Montreal Canadiens: Taking a lesson from the Vegas Golden Knights

Jacob de La Rose is the topic among the Montreal Canadiens after his two-goal night, and with some consistency, he can become a long-term option for the team.

Brendan Gallagher wasn’t the only positive thing about last night’s game (even though they lost). The Montreal Canadiens scored four goals, and Jacob de La Rose had two of them, bringing his season total to three. Not the number that many fans had in mind for the 22-year-old, but he has set a new career high in points with eight in 39 games.

It’s performances like last night from de La Rose that make you stare at the screen and internally scream, “Where is this all the time Jacob?!”. The offence was the most noticeable aspect of his game, but not the only thing. He was also using his size and speed effectively to cause some chaos in front of the net and along the boards creating space for his linemates. The young centre has been playing with more confidence since the third line has become his and this may be the beginning of a new height.

However, it’s easy to say that after a night with a pair of goals.

Jacob de la Rose strikes again for his second of the night. pic.twitter.com/1cXggQiCae
— Scott Matla (@scottmatla) March 7, 2018

What de La Rose needs is something that he’s needed all season: a strong sense of consistency. Before this, the only thing that was consistent was his inconsistency as he would have a stretch of very impactful games and then a virtual disappearing act for a number of weeks.

The 2013 second round pick is a player who stands out the most when he is physical. That ability to grind opponents off of the puck and accelerate through the neutral zone is when de La Rose is at his best, and ironically those two traits have been at the forefront of the offence.

The best coaches in the league say that it sometimes takes players longer than others to learn how to play. Not the main aspects of hockey, but the small details that separate the ones who tread water from the ones who push to cross the other side of the lake. The best thing for the Habs to do is to continue to be patient with de La Rose.

Take a lesson from the Vegas Golden Knights. William Karlsson is leading the team in goals with 35. Before this season, the highest total Karlsson ever saw was 9 goals and 11 assists and only 6 goals and 19 assists the year after both with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The 25-year-old had limited playing time while in Columbus seeing around 14 minutes a night.

However, it’s more than offence for him. His commitment to the defensive side of the puck has him being the Golden Knights’ main option on the penalty kill. Additionally, Karlsson has the highest plus/minus in the league at +36. Instead of waiting and trying to grow a young prospect, the Blue Jackets made a deal with Vegas to ensure that they take Karlsson in the Expansion Draft giving up a 2017 first and 2019 second in the process.