Montreal Canadiens: Cayden Primeau Getting Thrown To Wolves Tonight
The Montreal Canadiens are off to a surprisingly hot start to their 2023-24 season. A win last night over the Buffalo Sabres put them at 3-1-1 on the season which is a far better start than many predicted.
That is especially true when you consider Kirby Dach, who is a central figure in the team’s offense, has missed all but one and a half games to kick off the campaign. Kaiden Guhle has also been out of the lineup with injury, as the Habs have been forced to use a few extra forwards and defenders already.
One position where they have plenty of options, perhaps too many, is in goal. The Canadiens are one of a few teams carrying three goaltenders on their roster which is not an ideal situation.
In their first five games of the year, Jake Allen has suited up for three of them and Sam Montembeault has played two. Tonight, in their sixth game of the year, Cayden Primeau will finally make his season debut.
This is really not putting the young goalie in a place to succeed. He has been serving as the team’s third string goalie all year, and did not even play in the team’s last few preseason games. In fact, he has not played a game since September 28th, when he stopped 24 of 26 shots against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Canadiens third of six exhibition games.
That is nearly four weeks with no action for Primeau, and the Canadiens are not exactly easing him in tonight. No, instead he will face the New Jersey Devils, who have one of the top offensive teams in the league. The Devils are 2-1-1 on the season, and are averaging just under four goals per game with 15 on the year.
This is a team that scored the fourth most goals in the NHL last season, and promise to be even better with youngsters like Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier just getting better and better.
The Canadiens are also playing on consecutive nights, which is always tough when facing a rested team in the NHL.
With games coming up against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the struggling Washington Capitals just having passed through town, there were better opportunities to get a young goalie into the lineup after a long layoff.
Instead, Primeau will get thrown out there with very little chance of success as he is playing behind a tired team that is facing one of the fastest and most skilled teams in the league. Good luck, kid!
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