Montreal Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty is slowly starting to heat up offensively, but he’s getting close to reaching his peak.
There are a handful of players on the Montreal Canadiens who can’t escape unnecessary criticism. Some of it is warranted, for example when Alex Galchenyuk was a ghost at the beginning of the season. Max Pacioretty is the guy on the team who no matter what is always getting shade thrown at him.
But it comes with the territory right? Not only is Pacioretty arguably the team’s best goal-scorer, but he’s the captain of the team. When things go right, you’re doing what needs to be done. Otherwise, it’s your fault. That’s why the fan base calling for his head during the slump wasn’t surprising at all. It also didn’t help that he went seven games without registering a single point after scoring in the season opener.
Similarly to the rest of the team, things are different. Pacioretty has six goals in this last stretch for a total of seven goals over the total 18 games played for the Montreal Canadiens so far. It’s funny when you compare this to where he was goal-scoring wise last season. The 28-year-old only found the back of the net four times at this point in the season last year.
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It looks terrible when you’re reading it on your screen, but if you remember, Pacioretty finished with 35 goals for his fourth consecutive 30+ goal season. Things turned around for him once December hit. The team captain ended the month with ten goals and had another 9 in January.
We’re currently in the second full week of November, and Pacioretty may reach that same level of production soon. That’s exactly what the Habs need right now. Keep in mind; they’re two games away from the 20 mark. Montreal is in a better position than they were in before, but no one benefits from being in no man’s land.
They need to start putting together some wins and Pacioretty will have a direct tie to that. The Habs were 46-26-9 when Captain My Captain scored last year, and he had 31 goals and 26 assists in those wins.
Another one for Max Pacioretty and he's officially scored the most OT-winners in @CanadiensMTL history. @EASPORTSNHL https://t.co/1M4ESsOFyq
— NHL (@NHL) November 12, 2017
Another 30-goal season is in the bag for Pacioretty. It’ll be interesting to see when exactly he hits that incredible stretch of offence. It’s going to come, but hopefully, it’s sooner rather than later.
Next: The Habs Need to Go On a Long Win Streak
Do you think Pacioretty will reach his peak soon? Can that help the Habs go on a run? Let us know in the comments.
Acknowledgements: Player stats from hockey-reference.com