Montreal Canadiens: Brett Kulak Quietly Excelling in Top Four Role On Habs Blue Line
Brett Kulak quietly regains confidence and excels in postseason
This leaves us with the final left defender who has played a prominent role for the Habs this season/play-ins: Brett Kulak. Kulak had a really impressive season in 2018-19 following his trade from the Calgary Flames which saw two AHL defenders go the other way. He not only established himself as an NHL player but as a player who did not look out of place in the top-4. He even chipped in a fair amount offensively, registering six goals and 17 points in 57 games. His future with the Habs looked bright and he was rewarded with a three-year contract averaging $1.85 million per season.
Unfortunately, he failed to replicate this level of play this season. He started the season on the third pairing with Cale Fleury and was exploited regularly as he cheated on his own duties to cover for his rookie teammate. He ended up being scratched from the lineup for 15 games as a result of disappointing performances. However, his play seemed to take a turn for the better when he was reunited with Jeff Petry, the defensive partner who brought out the solid performances in the past.
It must be said that Jeff Petry has a real knack for making his sub-standard defensive partners look really good, but I am not convinced that Brett Kulak is sub-standard. I believe that the primary reason for his heightened performance when playing with Jeff Petry is their excellent chemistry as a pairing rather than his being carried by #26 since Petry seems more comfortable playing with Kulak than either of the other two previously talked-about defencemen.
Brett Kulak has been a man on a mission these past two games against Sidney Crosby’s Penguins. He has not only made a real case for being a dependable second-pairing NHL defenseman when paired with Petry, but also that he doesn’t need to be carried by his defensive partner. That has been the big question during his time playing inside the top four with the Habs.
In the opening play-in game, Kulak stood out to me a little bit, in a very good way. He was snuffing out Penguin chances and seemed more willing to attack than he did at any point in the 2019-20 season – which saw him tally just 7 assists through 56 games. Of course, his defensive partner ended up being the OT hero, but Kulak played with a confidence I hadn’t seen in him for the past year.
But it was in the game 2 loss where Kulak exploded. In my mind, he was quite clearly the Habs’ second-best player of the night, with Carey Price being the best by a country mile. Kulak boxed out Sidney Crosby on most of his shifts, forcing the superstar to the periphery and not giving him the space that allowed the Penguin captain to score in the first period.
However, Kulak has always been above average defensively when paired with Petry, it is the offence that has left much to be desired since the signing of his 3-year extension. On Monday night, he was confident on the attack and proved to be a real threat, having been at the center of two of the Habs five best scoring opportunities.
Kulak created several chances for Habs
The first was Armia-esque, he drove the puck into the slot and while protecting it went for a wrap-around that nearly found the back of the net, which was displaced by Jared McCann in the process. This attack resulted in a Canadiens powerplay. The second was in the third period when Kulak led an odd-man rush alongside Tomas Tatar, passing the puck to the left-winger, who got off a dangerous shot that forced Matt Murray to make a good save.
The Penguin’s second goal was on an odd-man rush following a pinch by Kulak. The argument can be made that he is at fault for the decisive goal, but considering that just over five minutes remained in the game and the Canadiens had yet to beat Matt Murray, the time was right to take a risk. It just didn’t work out this time, with the puck taking an unlucky bounce.
The positive in this play is that Kulak continued to try to find ways through the Pittsburgh defence, something his game has sorely missed in the past 12 months. Seeing him become more confident carrying the puck and jumping into the play has made him a much better overall defenceman.
Overall, the Calgary native really stepped up his level of play, allowing Claude Julien to lighten the load for Shea Weber and Ben Chiarot. The Crosby matchup went to Kulak and Petry more often than not, and with Pittsburgh getting the last change, the Habs needed more than just Weber and Chiarot playing a shutdown role.
Of course, a mere two play-in games is far from enough to go out and call Kulak a legitimate top-4 defender. Just like it isn’t enough to say that Carey Price is back to his Hart trophy form or that Nick Suzuki is on track to become a Patrice Bergeron type #1 centre. But it does instill hope in the fanbase that Kulak is rebounding from a poor season and is giving the left-defenceman a boost in confidence.
Given Brett Kulak’s solid play in this series, he seems to be solidifying his spot alongside Jeff Petry for the upcoming season; and with the arrival of Alexander Romanov, this may be what secures his spot in the lineup. I certainly plan on keeping a watchful eye on #77 for the remainder of this series. If he can continue his display of defensive proficiency and the driving of offensive plays, his contract may very well prove to be a bargain for the next two seasons.
All statistics are taken from Hockey-Reference.com.