The Montreal Canadiens are playing their best hockey of the season, but for a playoff chase they need to continue to win. Montreal had their longest winning streak of the season at three stopped in Columbus. The Blue Jackets posted a 5-4 win.
Wilde Horses
It is remarkable what Lane Hutson is achieving in his magical rookie campaign. At only 20 years of age, Hutson continues to deliver at a stunning rate. How is it possible that the best player on the team many games is this kid?
Being a college recruit, with a limited 50 game schedule, it seems logical that Hutson would get tired and lose his focus the odd game in an hectic NHL campaign. On the contrary, Hutson seems at the top of his game every single contest. He’s not getting tired. He’s getting better.
Hutson has 15 points in his last 13 games after adding his second goal of the season. Hutson has 26 points on the season. He trails only Matvei Michkov in the rookie scoring race. The Flyers forward has 27 points.
It’s the first half of the season, and perhaps a smidge early to talk about the Calder Trophy for top rookie, but Hutson has to be a finalist at present pace. If Michkov, Hutson, and Macklin Celebrini have the same point totals, the fact that one is a defender has to be a factor.
Hutson also has a wide advantage in ice time to show how valuable that he is to the Canadiens. He has seen more than 30 minutes in games this year. He and Mike Matheson are the most used players on the club. Where would the Canadiens be without this amazing rookie?
Keep watching the scoring totals because if Hutson is in the same general area as the leaders, he should win the Calder.
Keep an eye on Jake Evans as well, because for every outstanding game he has, he becomes a more difficult decision for the GM in 2025-26. Kent Hughes may sign him for three or four years, or he may trade him away at the deadline for a second round pick. It’s an even-money proposition at the moment.
Evans scored an absolute beauty on a breakaway for a goal in his third straight game and his eighth on the season. Evans also plays a strong 200-foot game. He may be the answer in the middle for next year allowing the organization to be more patient with the prospects.
While Kirby Dach continued to be snake-bit, it was a strong and solid game around the net for him. Dach hit the post in the first period. In the third period, he had two cracks one second apart to score on what looked like a mostly empty net, but he was stopped.
An old adage about slumps ending is first the chances come, and then the goals. For Dach, this was a night of higher quality chances. Now, we wait.
Wilde Goats
When the math for the playoffs is as bad as it is for the Canadiens, they cannot afford to get satisfied. That is how it appeared in the first period in Columbus. They were asleep. They don’t have that luxury anymore.
They can reach their target of getting in the playoff hunt, if they continue to play as well as they have, but they can not get in a win one-lose one scenario anymore. Not when they need to go 31 and 17 to finish the season with the point total that is expected to make the playoffs.
That’s a heck of a run to go on needing 64 points in your last 48 games, especially for a team that hasn’t gotten above .500 all season. However, it is possible with the type of hockey that they played last week.
It is also possible with how they played in the final two frames in Ohio. It just shows how short the leash is now on the season. The grave is shallow, but it is still a grave. Not even a bad period can be tolerated.
These next three weeks will decide the trading deadline. They would prefer to not sell anyone, but make a playoff push.
Wilde Cards
The greatest danger of a rebuild is instability.
The belief among the unrefined is the greatest danger is a lack of talent, but history is teaching us that while talent is, of course, important, it is an inability to stay the course that causes the greatest rebuild damage.
When the Canadiens were playing poorly at the beginning of the season, there was an increased and frightening momentum that the head coach should be a victim for the lack of success. The Buffalo Sabres are on their eighth coach in 14 years looking for a playoff spot, but all each firing has done is traumatize the players and encourage a losing culture.
The Sabres have also fired four general managers. The job done right takes time, and a turnover of staff is crushing to the spirit.
The Canadiens GM continues to fill roster holes. Kent Hughes started with holes everywhere on the team. They had only two of the requisite top-six forwards, and only one of the top four defenseman.
As it stands now watching the success of Patrick Laine, and the imminent arrival of Ivan Demidov, it’s clear the only hole left to fill at forward is the second line centre. The search for the missing piece looks bright.
The solution could be Owen Beck. It could be Michael Hage. It could be Oliver Kapanen. It could even still be Dach. Also possible is the signing of an unrestricted free agent, or a trade of the surplus of assets elsewhere that the club has accrued.
On defence, more reason for optimism with two of the top-four in place in Hutson and Kaiden Guhle with many outstanding options on the way in David Reinbacher, Logan Mailloux, and Adam Engstrom. They have strong placeholders as well in Matheson and Alexandre Carrier.
In net, the three best prospects in hockey are Sebastian Cossa, Trey Augustine and Jacob Fowler. Again, the Canadiens have a tremendous opportunity here to ice a top hockey club with Fowler indicating he will leave Boston College for the pros next season.
When it’s only season three of a rebuild and odds are that all of the pieces are in place, it just shows the worst thing Montreal could have done is tell a new coach or GM to start over, because when you ask someone to take over a job, the first thing they do is make changes.
This rebuild doesn’t need changes. This rebuild needs the same people to continue their excellent work. They have taken a remarkably short amount of time to fill the cupboard full of assets with only one more asset to acquire in the middle.
When all the assets are in place, then the next phase in the process is all the young players grow their games. Right now, they are so young, but soon they will be mature and experienced. They will then play their best hockey.
Right there with them to enjoy that explosion of excellence will be Martin St. Louis preaching the same lessons that he did in the beginning. Assessing the future needs will be the general manager who conceptualized the roster in the first place.
Stability. Stay the course. The greatest gift the Canadiens as an organization can receive this Christmas is that the fan base gives them that blessing.
All you have to do is believe, Habs fans. Happy Holidays.