The Montreal Canadiens are off to a shockingly bad start this year. Heading into their affair with the Calgary Flames, Montreal had only three wins in 14 games. Only the Arizona Coyotes are worse in the entire NHL.
The club seems to be playing better hockey of late after the ice was massively tilted against them for the first 10 contests. The Canadiens responded well on Thursday night, beating one of the league’s best this season, Calgary, 4-2.
Wilde Horses
It’s been an unpredictable season. As much as struggling for any wins has been unpredictable, even more shocking is the goal total of Ben Chiarot. In the first period, Chiarot was three feet from the goal yet again to score, yet again. Chiarot had one goal in the entire season last year. This year, the defensive specialist is tied for the team lead with four goals. He’s tied with Mike Hoffman, who missed some time with an injury to start the campaign, and a star in the making Nick Suzuki.
The sample size is getting bigger and Nick Suzuki is still performing at a point-per-game pace after a tough start to the campaign. The first line centre of the club made the key play on the first goal with a clever redirection to cause havoc in front of the net.
In the third period, a little Suzuki magic. It is remarkable how intelligent that Suzuki is at this. He is about to round the net, but rather than take it to the other side, Suzuki knows that the goalie will have to get across quickly and will push off the post to do that, so Suzuki tries a billiards shot near side off the back of Jacob Markstrom’s skate. It works perfectly. The shot from behind the goal line by Suzuki is the 3-2 goal.
Suzuki now has 14 points in 15 games. He didn’t get a point in his first four games. This is an excellent run for Suzuki who is, without a doubt, the building block that fans can be most excited about as they envision better days than these ones.
Another player that should make fans feel optimistic about better days is Alexander Romanov. It wasn’t too long ago that he seemed to be restricted in his play, as if he was instructed to keep it safe. However, recently he has been much freer in his play. He is carrying the puck up the ice more. He is looking for a head-man pass more instead of just ripping it off the glass all the time. However, the biggest change is how much he is stepping up on attackers at the Montreal blue line and absolutely pasting them into the boards with legal and powerful hits.
Romanov has already had this in his game, but every now and then that can backfire. It felt like he had been instructed to play that aggressive moment safely. You can’t play one of your best skills safely. If you want to be effective in the NHL, you have to accentuate your best skills. Romanov seems to finally be doing that in playing some of his best hockey that he has in North America so far.
A word for Jake Evans who scored the empty-net goal to make it 4-2. Evans was given much of the responsibility of handling the top line of the Flames who are formidable, and Evans did the job effectively. He is no Philip Danault for sure, but if Evans can begin to be a player who provides a little offence every now and then, but handle the top lines on the opposition effectively, that would be a huge boost to the club and to Evans’ career.
The results aren’t exactly here yet overall, but the Canadiens are becoming a more competitive team. They are in the battle more. Their puck support is much better than earlier in the season. Their game is much more organized and structured. Players are becoming more comfortable with each other. The power play is creating more.
It was said here the first 20 would be the worst 20, and they had to just survive that segment of the schedule. They were not able to. However, they will be a better team from here until the season end. The worst is behind the Canadiens.
Wilde Goats
The goats don’t change with this team. It is the same players with difficulties all the time. You know who they are. You know what troubles the team.
Instead of concentrating on that, let’s expand on a league issue that has been around for decades. It is simply preposterous that a player scores a goal in front of the net, and gets absolutely pummelled to the ice right after it without there being a penalty.
On the tying goal by Brendan Gallagher, it was Erik Gudbranson who viciously cross-checked Gallagher. This moment is never called. It is embarrassing. It is as if the referees have thought you already got a goal and you can’t have a power play too. It doesn’t matter how violent this moment is, it is never called. The fact that it is never called means that players take bigger and bigger liberties. The only time in recent memory anyone can remember an infraction was Jake Evans getting concussed when Mark Schiefele destroyed him. It literally has to be that bad a hit for there to be a call.
Imagine this moment in the NFL where a player is celebrating his touchdown, and he is absolutely smashed to the ground. In soccer, the player scores and he is elbowed in the face. The play is over. This moment should be treated as the most egregious in hockey, but it’s not even a penalty ever.
There is no sport that plays to the scoreboard like hockey does. It is as if the refs on some level, conscious or not, want to keep the game close, or feel that the penalties must be close to even by the end of the night. If the game is a one-goal lead in the final four minutes, it has to be a complete mugging for the trailing team to take a minor penalty. The refs don’t want the game to be over and decided.
The officiating in the NHL is the worst of all major sports by a large margin, and it’s not for the reason you think. It is not because they miss infractions. All refs miss the call in all leagues. The problem with the NHL is they actually see the infraction and decide not to call it. Whether it be a mugging after a goal, the score is close and the refs don’t want to end the excitement, or they feel one team has too many minors compared to the other team, whatever it is, the NHL refs forget an age-old adage. If you see a penalty, call the penalty.
There is no leading team and trailing team. There is no time on the clock. There is no team with more power plays than the other team. There is simply an infraction that you saw and you call it.
Wilde Cards
The most difficult time in hockey life to score goals continues for Cole Caufield. The Hobey Baker winner didn’t score in 10 games for the Montreal Canadiens this season, and now he has gone to the American Hockey League to find his scoring touch, but goals remain elusive through three games. Caufield is playing well enough, but can’t find the net. However, he does have two assists and was a solid player in a victory on Wednesday night for the Laval Rocket.
The Rocket are using him on the power play, but in an unusual position in front of the net. This doesn’t seem like a natural fit for a small player who will get cross-checked and beaten up pretty badly in front of giant defencemen, but that’s where the organization has decided to put the sniper.
Caufield would best be served as a right-handed shot playing on the left side for one-timers on the power play. The best scenario would be finding a teammate who can thread him passes through the seam. So far, despite getting eight shots in three games, none have landed.
It must be a difficult time for Caufield as he has never known any time in his career that he was not scoring at will. It happens to all players, but considering it is happening so early in his pro career, he will have to keep the thoughts at bay that this is not his future, but just a tough spot that he can overcome.
We shall see.
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