Free washer | Eight observations on the Canadian’s success

To everyone’s complete surprise, the Montreal Canadiens have been the best team in the NHL for a month with their 11-2-1 record. Even more staggering, 7 of its 11 victories came against 13 of the best clubs in the general ranking, 6 away from the Bell Centre. Here are eight observations.

1-Lane Hutson at the heart of success

At a time of the season when rookies often hit the wall, Hutson has come into his own. He amassed 16 points in 14 games during this winning streak, with a record of +10. Hutson had 20 in his first 30 games with a record of -14. He has been the club’s top scorer for a month, on a par with Nick Suzuki. We underestimate the impact to his right of Mike Matheson, which allows the young man to stabilize his game. This is to the credit of Matheson, who accepted his demotion within the second wave in numerical superiority and to sacrifice his offensive record for the cause of the club.

2-The first trio draws the team

Martin St-Louis had the lucky hand of replacing Juraj Slafkovsky in the first trio in early December. We see the formidable first trio from the second half of the season last year. Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield are the main drivers, but Slafkovsky finds his usefulness thanks to his imposing size and more enthusiasm in the forecheck. Caufield has 16 points in this 14-game winning streak, including 7 goals, Suzuki 15 points and Slafkovsky 9 points, including 3 goals. Caufield and Suzuki have been shut out just once in the last eight games. They have three winning goals in the last five meetings.

3-Casually, the second trio…

It started with a solid game in Columbus on December 23. Martin St-Louis took note of Kirby Dach’s good performance, even if he did not obtain a point. Dach has scored 6 goals in 10 games since. He only had 2 in his first 34. Beyond the offensive production, we feel he is more confident with the puck. He recently admitted to having gained confidence by being demoted to the second wave on the power play, where he was able to benefit from more puck touches. Alex Newhook is not to be outdone either, with 5 points in his last 10 games, almost half of his production in his first 34 games (6 points). Newhook uses his speed more when entering the zone with the puck or on the forecheck.

4-The Patrik Laine effect

Patrik Laine is not transcendent in numerical equality, but he continued to produce in superiority. He scored three goals in his first four games to ignite the Bell Center, and seven in his last ten during the club’s successful streak, including a tied first in Salt Lake City on Tuesday. His return to the game obviously coincides with the awakening of the second trio.

5-The fourth trio becomes a fourth trio again

Jake Evans had a crazy streak of five straight games with a goal, for a total of seven points, but it cooled after Florida in late December. Evans has been shut out in his last eight games. Joel Armia had an empty-net goal Thursday night for his second point in eight games and Emil Heineman was scoreless in his last four games before being hit by a vehicle in Utah. That doesn’t stop these players, apart from Heineman now in the infirmary for a few weeks, from being very useful to the club. Armia has played 17 minutes or more in three of the last five games. He is +14 in his last 14 games and Evans is +12. Two possible unrestricted free agents whose return would be welcome next year, but not to the point of overpaying them.

6-Where is the third trio?

Based on playing time, the third line of Christian Dvorak, Josh Anderson and Brendan Gallagher is a fourth line. Eight of the team’s forwards are being used more this season. Only Heineman was employed less often. Anderson and Gallagher can be praised for the adjustments made to their game this season, but their production has been low, especially during the club’s recent period of success. Dvorak and Gallagher have one point in their last ten games. Anderson has 5 points in his last 14 games, including two goals, but he stands out on the forecheck and creates openings with his speed. Gallagher has 5 points in his last 24 games. He played 12:56 in January, while his average stood at 14:32 in October.

7-Alexandre Carrier, the stabilizer

Nashville Predators general manager Barry Trotz told the distinguished Pierre LeBrun recently that he traded Carrier less to drop salary than because he believed enormously in the potential of Justin Barron, five years his junior. The arrival of Carrier represents a gift from heaven for the Canadian. He is at the heart of the team’s success. It allowed Martin St-Louis to replace Kaiden Guhle on his natural side, on the left, and he offers much tougher play in the company of the new 28-year-old veteran of CH. Over the last nine games, Carrier has played 20 minutes or more eight times. In his last five meetings with CH, Barron played 12 minutes on average. It’s quite a showpiece since Carrier and Guhle are called upon to face the best opposing trios. The acquisition of Carrier also allows David Savard to be spared in the third pair, where he now plays 16:44 on average, alongside Arber Xhekaj, compared to 18:40 during the first three months of the season, 20 : 14 last year and 22:23 the previous season. Every defender 23 years old or younger now has a veteran to support him.

8-Jakub Dobes the Magnificent

The presence of young Jakub Dobes in front of the net Thursday night in Dallas surprised some, given the fact that the Canadian did not play two games in as many nights, but is it really a surprise? With another victory, against the Stars, Dobes improved his record to 4-0, with a 0.98 GAA and a .963 save percentage. The CH owes a lot to Samuel Montembeault, whose record stands at 7-2-1 during the team’s recent happy run, but he has nevertheless allowed 12 goals in his last four games, and he has an average of 2.60 and a .900 save percentage since December 17th. With two games in as many nights this weekend, Dobes should have kept goal twice in three games. Montembeault now has competition. Dobes, 23, 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, was drafted in the fifth round, 136^e overall, by the former administration in 2020, behind Kaiden Guhle, Luke Tuch, Jan Mysak, Jack Smith, Blake Biondi and Sean Farrell. He was then playing for an obscure American junior circuit, the NAHL.