Montreal Canadiens: 24 Thoughts As Habs Return To .500 With Win Over Blue Jackets

Second Period Thoughts

Patrik Laine is 6’5″ and just skated past the entire Habs team on his way to a breakaway goal. His combination of size and skill and unbelievable shot make him a unique player in the league. The Canadiens need a player like that to put a few dozen pucks in the net before they can become playoff contenders again.

The line of Christian Dvorak between Slafkovsky and Caufield had the team’s first real shift of sustained offensive pressure and we are nearly five minutes into the second period. Then, they get caught and are stuck in their own zone for a long time. They survived it, but why can’t this team just hang out in the offensive zone for a while?

Alex Newhook uses his speed to get a partial breakaway but rips the puck off the post. Seconds later he gets another chance in the slot and makes no mistake as he scores his seventh goal of the season. He is now on pace for 26 goals this season which would be a fantastic first year with his new team for the 22 year old.

Joel Armia does very little on the ice. I wonder what it would cost to get a team like the Chicago Blackhawks to take on the rest of his contract. He played well when Luke Richardson was coaching Montreal and now he is the head coach in Chicago. Blackhawks veterans Taylor Hall and Corey Perry are done for the year… or probably forever in Perry’s case. Could they use an experienced winger who is still really good defensively for a 9th round pick in 2046? I don’t see why not.

Guhle makes a costly turnover as all the Canadiens forwards had already left the zone. It gave the Blue Jackets a 4-on-1 down low and they ripped the puck back and forth before finding the back of the net. I never said Guhle was perfect, I just said he’s going to be a tower of power on that blue line for a long time.

Cole Caufield scores and he needed it. He had just one goal in his past eight and only two in his previous 14 games. He got into traffic in front and banged in a rebound. Good to see the undersized winger scoring from a dirty area in the crease.

The Dvorak, Caufield, Slafkovsky line had the best shift of any Habs trio tonight on their shift after scoring a goal. I don’t know if Dvorak will stay on that line long term but Kirby Dach would look amazing between these two young wingers right now.

I hope the Oilers scouts saw that Montembeault pass to Armia. Sent him on a partial breakaway but Armia, umm, did not score. With the Oilers defense playing the way they are, they could use someone who makes a great first pass from their own zone.