The Montreal Canadiens tried to move to a strong four wins in five contests to start the season taking on the Nashville Predators at the Bell Centre. The record would solidify thoughts that this is a club on the upswing and for real.
And they are.
Goals by Cole Caufield with 20 seconds left in regulation and two seconds left in overtime powered the Canadiens to a 3-2 win.
Wilde Horses
In the first two home contests, it’s clear that teams are coming to Montreal with an idea that they need to slow down the game. The opposition coaches are attempting to create a choppy contest with little flow. At the halfway mark, the Canadiens had eight shots.
Offensively, it was a slog. However, some players did stand out for outstanding decisions on defence. Mike Matheson continues to be at the height of his game to start the season. Alexandre Carrier handled the pressure facing him well. Jayden Struble had a solid first game not showing any rust.
The best line on the night was Kirby Dach centring Zach Bolduc and Brendan Gallagher. Dach continues to provide upside surprise early this campaign. The Canadiens first goal was counted by Oliver Kapanen who parked in front of the net scoring on his second shot.
It was all looking grim until with 20 seconds remaining when Lane Hutson stopped a shot destined for an empty net goal and a Nashville win. Hutson blocked it with his chest, then immediately make a perfect outlet pass to a streaking Cole Caufield.
The sniper then did what the sniper does. Caufield ripped a shot past Juuse Saros from 25 feet. Caufield’s fourth of the season. This one sent the Canadiens to overtime, and saved a point lost in the standings.
It was an overtime where an entire game’s worth of highlights were played in 4:58. Nick Suzuki had three clean looks to win it. Mike Matheson was everywhere. Jakub Dobes stopped Filip Forsberg on a 2-on-0 breakaway.
With two seconds left, Matheson fought hard to keep the puck alive. He fed Suzuki who found Caufield alone in front, and he roofed it with the perfect shot yet again. Caufield has five goals on the season.
A dull game turned exciting in a blink. A goal scorer did what a goal scorer does. Caufield has always been a difference maker. The Canadiens have eight points out of 10.
Wilde Goats
The Canadiens have all the components for one of the best power plays in the league, but they continue to put those components on two different units. They have all they need, but they need to all play together.
They have perhaps the best shot in the entire league on the power play in Patrik Laine. The entire league knows when Laine is parked on the left half-wall that his one timer shot is coming, and still it is not defendable.
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They have another sniper in Cole Caufield who can find any corner of the net at any time. They have Nick Suzuki who has a tremendous shot and is a terrific playmaker. They have a rookie with some of the best stick skills and feints that anyone has seen in Ivan Demidov. Finally, they have a defender who is a wizard in holding on to the puck to buy space finding teammates for chances in Lane Hutson.
All five of these players are world class as power play performers, but they aren’t on the ice together. Juraj Slafkovsky is a fine hockey player, but he can’t be on for Ivan Demidov. Zach Bolduc is a fine player too, but he can’t be on for Laine.
Power play chances need to be seized, which happens because everyone has the ability to finish plays at the highest level. The second unit is called the second unit for a reason. It isn’t ‘Unit 1A’. It’s the second unit, and the second level of talent needs to be there.
The Canadiens entered the contest with the 20th-ranked power play in the league. It slid even lower on an 0-for-3 night. The five best power play players must be together. That’s the way it has always been in the NHL for a reason.
One other sour note is the winning goal for the Predators. Mike Matheson made a superb inside move, driving to the net to almost score. However, no one took his spot defensively to create the only odd-man rush the entire game. Noah Dobson was the only man back.
Laine had the puck carrier on the rush Nick Perbix, but he left his check. Laine completely abandoned the work and glided to the other side leaving the shooter alone to beat Jakub Dobes far side.
Wilde Cards
A rebuild in the National Hockey League can take over a decade. The last time the Detroit Red Wings made the playoffs was 2016. The Buffalo Sabres haven’t seen the post-season since 2011. The usual length of a rebuild is about six seasons.
It took just over three seasons for the Montreal Canadiens to get back to the playoffs after starting the teardown in the first months of 2022. What the Canadiens have accomplished getting back to the playoffs last spring, and being this competitive to start the season, is shocking in its speed.
It’s all about roster decisions, of course. Each one has a profound effect on a rebuild. A general manager can’t miss on his draft picks, nor his trades. If a GM goes 50-50 with his decisions, the rebuild will take the NHL average. If that GM, usually new, is correct with his choices only 20 percent of the time, the rebuild may be endless.
It is said that each draft, an NHL team is hoping to eventually add two players to the roster. Most of the time, a team adds only one. It’s also possible a club doesn’t add a single player in a draft year.
Here’s the Canadiens’ first three drafts under the new regime that we can safely assess to see how many will be added to the roster eventually. It is too early to assess last June’s draft.
Ivan Demidov, Michael Hage, David Reinbacher, Jacob Fowler, Florian Xhekaj, Juraj Slafkovsky, Owen Beck, and Lane Hutson make it eight locks for NHL careers in three drafts. It’s an extraordinary number that explains easily why this rebuild is like lightning.
The list doesn’t even include players on the right path to the NHL like Adam Engstrom, Jared Davidson, Filip Eriksson, and Tyler Thorpe. This is half a roster in three drafts. It’s stunning success from Nick Bobrov and his scouting staff.
However, the draft explains only partially why the rebuild is so quick. The speed of it also sees trades as a major factor.
The most recent trade by GM Kent Hughes is a clear winner. Zach Bolduc is building on his 19-goal season from last year with three already this year, while Logan Mailloux is minus seven in four games for the Blues.
Last summer, Hughes plucked a talented defender in the prime of his career in Noah Dobson, then signed him for eight seasons. The Canadiens dealt the 16 and 17 pick, which has a success rate of only five per cent to be a star player. There is no doubt that Hughes knows draft probabilities.
Dobson’s partner is Mike Matheson. They make a true first pair this season. Hughes acquired Matheson in another robbery, releasing Ryan Poehling and Jeff Petry to the Penguins. Both have seen their careers stall, while Matheson is on the verge of signing a long-term deal to stay in Montreal playing 25 minutes a night.
Last season, Hughes acquired Alexandre Carrier to stabilize the defence. Montreal needed experience. The move immediately turned the Canadiens season around. Justin Barron went to Nashville where he has not yet found another gear.
It’s a long list of perfect moves; too many to mention all of them. Hughes acquired Patrik Laine for essentially nothing. He moved up five spots to get Michael Hage. He turned Sean Monahan into a first-round pick twice. He turned Ben Chiarot into a first round pick.
Hughes has made 38 moves. It’s a massive number. Artturi Lehkonen may be the only suspect move among them as that deal is now Lehkonen for Carrier. Even then, it’s up for debate.
Kirby Dach for the 13th pick is debatable as well, but no one could have predicted Dach blowing out his ACL twice. Hughes also probably got a little too charitable to Jake Allen wanting him to have a chance to play somewhere.
If you want to be difficult, give Hughes a 35 of 38 in his moves as GM. Over 90 per cent success trading in three years is how you accomplish the fastest rebuild this century.
All of this doesn’t include what might actually be the most significant move. He hired Martin St. Louis to be the head coach. Only a remarkable hockey mind could assess that St. Louis would be a tremendous coach emotionally and tactically with no coaching experience at any level.
Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sports writer, brings you Call of the Wilde on globalnews.ca after each Canadiens game.
