Montreal Canadiens: Three Players To Watch vs Toronto Maple Leafs

3. Brett Kulak

Brett Kulak has been an interesting player ever since the Habs acquired him from the Calgary Flames. After passing through waivers, Kulak landed in Montreal on the eve of the 2018-19 season in a swap that saw Matt Taormina and Rinat Valiev go the other way.

Kulak has been good for the Habs over the past two seasons. He has shown some real chemistry with Jeff Petry as the two put up incredible possession numbers when on the ice together. Kulak is okay when he plays on the top pairing with Shea Weber, he’s fine when playing on the third pairing with Cale Fleury or Victor Mete, but he is terrific when playing on the second pair with Petry.

Kulak and Petry played 543 minutes together this season and has a Corsi over 60%. That means while the pair are on the ice, the Habs fire three shots toward the opposition goaltender while allowing two. It doesn’t sound like a huge difference on that small scale, but when it becomes 600 shots attempted to 400 shot attempts allowed, (which is exactly what happened this year) it gives the Canadiens a significant advantage.

It makes sense to pair Kulak with Petry against the Penguins, but Kulak is a step behind his teammates at the moment. That’s because he tested positive for Covid-19 and didn’t join the team fully in practice until Thursday, July 23. It was about ten days after the team had started training camp and put Kulak a step behind the pack.

It will be interesting to watch Kulak tonight and see if he is ready to play a top four role. There is no time to wait and see if someone can get their timing back during the series. If Kulak looks a little lost tonight, chances are he won’t be playing his best hockey in a few days when the play-in series begins. It will be interesting to keep an eye on him and see if he and Petry can pick up where they left off.