The Montreal Canadiens have given their fans much to be excited about this season with their home games. A last-minute win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in their first game at the Bell Centre and an overtime win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in their second contest.
When you go from Auston Matthews and Sidney Crosby to the Arizona Coyotes, it can be a letdown. Not this time though, as the Canadiens put on a terrific show to go over .500 on the season with an impressive 6-2 win.
Wilde Horses
If you wanted the Montreal Canadiens to draft first overall, you’re going to hope they win the lottery because they aren’t getting the pick finishing last.
The first 20 games of the season promised to be the hardest. They’re missing their two top defencemen in Mike Matheson and Joel Edmundson. Not only that, they’re trying to incorporate a lot of new players, which takes time. Then add that the players are so young and inexperienced that they need to improve.
That’s a lot of addition, but if this is supposed to be the worst 20 games for all of these reasons, and they’re playing this well already, how are they going to be worse than this in the final 62? They’re going to need some injuries.
Admittedly, this is a very small sample size of only five games, but there are so many players showing such promise.
Kaiden Guhle delivered an alley-oop pass to Jonathan Drouin in the first period that was exquisite. Just an amazing pass for a rookie to try and succeed for a breakaway. Guhle is so intelligent in his own end. He already is the best defender on the ice and he’s only in his fifth NHL game.
Kirby Dach also looks like he is figuring it all out already. Dach scored the overtime winner against Pittsburgh. Early in this one, he was controlling the puck and ended up with an assist as the Canadiens jumped out to a quick lead.
The outstanding performances by the youth were all over the ice. Jordan Harris looks so smooth that you barely notice him. He rarely makes errors. He has a slow heartbeat, and that’s something considering he’s played fewer than 20 higher than a college level.
Add Arber Xhekaj who is solid on defence, and also makes everyone play much bigger. If you want to take on the Canadiens’ smaller players to make them meek, then you are about to get pummelled. Xhekaj fought one of the great fighters in hockey, Zach Kassian, and the Coyotes forward was destroyed. He got thrown around like he a rag doll. Xhekaj can throw them, and he can play hockey. This is the only combination that works in today’s NHL.
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We haven’t even mentioned Cole Caufield, who now has four goals in his first five games this season, as he doesn’t seem to be suffering from a sophomore jinx presently.
This rookie play seems to be igniting the veterans to play outstanding hockey, too. Brendan Gallagher is not the same player as last season. He is much less a north-south player just smashing to the goal, but using his creativity to bring a wider scope to his play.
Jonathan Drouin has enjoyed the last two games as well. He set up the tying marker against the Penguins and added an assist on a Josh Anderson goal to open the scoring early.
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Sean Monahan looks healthy and like the same player who shone so brightly for Calgary before serious injuries. Monahan could be the first player in NHL history who fetches a first-round draft choice to take him off another team’s hands, and then fetch another first-rounder to trade him away again.
That would seem to be the script, but what if the Canadiens are actually in a playoff race? Watching this one against Arizona, it’s easy to get ahead of yourself.
Nick Suzuki scored on a penalty shot where he looked the equal of Pavel Datsyuk. Suzuki with the delay of his shot until he went across the crease. He watched the goalie track him, then Suzuki flicked it to the top corner at about four miles per hour. It was exquisite. It was a goal of the highest quality imaginable when the spotlight was all on him. Divine.
It truly looks much better than anyone could have imagined so far. The club is over .500 on the season. Again, it’s a small sample size. It’s not enough hockey to predict a much higher ceiling for this club, but you sure can pick one higher than predicted for this club only three weeks ago. This team is not drafting first without some fantastic lottery luck. There are just too many players bringing too much for anything close to last.
Wilde Goats
The year they signed unrestricted free-agent Karl Alzner, it was a quarter way through the season that the Arizona Coyotes came to the Bell Centre. It was going extremely poorly for the Canadiens. Everyone thought that, at least, they’ll win this one. At least, they’ll beat lowly Arizona for some relief from this hell.
They did not.
It was at that moment there was no denying it was going to be a horrific season, and there would be no light at the end of the tunnel. The tunnel just kept going and going. The Canadiens drafted third overall.
This is not that team. This is not that year.
Wilde Cards
Word is that the placement of Juraj Slafkovsky in Laval, Que., could be coming soon. It has to come eventually because he needs to have the puck on his stick more, and play in all situations. For now, however, it is going well for the number one pick overall. There is no need to send him down yet.
Slafkovsky scored a goal in his fifth NHL game. He took a shot from the face-off circle to the far corner, and celebrated with the traditional telling of an opponent to f— off. It was a humourous scene considering it was an important moment in a player’s career. A short time later, the fans were chanting his name after a thunderous ovation upon the announcement of the goal.
Slafkovsky is getting valuable experience in the NHL to understand the culture and expectations at this level. He is not hurting the club on the ice, considering he isn’t the culprit in goals against to ruin his confidence. He is also getting a decent amount of ice time for an 18-year-old with 13 minutes per game. That’s a healthy total, all things considered.
Slafkovsky is also improving as a player from game to game, and that is the most important consideration of all. If a player is still improving, then he belongs. It is when the frustration starts to set in, and it feels like stagnation, then a change must be made.
It is completely normal to head back after your draft year to your junior team, or in this case the American Hockey League. Players are rushed too often when they need more seasoning.
Cole Caufield spent two seasons in Wisconsin. He was the Hobey Baker winner in his second. That gave him much additional confidence that he drew upon, no doubt in the first half of his rookie season.
Kaiden Guhle stayed another year in the Western Hockey League. That also was extremely wise as he went all the way to the Memorial Cup for the Edmonton Oil Kings. Guhle played 30 minutes per night in all situations. That experience serves a player well. You can see his seasoning now at the NHL level.
When Slafkovsky gets sent to Laval, it won’t be a demotion. It will be proper development.
For now, though, enjoy watching him as he takes his first strides. It’s terrific to watch the small improvements from game to game as he makes his way. It looks like he was a strong pick. He is the best of the class so far, though we are only on chapter five of the evaluation in a book with about 400 chapters.
Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sports writer, brings you Call of the Wilde on globalnews.ca after each Canadiens game
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