The Columbus Blue Jackets looked for a fourth-straight win when they hosted the Montreal Canadiens in the Ohio capital Wednesday night.
The Canadiens were hoping some of their best would turn their seasons around little-by-little, and they did. Montreal with an overtime victory 4-3.
Wilde Horses
Juraj Slafkovsky was sitting on one goal for the last 14 games. Part of the problem was he has simply refused to shoot the puck when the opportunity presented itself. Cue a two-on-one for Slafkovsky and Nick Suzuki. All season long, Slafkovsky has passed that puck.
This time he shot. The shot was there. The defender gave him the shot. Slafkovsky had no trouble finding his spot, and the Canadiens No. 1 draft pick had a giant monkey get off his back.
Occasionally, a moment like that can be a breakthrough for a young player. It’s the style of goal that creates confidence. Everyone has been telling the young player to stop deferring, to do the courageous, to let the raw talent flow. When it works like that, it can be freeing.
Another streak was ended on the Canadiens second goal. Cole Caufield hadn’t scored in six games until he got a terrific pass from Slafkovsky to free him. The Slafkovsky pass was a moment of brilliance as he billiards-banked it off the boards to circumvent the defenceman. Caufield was gone on a breakaway. He shot it along the ice short-side for his 13th of the season.
The best games in the rebuild stage are the ones where the prospects are showing their promise, so this was an outstanding game for Montreal. Emil Heineman continued his surprisingly good season with his fifth goal. It was an absolute beauty.
Heineman took a pass at the blueline, then charged full steam taking on the defender and turning him before flipping it upstairs in tight against the goaltender. The in-tight move was a difficult one going forehand to backhand in a heartbeat. It was a gorgeous goal.
In overtime, it was another young gun shining. Lane Hutson getting the bulk of the work in 3-on-3 overtime. Hutson had a 2-on-2 with Caufield, but he understood that the trailer Suzuki was ahead of his checker, so Hutson waited.
Hutson smartly slowed down the sequence, so he could isolate Suzuki to be all alone on the goalie. The captain got a clean look to score on his own rebound. Intelligent from Hutson as the Canadiens win in the extra-five.
Wilde Goats
It takes years for the inexperienced mistakes to finally be a thing of the past. For Justin Barron, those years are not up. Barron committed the same style of error on the Blue Jackets first goal as we have seen so many times.
It was Barron clearly having his check head toward the net in Mathieu Olivier. Unfortunately, Barron watched the puck in the corner, and got mesmerized by it as he moved toward the puck carrier in the corner. Olivier headed to the net. Barron’s check was free to score.
It’s bad decision making. It doesn’t match Barron’s skating, or his shot, or his offensive instincts. However, constant bad decisions can ruin careers too. No one can say whether Barron’s decision making will ever match all the talent he has. If it doesn’t, Barron won’t ever be a useful NHL player.
All anyone can say at this point is Barron just turned 23 and he’s got only 105 games of NHL experience. It’s not enough experience yet to know if one day Barron will make it a habit to keep checking the danger man in front of the net, or will he always constantly be enchanted by the puck in the corner.
A different type of error on the Blue Jackets second goal. While Barron’s was an error of the mind, Jayden Struble’s error was a lack of skill. Struble was facing Yegor Chinakov one-on-one on a rush, and he quite simply got turned to the outside and beaten.
One can argue which of the errors is worse, but it doesn’t really matter as they both counted for one on the scoreboard for Columbus. Goals against are mistakes made. Handle the play well from a talent and mind perspective, and your opponent doesn’t score.
Wilde Cards
The development arc of Kirby Dach is concerning, but it is not at the point of panic. The clock is ticking, but it has ticked exactly like this for many before him. For clarity on Dach, it’s wise to present the case of Dylan Strome.
Strome was taken third overall in 2015. Dach was also taken third in 2019. Both are centres. Both have the same physical profile at around 6′ 3″. Both didn’t have spectacular numbers in juniors. Both had very brief stints in the minors.
Dach was given up on by Chicago at age 20. Strome was given up on by Arizona also at 20 and then again by Chicago at 24. The question is will the Canadiens also give up on Dach at 24.
It’s a vital question because at age 25, Strome finally found his game after signing in Washington. Long only a point producer of around 50, with the Capitals Strome didn’t just find one additional gear, he found two.
After two seasons of 65 and 67 points, this year Strome has a stunning 29 points in 21 games. At 24, he had 48, yet now, at 27, he is on pace for 116. No doubt Strome doesn’t maintain that pace, but he should be able to amass around 90. Strome’s significant development arc kicked in at 25.
It feels many nights like Dach isn’t getting any better. It feels at 23 like we have seen all that he can offer, but this is exactly how the Hawks felt when they gave up on Strome at 24. It is likely how the Canadiens feel right now.
It must be noted that Strome is not an outlier. Many players take five seasons to develop. Also, Dach gets an extra pass because of his major knee surgery. Dach has played only 233 NHL games. He still hasn’t even played the equivalent of three NHL seasons.
By comparison, Strome started to figure it out starting at game 280. It would be a shame to give up on Dach 50 games before he begins to finally figure it out like Strome did.
It’s not as if there is any hurry to get an answer on Dach. The Canadiens don’t need an answer at centre right now. They have all of this season. They may have all of next season, if they remain out of the playoff picture. The only reason management would give up on Dach now would be out of frustration and impatience that his maturity is not happening fast enough.
Dach is concerning, but more concerning would be to not give his knee more time and his mind more games.