Montreal Canadiens: Scoring by committee is doing the trick

The Montreal Canadiens may not have a stone cold sniper anymore, but the distribution of the points are proving it doesn’t need to fall on a single player.

After the Montreal Canadiens traded Max Pacioretty and Alex Galchenyuk, the main question around the team is where will the goals come from? It’s an odd question to ask. Although Pacioretty is a multi-year 30-goal scorer, he only put up 17 the season before. That may be unfair to bring up considering many were banking on a bounce-back performance from Pacioretty in the 2018/19 season.

The same thing goes for Galchenyuk. He put up 19 goals in 82 games with the Habs, but there has always been untapped potential in the 24-year-old. However, the specialty behind both Galchenyuk and Pacioretty’s shots aren’t around anymore. The Habs may be missing pint-sized accuracy or a booming one-timer on the right side, but what’s special about this team is it’s not on the head of a single player.

Montreal has 26 goals for in eight games and ‘scoring by committee’ is in full effect:

• Tomas Tatar: 3 goals and 5 assists
• Max Domi: 2 goals and 6 assists
• Jeff Petry: 1 goal and 7 assists 
• Paul Byron: 4 goals and 3 assists
• Jonathan Drouin: 3 goals and 4 assists
• Brendan Gallagher: 5 goals and 1 assist

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Is it sustainable to have these many players either at or around a point-per-game? Most likely no, but there are reassuring trends that are working in the team’s favour. Tatar has been the perfect fit with Philip Danault and Gallagher. His speed and willingness to crash and throw pucks at the net is a large part of what makes the line successful. Additionally, four of his assists have been off Gallagher goals.

It took Drouin 15 games to get to three goals, and he’s done it in eight. But his overall presence has changed which in large part probably has to do with his comfort in playing on the wing. The season down the middle has helped him become a more reliable player and is equally as aware defensively despite having mini blips here and there.

Domi was another player looking for goal-scoring retribution after going back-to-back years finishing with only nine. Despite being known for his playmaking ability, there is a scoring threat behind his style of play with his speed and timing. Two isn’t a total to brag about it, but it could be the beginnings of an improved year production-wise for Domi.

It boils down to the debate of having either a dollar or four quarters. Anytime team would love to have one or two focal points that score endlessly for them. But there is value in having offensive depth throughout a lineup. And the Montreal Canadiens are reaping the benefits of it as they sit at the top of the Atlantic Division with a 5-1-2 record.