How is the Canadian’s start to the season going so far? Let me explain this to you in a very simple way.
The CH looked good against the Leafs (1-0) and the Ottawa Senators (4-1)… Mainly thanks to Samuel Montembeault.
But against Boston (6-4), Pittsburgh (6-3) and Los Angeles (4-1), the club did not deliver the goods. Worse still: the effort was not there, the CH was extremely bad in its zone and overall, there is not much positive to remember from these three meetings.
So that’s three games out of five that CH doesn’t present itself in the right way and that’s a problem.
The management and the players believe in their chances of being in the playoff race at the end of the season, but that will never happen if the guys don’t give themselves on the ice.
Darren Dreger was right this morning when he said on the radio (TSN 690) that it is normal to expect more from this team.
Cole Caufield is off to a good start, but he is probably the only forward in the top-6 who is performing up to expectations.
Suzuki and Slaf lack cohesion, Newhook is not capable of scoring, Armia does things the right way without necessarily standing out… Which brings me to the (disappointing) performance of Kirby Dach.
Basically, we knew it was going to be difficult for him at the start of the season because he is coming back from a major injury.
That said, Dach picked up an assist in the very first game of the campaign and it’s been radio silence since.
He has a differential of -7 in his last four games (-3 last night) and the Canadian needs him if the club wants to be in the mix until the end.
He has to find a way to give more because he has a big role in the center of the second line.
On the other hand, we may have to wait a little longer before seeing him regain his game because right now it looks like he’s playing to avoid getting hurt.
Denis Gauthier, who experienced a similar injury when he played in the NHL, told Tony Marinaro this morning (BPM Sports) that it took him 18 months before he was 100% comfortable on the ice.
Let’s remember that it’s been 12 months since Dach had his operation…
Juraj Slafkovsky left practice this morning with an apparent shoulder injury and is questionable for tomorrow’s game against the Islanders.
So if Slaf has to miss the game for health reasons, there are guys who will have to step up. And Dach absolutely has to be part of it.
His situation is understandable, but it should not become an excuse for his poor performance either. There it is, the difference…
In burst
– I adore.
– It’s true!
– Chabot is still injured in Ottawa.
– ????
– Calm down, good old Ovi.
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