Canadiens Win 3 In A Row Despite 11 Players On IR

Regardless of the status of the teams, it’s always a treat to watch a Toronto Maple Leafs – Montreal Canadiens game. Even if modern rivalries happen more in between fans than on the ice, the mythical aura is there regardless.

However, no one expected the Canadiens to pummel the Leafs 5-2 on Monday. Especially considering they played the after-noon before and especially considering the team has half the roster on the injured reserve.

Nothing made sense on Monday night.

First there were fans in the seats. A 50% capacity in which it seemed half of them were Leafs fans to begin with. A growing phenomenon in Montreal which makes the hardcore fan’s bleu-blanc-rouge blood boil.

Then of course there’s Samuel Montembeault who’s playing like his life depends on it. Which is not entirely untrue considering he’s fighting for a contract and as a result leaves it all on the ice.

Then there’s this oddball first line of Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Josh Anderson. You have two small sized players, one who’s practically a Hobbit, and Mr. Anderson who one night looks like Neo and the next is plain old Anderson who looks like he slept in. But you know what? It works!

Caufield on the wrong side of the ice, Suzuki covering the middle ground and Anderson adding the sandpaper is just what the doctor ordered in this win streak. Caufield hit the twine again and added two assists in the game now pushing his point streak to 6 games and totalling 8 points. Josh Anderson put two in himself last night and had the lone assist on Caufield’s goal all while Nick Suzuki had an assist on Anderson’s second goal and played an excellent two-way game.

The sudden three game winning streak now brings new Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis to a 3-3-0 record since taking over behind the bench. The win against Toronto is a great morale booster considering the Canadiens had to beat St. Louis in overtime and it took a shootout to beat the Islanders on Sunday.

Everyone seems to buying into whatever Martin St. Louis is selling. Even Jeff Petry has been playing more inspirational hockey. The line of Rem Pitlick, Jake Evans and Paul Byron (occasionally switching with Brendan Gallagher) has been shutting down the opposing team’s top lines ever since this trio came together. The protection Evans has been giving his wingers is further proof that he can be an established third line (occasionally fourth) center in the NHL. Bottom line, he’s now a regular and you can give him any task you want and he’ll be all over it like a dog on a bone.

Ryan Poehling is another one who has elevated his game since the new coach got into town. There was a time not long ago when we were wondering how we were going to fit Suzuki, Philippe Danault, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Evans and Poehling in the lineup, all while having the flexibility to bring up a rookie from time to time or leave ice time for a war-torn veteran like Eric Staal at the time. Now we can safely say that Ryan Poehling is in a good place. He’s working hard, he understands his assignments and he has started to accumulate points, having 11 (5 goals 6 assists) in 37 games played thus far while only playing 12 minutes per game on average.

Granted Poehling is the same age and was part of the same draft class as Nick Suzuki (Poehling was drafted in the 1st round 25th overall while Suzuki was drafted 13th overall by the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017) but some players just take more time to develop than others. Now that he’s been given a proper chance, you see that he’s finally putting the effort in and maybe someday there will be a decision to take as to where does he fit in the lineup. I would not be opposed to seeing him lead the second line if he keeps elevating his game. But that would be up to him…and Christian Dvorak of course.

The only real negative one can find with the current Canadiens’ win streak is the duo of Kale Clague and Chris Wideman. They have zero chemistry together and ultimately it makes them look and probably feel completely lost. Granted, Wideman looked visibly shook when he and Jake Muzzin accidentally collided, resulting in Muzzin leaving the game, but these two have generated practically nothing as of late.

There is word that Wideman has drawn interest on the trade block and might be moved at the trade deadline and be used as an insurance policy for a Cup contender. Even if he’s moved for a late draft pick that would be a win considering they got him for nothing from the KHL and he only accounts for $750,000 on the salary cap. As for Clague, he will likely lose his spot to Corey Schueneman once he is off COVID-19 protocol.

Next training camp should be interesting as there will be a dog fight for a starting job at the blue line. Ben Chiarot will be traded by the deadline, Brett Kulak might be on his way out as well as he is also set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, which only leaves Joel Edmundson and Alexander Romanov as the only two starters on the left side. It’s going to be fun seeing Schueneman, Kaiden Guhle and Mattias Norlinder go at it, while Gianni Fairbrother and Arber Xhekaj will be battling for top minutes in Laval.

Bottom line is, this win streak is no fluke. Even despite not having 7 regular starters on the injured list and 4 important depth players gone as well. You can sense that the players are given more freedom to show off their skills and they ultimately look happier. As a result, us fans are happier since the game is much more interesting to watch, even when they lose.

The Canadiens are now 11-33-7 and sit in last place of the NHL with only 1 point behind the Arizona Coyotes. Don’t expect them to suddenly challenge for a playoff spot as the magic won’t last forever, especially when teams start picking up on the habits of Cole Caufield for example, but at least expect them to put on an entertaining show.

For now, that’s all we can ask for.