And then? How did you find your weekend of Canadiens games?
While the Canadian faced the Maple Leafs and the Rangers in two games in two nights, the club was brought back to earth after a few weeks of fire since the return from the holidays.
He was mostly brought back to earth against Toronto, in fact.
But what was important during yesterday’s match was to see how the Canadian would react, following a big setback, against the adversity of the Rangers. New York is a club that is fighting like hell in holy water at the moment.
And even though the Rangers led 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 and 4-3 in the match, at a certain point, the Canadian found a way to come out of the game with a W in his hands. That’s good for the ranking.
And in fact, this is not the first time that the Canadian has come from behind to win a hockey match recently. For what? Because it actually happened in his last seven wins.
That’s not nothing.
It happened four times against the Rangers, once against the Stars, twice against Utah, once against the Capitals, once against the Canucks, once against the Avalanche and once against Vegas.
And on more than one occasion, the gap to be closed was more than one goal.
We will agree that if there is one player who has allowed CH to get back on track (among many others), it is Lane Hutson. He found a way to help his club get an important goal at the end of the match for his team.
Please note: I’m not taking anything away from Juraj Slafkovsky, who put it in there. But without the vision of #48, this goal does not exist.
The reason I’m (positively) aiming at Hutson with this this morning? It’s because he had a very difficult weekend, but he found a way to be himself despite everything.
Hutson was minus-5 against Toronto and at that point in the game, when it was 4-3 to the Rangers, Hutson was minus-2. But despite everything, he wasn’t afraid to be creative with the puck and go for it.
This means that he keeps his confidence and his identity. The fact that he had a point in an eighth straight game is proof of that.
That’s why even if he was minus-6 at the end of the week (going to minus-10 this season and minus-12 in his career), he still remains the best rookie in the NHL. And it’s obvious.
As Marc-Olivier Beaudoin says, he has five points more than Matvei Michkov’s 33 among rookies. And at 38 points in 46 games, he is the sixth-best defenseman in the NHL in terms of points.
He’s close to fourth place, even.
In 48 NHL games (including the two games played last April), Hutson has three goals and 37 assists. He has therefore already reached the plateau of 40 career points, which is more than notable.
So even though he has work to do over 200 feet (his game against Toronto is a good example of that) and his differential isn’t perfect, I’m not worried about that. And I think I’m not the only one who thinks this way.
-But that’s not all I remember from yesterday’s match, which was still exciting for the people there – despite a slower start to the match.
What do I take away from all this?
1. In addition to Juraj Slafkovsky’s goal, it was the club’s veterans (Brendan Gallagher, Christian Dvorak and Nick Suzuki) who allowed the Rangers to never put the duel out of reach with a numerical tie. Sometimes it takes that… despite the many quality chances missed during the meeting in general.
And obviously, in overtime, it was Patrik Laine (thanks to Kaiden Guhle) who ended the debate. He also gave wings to Quebecers. #Lacing
2. The pleasure of victory was felt. To see a little Youppi! being thrown on the ice after the CH win – and seeing the guys having fun with it afterwards – was particularly nice.
It gave beautiful images.
3. Owen Beck was playing his second career NHL game. He spent 8:13 on the ice (which is the equivalent of two games for Michael Pezzetta) and he was discreet.
It must be said that he had a big weekend with three matches on the menu. He’s going to take advantage of his leave today.
4. Last year, not only did CH lose close games, but they also lost the second games of a back-to-back. But this year, as said on BPM Sports this morning, we are talking about a 6-2-1 record.
Nasty difference.
5. It’s clear that all evening (and even before the match started), Arber Xhekaj and Matt Rempe were looking for each other. And their fight ignited the Montreal crowd and the Canadiens players.
The Sheriff doesn’t fight often this year… but when he does, it’s noticed.
6. Jakub Dobes didn’t have as good a game as his first four: he allowed four goals, doubling his total of four in his first four games. But once again he got the victory.
He did it in front of his father, whom he had not seen for a year and a half. And above all, in overtime, he stood up.
7. Among the comical moments of the match: Juraj Slafkovsky having his stick stolen by the opposing goalkeeper. Jonathan Quick, who took himself for Marc-André Fleury on this one, was comical.
I found it funny, myself.
prolongation
It is rare to see the Canadian off on a Monday, but the two games of the weekend mean that the CH did not really have the choice to go like this on January 20.
Tomorrow there will be a morning skate at the Bell Center just before the match against the Lightning. I expect the only change to be in net tomorrow… but at the same time, I tell myself that Jayden Struble will have to play again, at some point.
