The last time the Montreal Canadiens won in Minnesota was in 2011. They were either due, or they didn’t have a chance.
On Thursday night, Montreal was fresh off a win in Buffalo where the offence finally got going with seven goals.
The Wild play a little tighter than the Sabres. Minnesota shut out the Canadiens 3-0.
Wilde Horses
Marcus Foligno is six foot three, 226 pounds. Lane Hutson is five foot nine, 162 pounds. They met in a battle for the puck at the Canadiens blue line in the first period. It was an obvious mismatch. It’s the type of moment everyone has been frightened about and why Hutson dropped to 62nd in the draft. He’s just too small.
No one told Hutson that he can’t win that battle, and surely, no one told Foligno what he was up against. Hutson left the giant Wild player behind him on all fours, having fallen, while Hutson pulled away. Hutson then skated alone to the Wild blue line and set up Christian Dvorak for Montreal’s only chance of the opening 20 minutes.
It’s not the dog in the fight, it’s the fight in the dog. It’s also about balance. Great balance and lower trunk strength can cancel a whole lot of deficit in inches and pounds. Ask Brendan Gallagher, or Cole Caufield, or even Martin St. Louis, who are three other great examples in the Canadiens organization. What a steal for the rebuild to get Hutson at the end of the second round. He’s a special player — all 162 pounds of him.
Wilde Goats
It was a tight game with no odd-man rushes and few neutral zone turnovers. It was the kind of game where you knew one mistake would change the course of the contest. Enter Christian Dvorak.
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Late in the second period, when the score was still deadlocked at zeroes, Dvorak had it in the neutral zone, but rather than push the puck down ice, he got caught and turned it over. Sadly, he then compounded his issues by missing his man in front of the net.
The first goal went to Minnesota, and a huge advantage was won. At the NHL level, that’s all it takes to lose a game — just one error against a great team. Not always is it that way, but in this one, it was clear that it was a first-goal-wins kind of night.
In the third period, Jayden Struble took an unlucky double-minor for high-sticking for Minnesota to add a second goal, and it was over. Samuel Montembeault had a strong game, but he couldn’t stop the well-placed Marco Rossi shot. The Wild added an empty netter.
To concentrate on the positives, though, the Canadiens are cutting their errors down significantly. It didn’t feel like it, but this was a glass-half-full contest for Montreal. If they keep making strides like this, they will be fine.
Wilde Cards
There is one aspect of the rebuild narrative that is not being told accurately. Contrary to popular belief, the rebuild is not regressing where it counts. It’s not about wins and losses in year three. It’s about graduating six top-six forwards and four top-four defenders.
Cole Caufield leads the entire NHL in goals. Surely, this is not a player regressing. Nick Suzuki is approaching the quarter-mark of the season for the first time in his career as better than a point-per-game player. Juraj Slafkovsky is off to the best start of his very young career in point totals. He is 20 and in his third season.
While Alex Newhook and Kirby Dach have not solidified their career path early this season, they are still viable to eventually arrive. Should Newhook and Dach one day be considered third-liners, the second line of the future has much promise.
Ivan Demidov is the best draft plus one in KHL history in Russia in points per game, despite his head coach limiting his minutes in many games. Michael Hage is off to a strong start in Michigan as he is delivering extremely well in his first year after the draft.
The top six could also be filled out by a top-10 pick this year in the draft. Also, Patrik Laine hasn’t played a minute. Four options for three spots in the top six as the rebuild continues is not regressing. If Dach and Newhook have another gear eventually — as they might, considering their age — then that is six viable options to fill out the top six.
The second line hasn’t seen a boost this season, but no one has been cancelled either. Who finally claims those second-line spots won’t be known for another two or three years.
On defence, the situation is actually better. One has to be reminded that the goal is a true top four in 2026, not today.
For that reason, this is an outstanding year of promise. Lane Hutson is second in rookie scoring as a blue liner. He’s clearly a top-four talent. That’s a big win in what was an unknown only two months ago.
Add to that, Logan Mailloux is a dominating force in the AHL. He is delivering on the promise that he will be in the top four eventually.
Kaiden Guhle has done nothing wrong to disqualify him from being a top-four defender. The only setback is that David Reinbacher suffered a serious season-long injury. That’s not a loss, though. It isn’t as if he is playing badly. He’s done nothing on the ice to be discouraged about.
That’s both the forwards and defenders who have not suffered a setback in the rebuild. Add that Jacob Fowler is probably the best goalie not playing in the NHL today, and the crease is taken care of as well.
Many of the roster difficulties this season are in places that don’t matter in 2027. If you hate how much some of the veterans are struggling during all these losses, who cares? It doesn’t matter how the aging vets are doing.
The future contending lineup isn’t filled with 30-somethings. It’s filled with the high ceilings of young guns Owen Beck, Joshua Roy, Adam Engstrom and Oliver Kapanen.
However, it is important to note that this rebuild cannot end until every piece of the puzzle is completed. That means the question mark remains at centre, where someone has to arrive who is at least as good as Suzuki.
It still is all systems go for this rebuild when you realize the target isn’t actually wins this season, but top-six and top-four targets reached.
Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sports writer, brings you Call of the Wilde on globalnews.ca after each Canadiens game.
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