Kirby Dach. This name evokes both hope and frustration for Montreal Canadiens fans.
Tuesday evening, in Vegas, he once again showed why his case is so divisive.
From a costly turnover in the first period to a game-winning goal in the third, Dach single-handedly embodied chaos, redemption and, let’s face it, a bit of luck.
It all started with what could be described as classic Kirby Dach: an ill-advised zone exit, a pass directly to a Vegas player’s paddle.
Noah Hanifin didn’t have to be asked and put the puck into Samuel Montembeault’s top corner.
“It’s not a question of talent, but they need to compete more”said Martin St-Louis after the meeting, visibly unimpressed by the questionable decisions of his young center.
But Dach isn’t just a blunder-maker, oh no. He is also a player capable of transforming into a savior, and Tuesday evening, he decided to play on this tightrope between the two roles.
As the Canadian slowly returned to the match, he found himself in a two-on-one situation with Patrik Laine.
His gesture? A pass attempt which, by a fortunate combination of circumstances (and perhaps a little clumsiness), turned into a shot which deceived Adin Hill between the pads.
“It’s the kind of moment that gives you confidence,” Dach said after the match. And why not? After all, a winning goal is still a winning goal, no matter how it is scored.
The numbers don’t lie. Before this victory against Vegas, the Canadian had a disastrous record of 0-13-0 when trailing after two periods.
Tuesday evening, that narrative changed. And if we want to be generous, we can attribute part of this turnaround to Dach. But let’s be honest, he cost as much as he earned in this match.
A mistake, a goal. A well-balanced evening, one would say.
“We’re really starting to believe in what we’re doing. It’s not a magic game. We do simple things, constantly”underlined Martin St-Louis, visibly satisfied with the result, if not the execution.
And this philosophy could well sum up Dach’s trajectory. No magic here, just flashes of genius interspersed with moments where you wonder if he’s read the hockey basics manual.
But back to that victory in Vegas. A collective performance which allowed the Canadian to beat one of the best clubs in the league and extend their winning streak to three consecutive matches.
Cole Caufield scored his 19th goal of the season – and his 100th career, no less.
Emil Heineman equalized with an effort worthy of the best baseline workers. And Montembeault? Imperial. With 27 saves, including two spectacular ones in the final seconds, he proved he was ready to compete with the best, including his future Team Canada teammate Adin Hill.
As for Dach, the line remains thin between failure and success. A line he seems to have been dancing on since his arrival in Montreal.
This winning goal against Vegas is a great line to add to his CV, but it will not be enough to silence the critics. Not yet.
“We are starting to see the results of the collective work we are putting into practice”he added, visibly satisfied with the turn of events.
But this consistency, this famous collective work, is still far from being acquired for him.
Patience is a virtue, they say, and the Canadian seems ready to demonstrate it with Dach.
“We’ve reached a point where we have bad periods, but they don’t last long”explained St-Louis.
A nice way of saying that the team is capable of limiting the damage, even when some players, let’s say, go astray.
Dach must now learn to have fewer “bad minutes” and more “good moments”. Because Tuesday evening, it was the magic of a sequence that saved his match.
As the Canadian celebrates this improbable victory in Vegas, it’s hard not to see it as perfect symbolism to close out 2024.
A year marked by ups, downs, doubts and moments of hope, a bit like Kirby Dach’s evening.
At the dawn of the New Year, this victory snatched in the city of the game is a vivid metaphor: everything can change, sometimes in your favor, sometimes against you.
Tonight, Dach had the chance to end the year in the hero column, but in Montreal, expectations never take a break.
So let him take advantage of this glimmer of hope in the lights of Vegas, because tomorrow, 2025 will begin with the same demands: to prove that he can stay on the right side of this famous thin line.
In the meantime, let’s raise a glass to this moment, because the seconds are ticking and, like in hockey, every moment counts.
Happy New Year, Kirby!
