Scoring goals has not been an easy task for the Canadian in recent years.
Often – too often, even – it was clearly seen that there was a lack of attack within the team and this is what partly explains the club’s failures in recent seasons.
But it looks like the trend is changing.
I say that because the Canadiens could have eight scorers of 15 or more goals by the end of the season if all the guys stay in town and continue to produce as much.
And it’s been a long time since we’ve seen this in Montreal:
- Cole Caufield: pace of 42 goals in an 82-game season
- Nick Suzuki: pace of 24 goals in an 82-game season
- Brendan Gallagher: pace of 22 goals in an 82-game season
- Jake Evans: pace of 22 goals in an 82-game season
- Patrik Laine: pace of 35 goals in a 58-game season
- Emil Heineman: pace of 20 goals in an 81-game season
- Alex Newhook: Pace of 15 goals in an 82-game season
- Joel Armia: pace of 15 goals in an 82-game season
Recall that Laine missed the first 24 games of the season, while Heineman missed one.
This is why it was not necessary to produce over 82 games. Heineman will play 81 games if he stays healthy and Laine will play 58 if he doesn’t have to miss out.
It’s unclear if Armia and Evans are going to be around after March because they could be traded by the trade deadline.
But still: for the moment, both guys are riding well.
During the second half of the last season, we saw Juraj Slafkovsky unlock.
He finished the campaign with a haul of 20 goals… And that could happen again this year if he finds his bearings.
There is Josh Anderson too, who gives himself a chance of finishing the season with 15 goals or more. Keeping his current pace, he would finish the season with 13 goals, but we know that Andy can have a good streak too.
All this to say that there are currently eight players who are on track to score 15 goals or more this season with the Canadiens and that we should not necessarily exclude Slaf and Anderson from the equation.
It’s a change, after the recent difficult years offensively.
Prolongation
In all this, we forget Lane Hutson a little because he only has two goals scored this season.
But the Canadian defender rather accumulates passes.
He could accumulate 54 assists (over 82 games) if he keeps the current pace. For a rookie playing as a defender… It’s more than excellent.
