What the Puck: Who’re the true Canadiens?

Article content material

It’s time for the midseason report card on our Montreal Canadiens.

So? Are we a glass of Molson suds half-empty or are we half stuffed with spring-2021-like Habs fever?

Article content material

Properly on Thursday afternoon, nonetheless on a excessive from Les Boys’ shock win over the New Jersey Devils in Newark Wednesday night, it’s laborious to not be feeling a wee bit upbeat. Particularly because the victory in Jersey got here a few days after what I’d argue was the group’s finest recreation of the season, that Bell Centre thriller Monday when the great guys someway bested the on-ice beast that’s Nathan MacKinnon and his Colorado Avalanche.

Article content material

And that stellar efficiency got here on the heels of a excellent recreation Saturday once they went toe-to-toe with the surging Edmonton Oilers earlier than shedding in OT. So by the requirements of the 2023-2024 Canadiens, they’re on a roll.

Till you point out the loss final Thursday to the San Jose Sharks, who simply occur to be the worst group within the Nationwide Hockey League. The lowly Sharks have received solely 9 different video games this season!

So who’re the true Canadiens? The one which shocked the Avs or the Keystone Kops who gave two factors to the Sharks? Properly each, truly. The group has a foul case of break up persona, usually sufficient with the 2 sides of the coin exhibited in the identical recreation.

Each normal supervisor Kent Hughes and president Geoff Molson spoke to the media this week with their midseason ideas and each underlined the notion that the group must be extra constant going ahead. They usually’re proper. If they may pull collectively just a few wins in a row, then they may even have a shot at some playoff motion, one thing fairly nicely nobody was anticipating at the start of the season.

Earlier than the sport in Ottawa Thursday towards the struggling Senators, Montreal was solely 4 factors out of the ultimate wild-card berth within the east. So, to cite Marc Bergevin, something is feasible. Is it doubtless they make the playoffs? No. Is it potential? Completely.

Article content material

Article content material

Wouldn’t it be an excellent factor? After all. Sufficient with this tanking nonsense. You come to the rink to win hockey video games and if these younger gamers can get a style of post-season depth, all the higher.

The underside line is that given we’re even speaking a few wild-card spot for the CH in January, I believe it’s a must to give the outfit no less than a B on the season. One of many greatest causes they’re the place they’re is a fellow named Samuel Montembeault. He was sensible once more Wednesday in Newark and Monty was additionally en feu Saturday evening when peppered with 41 photographs by the Oilers.

It’s additionally unimaginable that they’re nonetheless within the playoff hunt whereas administration is insisting on following this misguided three-goalie rotation. It’s the primary notable mistake of the Jeff Gorton/Hughes period. Hughes once more Monday refused to name Monty the No. 1 goalie, saying “Personally, I don’t like to provide a title to anybody as a result of I believe that each day Sam ought to push to turn into one of the best goalie potential.”

He’s simply fortunate Montembeault is a mild-mannered chap and never a Patrick Roy hothead as a result of there aren’t any scarcity of goalies who wouldn’t recognize not being named the No. 1 man. My view is they need to have Monty as the primary dude and Cayden Primeau because the backup. Finish of story. Sit Jake Allen.

Article content material

The opposite factor that’s shocking about the place they’re within the standings is the very fact the group has carried out this with out Kirby Dach, whose season ended within the second recreation, and Alex Newhook, who has been out of the lineup since early December. Two key top-six guys MIA.

However let’s not go loopy both with this half-full stuff. The group nonetheless solely has one line, a line that has come to life since Juraj Slafkovsky joined it early final month. Since Slaf arrived beside Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki, Caufield has bought his swagger again, to make use of his personal favorite time period. He scored his sixth objective in his final 10 video games on Wednesday evening, however much more spectacular was CC batting the puck out of mid-air behind the online to serve Slafkovsky with an ideal move on his objective.

However past that No. 1 line, you ain’t bought a lot up entrance. There may be plenty of promise on the blue line, however let’s be trustworthy and admit it’s usually an journey in their very own zone. Like everybody else, my greatest nice shock has been Hughes’s previous good friend Jayden Struble, who’s sensible and hard on the ice.

It’s nonetheless approach too early to name the Gorton/Hughes reconstruction plan successful, however I’ve to confess I like the very fact there’s a plan, one thing we haven’t seen since … oh say 2012. The jury can be nonetheless out on Martin St. Louis. It can solely be in when he coaches a group that completely has to win video games.

There’s no denying that Gorton, Hughes and St. Louis all possess sensible hockey brains and it is a good factor. Will it lead the bleu-blanc-rouge to the promised land? There may be an more and more loud group of pundits and followers who assume the true downside is the dearth of an actual star scorer. Some assume that would’ve been Matvei Michkov. Others, like me, assume Hughes must bundle a few his hotter younger gamers and get himself a point-per-game participant, even when the kindly ol’ GM claims ‘point-per-game participant’ is just not one thing he actually thinks about.

In brief, the midseason grade is B. Let’s see how they do on their last exams.

[email protected]

twitter.com/brendanshowbiz

Article content material

Article content material