A Winning Habit
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Montreal Canadiens: Predicting Opening Night Forward Lines

By Ken MacMillan

MONTREAL, QC - DECEMBER 04: The Montreal Canadiens acknowledge the fans for their victory against the Ottawa Senators during the NHL game at the Bell Centre on December 4, 2018 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Ottawa Senators 5-2. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - DECEMBER 04: The Montreal Canadiens acknowledge the fans for their victory against the Ottawa Senators during the NHL game at the Bell Centre on December 4, 2018 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Ottawa Senators 5-2. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
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MONTREAL, QC – OCTOBER 17: Brendan Gallagher (Photo by Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC – OCTOBER 17: Brendan Gallagher (Photo by Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Tomas Tatar – Phillip Danault – Brendan Gallagher

Admit it, when Tomas Tatar was acquired by the Montreal Canadiens you thought he would be a third line left winger at best. He was basically a throw-in/cap dump by the Vegas Golden Knights in the trade that sent Max Pacioretty to Nevada, and brought Tatar along with Nick Suzuki and a second round pick to the Canadiens.

Tatar proved he is much more than a throw-in with a huge bounce back season for the Habs. He scored 25 goals and set a career high with 58 points. Not that we are keeping score (we totally are) but Pacioretty finished the season with 22 goals and 40 points in 66 games.

I’d say the Habs are happy with the return they got for trading their captain a year ago. Tatar stepped into the Habs lineup and proved to be a capable first line winger.

When Danault was acquired by the Habs, the greeting was a lot more positive than the initial reaction to Tatar’s arrival. Danault arrived from the Chicago Blackhawks with a second round pick for Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann. Weise and Fleischmann were both set to become UFAs and neither of them were having great seasons.

The Habs were about to miss the playoffs so they dealt the two players they were going to let walk anyway and got a recent first round draft pick from the Hawks in Danault. He had the potential to become a solid two-way center and has fulfilled that potential.

Oh, and the second round pick became Alexander Romanov, the top defenseman at the last World Junior’s even though he was 18 and will be back at the same tournament this winter.

Danault set a career high with 53 points last season and got some recognition in the Frank J. Selke Award voting as the best defensive forward in the league. He has proven to be an excellent two-way center.

Brendan Gallagher has been the heart and soul of the Habs for years. He led the team with 33 goals last season once again setting a career high. He just keeps getting better and better every year.

When this trio was on the ice last season, the Habs scored 40 goals and allowed 20. That GF% of 67 ranked second in the entire league of any line that played regularly together last season, just behind the lethal Dallas Stars line of Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Alex Radulov.

Tatar, Danault and Gallagher controlled 60.9% of the shot attempts while they were on the ice. The only line that topped that was the Philadelphia Flyers line of Claude Giroux, Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny. That tells you the Habs trio was one of the most productive lines in the entire league last season.

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