Artturi Lehkonen and Charles Hudon have been two snake-bitten players on the Montreal Canadiens, but they’ve had their moments to contribute offensively.
Sorry if I triggered an inner craving for a cup of coffee, but I think ‘Double Double’ is a good way to describe Artturi Lehkonen and Charles Hudon. They’ve been involved in a lot of scoring chances for the Montreal Canadiens but haven’t been able to score as much as they’d like to.
This is Hudon’s first full NHL season so it was easy to temper expectations on what he could bring to the Habs offensively despite being close to a point-per-game player in the AHL. Lehkonen, on the other hand, came off an impressive 18-goal rookie year in the NHL and the direction for him was only upwards. Injuries and bad luck have kept his scoring to a minimum, but games like Sunday’s show that the slumps he’s gone through are just by chance and nothing else.
It’s interesting though how both Lehkonen and Hudon score. They’ve usually come in pairs. Lehkonen’s four goals this season came against the Ottawa Senators across two games whereas Hudon has had two two-goal games as well (Ottawa and Carolina). Seeing the two score is also pretty energizing as well which could be another piece of evidence of why the ‘Double Double’ title could fit, but that’s just wishful thinking.
When a scoring forward is in a slump, everyone says the same thing, “All they need is a few bounces.” Well, Lehkonen finally found his first one in a while on the power play which was pretty reminiscent of some of his goals last season. Seeing more of his shot, which is very underrated, may be a good way to find the back the net as well. Lehkonen has a very heavy and quick shot which could cause a lot of issues for goaltenders who have to face it.
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Will the 22-year-old hit the 20-goal mark like a lot of people thought he would? The odds are against him there. The Habs have 29 games left in the regular season, and it would be incredible if Lehkonen put up another 16 in that time frame. However, what he can do is continue to put himself in those same situations to score and gain some confidence.
The same goes for Hudon. He has the speed and skill to be a 15-20 goal scorer in this league and this season is only the beginning for him. Hudon gets a lot of shots across in key areas of the ice, and although most of them have been stopped, they won’t be for long.
I’d like to think that both Lehkonen and Hudon are in the team’s long-term plans. Their slumps, including how they dealt with them this year, will help them in the future to become better players for the Habs.
What do you think about Lehkonen’s goal scoring? Will the 2017/18 season be a one-off? What will his final total be? Let us know in the comments below.