The Canadian’s start to the season has been anything but easy. Three games in four nights against division rivals plus a visit from the Penguins on Monday.
So far, we have to admit that the Canadian is doing well. It’s far from perfect, but he still managed to collect four points out of a possible six. Successes largely attributable to the work of the numerical inferiority.
Twelve times in 13 occasions, the Habs have spent the entirety of a two-minute offense. The only exception came in Boston, during the Bruins’ first goal.
Ben Pelosse / GoM
This efficiency percentage of 92.3% is obviously untenable. Year in, year out, the best penalty kill units stay around 85%.
However, we are far from the 76.5%, 72.7% and 75.6% of the last three seasons.
«[Stéphane Robidas] does a lot of work to give us indicators and provide video demonstrations. It ensures that we are all on the same wavelength,” argued Kaiden Guhle, one of the important cogs in this unit.
“Yes, there have been some adjustments. We are more aggressive and we are more precise, but I think we are a little more experienced,” he added.
It’s part of the culture
The 22-year-old full-back himself says he is more comfortable in this role. An aspect of the game that he is slowly but surely taming since his arrival with the team in the fall of 2023.
He does a colossal job. After three games, he leads the circuit with 14 blocked shots. Eight of them were made on Saturday evening, at the expense of the Senators.
“Blocking shots is an important part of a winning culture. Especially outnumbered, said the Albertan. There is nothing worse for a goalkeeper than seeing a teammate get out of the shooting line at the last minute.”
“Besides, Monty [Samuel Montembeault] told me: ‘If you stand there, you better block the shot’,” he added, smirking.
So far, he is the defender most used by Martin St-Louis after David Savard in this aspect of the game (11 min 47 s). Which means that he is on the ice for more than 22 minutes per game.
Still not bad for someone who missed almost all of training camp due to an appendectomy.
Another try for Anderson
The Canadiens’ numerical inferiority unit is the regulars like Guhle, David Savard, Jake Evans and Joel Armia. It’s also some new blood like Justin Barron and Josh Anderson.
This is not the first time that St. Louis has tried the experiment with Anderson. In 2022-2023, for the equivalent of a quarter of a season, the big winger had been one of St-Louis’ trusted men. The latter remembered seeing him at work with the Blue Jackets. A memory that David Savard also has.
“He was an important member of our penalty kill in Columbus. In addition to taking up a lot of space on the ice, he’s a guy who skates extremely well, Savard said. It puts defenders on their heels and can make them hesitate to try a risky play.
That said, if the Habs want to remain among the best shorthanded teams, they will have to improve their performance in the faceoff circles. The Montreal centers have only won nine of the 14 faceoffs contested with a man less .
With only three victories in 11 attempts, Christian Dvorak is the one who has won the most. Charlie McAvoy’s goal in Boston came six seconds after one of those lost duels.
