and the results have been impressive thus far.