Montreal Canadiens: Paul Byron is close to proving the doubters wrong
By Omar L
After scoring his 14th goal of the season, Paul Byron is still within range to become a back-to-back 20 goal scorer for the Montreal Canadiens.
One of the things that caught Montreal Canadiens off-guard last year was Paul Byron. After being claimed off waivers at the beginning of the 2015/16 season, 11 goals and 7 assists was the range many had him in for the next one. Everyone was wrong. The then 27-year-old combined his overwhelming speed and relentlessness on the puck to score 22 goals completely obliterating his previous totals.
However, many looked at the shooting percentage and assumed it was just a one-off performance. It’s a fair thought though, 22.9% is pretty high and that had him second in the league. Byron was one of the areas of the team where management was hoping wouldn’t falter. There were some hurdles he had to go through at the start of this season though.
Byron started the year on the fourth line with Jacob de La Rose and Ales Hemsky and quickly worked his way back into the top nine. As far as the goal totals go, the 28-year-old just scored his 14th. Brendan Gallagher did a good job entering the Flyers’ zone, but the Tomas Plekanec to find Byron uncontested in front was perfect.
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All he needs is another six to reach the 20-goal mark for the second straight year and prove all those wrong who thought his success a year before was a fluke. Can Byron do it? There’s still time as the Habs have another 23 games remaining. Additionally, it gives Habs fans something to cheer for even when the team loses.
Check out these links to start off your morning and then let us know in the comments if you’re confident that Byron can score 20 again.
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