Montreal Canadiens: Michael McCarron had his best game of the season

What isn’t talked about much from last night was how well Michael McCarron played for the Montreal Canadiens in a performance that was probably his best.

The Montreal Canadiens had a lot of highlights from last night’s 4-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings. It looked like it was going to be one of those games after Gustav Nyquist scored his 20th of the season in the opening five minutes, but the team responded well and got the win. Brendan Gallagher, Paul Byron, and Alex Galchenyuk were the heroes of the night, while Carey Price recorded his first victory since February 2nd.

What fans aren’t mentioning much was how well Michael McCarron played for the Habs. The 23-year-old looked energized to take on his hometown team and made more of an impact in less than ten minutes of ice time. Lately for McCarron to be noticed, gloves would have to be dropped and a number five would be added to his PIM  totals for the night.

That coincides with what the Habs want from the young centre which was revealed in Elliotte Friedman’s latest 31 Thoughts.

McCarron did more than that though. He was 50% in the faceoff circle and finished the night with six hits. Additionally, he had some effective shifts using his size and strength to force possession from players on the Red Wings. One of these times led to a scoring chance as detailed by Blaine Potvin.

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What McCarron needs to do is make what happened against Detroit a more common occurrence. He doesn’t need to fight all the time to frustrate and annoy his opponents. That can be done with overwhelming coverage that prevents them from exiting their zone or making a play. McCarron’s size seems to be made a negative as his skating ability isn’t as improved as many thought, but it is his greatest asset if used effectively.

Besides consistency, McCarron also needs to continue to work on his d-zone coverage. The 2013 first-round pick wasn’t on the ice for too many scoring chances against (one regular and high-danger), and that needs to be something that happens more often. A coach doesn’t want to feel like his fourth line is a liability and keeping those totals down help in that department.

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Last night’s game doesn’t and shouldn’t change the scope of how McCarron is perceived when it comes to his development. There are still many things he has to do and improve on to solidify a role in the NHL. However, everyone needs to start somewhere.