The Montreal Canadiens had a terrific showing on opening night, scoring in the final seconds to win 4-3 over the heavily favoured Toronto Maple Leafs.
That big win was followed up with two much more lacklustre efforts. The Habs barely created a scoring chance against the Detroit Red Wings on Friday night, and were outplayed once again the next night against the Washington Capitals.
A Nick Suzuki wraparound goal was the only time the Habs hit the scoresheet all weekend. Losses by scores of 3-0 and 3-1 mean there was not a lot of offence created in the past two contests. Not many forwards have stood out, but one newcomer is putting up dominant underlying numbers.
Canadiens Kirby Dach playing extremely well
Kirby Dach was drafted third overall by the Chicago Blackhawks just three years ago. He has a fascinating combination of size, speed and skill but wasn’t really able to put it all together with the Blackhawks to become an impact player.
Of course, he is still 21 years old, so there is plenty of time for him to develop. While his point totals don’t scream “breakout season approaching” his ability to create scoring chances early this season show the numbers will begin to pile up soon.
Dach has just one point, an assist, in three games so far. It is not the points that prove how well he is playing but the underlying numbers show he is doing a lot of great things on the ice, whether he has been justly rewarded yet or not.
His one point was an assist off an incredible effort keeping the puck away from three Maple Leafs. He wins a race to other puck along the boards, brings it down low in the offensive zone, absorbs contact before reversing direction and taking the puck higher in the attacking zone.
Then, he absorbs more contact while remaining in full control of the puck, uses his long reach to keep it away from a third defender and then sends the puck to a wide open Jordan Harris at the point. That leads to a shot which is redirected to Sean Monahan who fires the puck home.
MTL 3-2
— Jack Han (@JhanHky) October 13, 2022
A great sequence by MTL77 Dach.
Skates between checks for a shot attempt, then rolls off contact in the corner to keep the play going. pic.twitter.com/cVLrXprjUS
While the Canadiens have only scored five goals in three games, Dach is one of the few forwards who is consistently producing chances. According to naturalstattrick.com, Dach has been dominating offensively, even if the pucks aren’t going in – yet.
The Canadiens have been outshot 101-71 so far this season, but with Dach on the ice at even strength, the Habs have outshot their opponent 20-11. So, when Dach is on the ice at even strength, the Canadiens have 64.5% of the shots on goal. In all other situations, they have 36.2% of the shots on goal.
Scoring chances show a very similar story. The Canadiens have created 50 scoring chance opportunities in three games while giving up 73. That means they have had 40.6% of the scoring chances so far this season.
Dach however, has been on the ice for 20 scoring chances for and only 10 against. That means when Dach is on the ice the Canadiens own 66.7% of the scoring chances and when Dach is not on the ice the Canadiens own 32.3% of scoring chances.
Tilting the ice heavily from one side to the other is not an easy thing to do at the NHL level. However, Dach has been able to dramatically change the momentum when he steps on the ice.
It has not resulted in a ton of points, at least not yet, but all signs early on are pointing to Dach being an impact player. If he can continue to create chances and get shots on net like he has in the first three games, it is only a matter of time before the points start to pile up.
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