Montreal Canadiens: Kerby Rychel looking to start a new NHL chapter
The Montreal Canadiens are back at it after a defeat at the hands of their own special teams in Pittsburgh, but it’s a special opportunity for Kerby Rychel.
The Montreal Canadiens chose to go with the lineup that defeated the Detroit Red Wings in Saturday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. David Schlemko and Daniel Carr were the only alterations, but they didn’t appear to make too much of a difference. If it matters, instead of losing 5-3 as the Habs have done in their previous two games against the Penguins, the team doubled down and only managed to score twice.
It was the team’s penalty kill that came to haunt them after the final buzzer. Montreal allowed three goals on five man-advantage opportunities that allowed Pittsburgh to break the 1-1 tie established in the opening ten minutes of the game, and eventually get the win. The Montreal Canadiens road penalty kill remains the worst in the league at 66.2%.
Now it’s on to the next one at home with the New Jersey Devils. However, the Habs are putting another quarter into the Well of Youth as Kerby Rychel is set to make his debut with the team. It will also be the 23-year-old’s first NHL game in a little over two years. Rychel has had to work and improve himself mentally and physically for this moment.
He has the tools and skills to be an effective power-forward in the league, but his ability to work and give a full effort every night was what kept him out of lineups on a regular basis. When he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, a full cupboard of depth on the wing made a call-up for Rychel unlikely. The transition to the Montreal Canadiens opened up a new path for Rychel to be in an NHL lineup full time, and day one of that starts against New Jersey.
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Based on how Claude Julien has run his roster this season, you have to think one of Carr or Nicolas Deslauriers, if he wants Rychel to play his natural position, come out. The possibility of a Rychel-McCarron-Carr line could do wonders for the Montreal Canadiens and have a first-round connection from the 2013 NHL Draft.
Rychel, similarly to McCarron, likes to use his size to create space for himself in the offensive zone. Additionally, he likes to get in on the forecheck to generate chances which is something that Carr excels at as well.
Another thing to track is whether Julien gives Rychel time on the power play. 6 of the left-winger’s 18 goals this season came on the man-advantage. However, he also prides himself on getting in those areas around and in front of the net to score which compliments the way the team sets up.
Next: Paul Byron on the Team's Effort
It’ll be interesting to see just how effective he is in this game. Considering the fact that he’s a restricted free agent in the summer, this is a chance to prove that he’s worth keeping around for next year. Not necessarily in the organization as a whole since Rychel has at least shown that he can be someone worth keeping for the Laval Rocket. What this could be is proof that there should be a spot for him on the Montreal Canadiens opening night roster in October.