Going into the round one series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, it would have been bold to assume the Montreal Canadiens would be able to have success without their first line producing like they did all season, but they found a way. It was a real team effort. Juraj Slafkovsky won the game for the Canadiens in Game 1. The play of the third line of Kirby Dach, Zachary Bolduc, and Alexandre Texier was crucial to the Canadiens' wins in Games 3 and 5. In Game 7, the Canadiens were not at their best, but a couple of lucky bounces and the amazing play of Jakub Dobes saw Montreal move on to round two. The Canadiens will hope they can get more out of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Slafkovsky against the Buffalo Sabres, but it is not bold to say that someone else could step up and help the team get out of the second round.
Zachary Bolduc leads the Canadiens in goals in round two
Nothing about Bolduc’s regular season would make you think that he would become a key contributor in the playoffs. After a great second half to his rookie season with the St. Louis Blues, where he finished with 19 goals and 36 points, Bolduc took a step back in his first season with the Canadiens. After a big trade in the offseason where the Canadiens sent defenceman Logan Mailloux to the Blues for Bolduc, expectations were high, and Montreal was hopeful he could build on his 19-goal campaign. He could not have started his career in Montreal any better, scoring in the first three games of the season, but the goals started to dry up after that, scoring only nine goals in his next 75 games.
In an effort to try to get Bolduc rolling again, the Canadiens made him a healthy scratch at different points of the season, maybe to try to light a fire within him, and while it did not show in his production, he was becoming a more effective player for Montreal as the season was coming to an end. However, it was not until the playoffs started that Bolduc really found his stride. The line of Bolduc, Dach, and Texier was arguably the Canadiens' best line in round one, and the hope is they could bring their newfound chemistry into the second round. Bolduc was great individually, recording a goal, three assists, and chipping in with 17 hits in seven games while averaging just under 12 minutes a game. Playoff hockey better suits the way Bolduc likes to play, who has a physical element to his game. Bolduc has an excellent track record of being a goalscorer in the juniors, scoring 145 goals in 208 career QMJHL games, and with his newfound confidence, we could see him become a legitimate goal threat against the Sabres.
Jakub Dobes continues to look like the best goalie in the NHL
Going into the series against the Lightning, many would have given the edge in net to Tampa Bay and Andrei Vasilevskiy. There was no pushback to that sentiment. Vasilevskiy is a two-time Stanley Cup Champion with a Conn Smythe Trophy and has a Vezina to go along with it. While Vasilevskiy has all the pedigree, he was not the best goalie in the series; Dobes was. Dobes posted a 2.03 goals against average and a .923 save percentage, while having a goals saved above expected rating of 4.4, which is fifth best in the playoffs. His best game came in Game 7, and he needed to be with the Canadiens, recording just nine shots on goal, the lowest total ever in a playoff win.
Dobes mentality going into that game and for the rest of the playoffs should give Habs fans confidence in their young netminder. During a post-game interview with Sportsnet reporter Kyle Bukauskas, Dobes talks about how he prepares for every game like it is a Game 7, putting everything on the line each and every night. That mentality is exactly why he is playing the best hockey of his young career, and do not expect that to change in round two.
The “Kid Line” makes a return in round 2
For a majority of the season, the Canadiens' best line was that of Slafkovsky, Oliver Kapanen, and Ivan Demidov. Moving Slafkovsky to the second line alongside the Canadiens two rookie forwards did wonders for his development, which he parlayed into the best season of his young career, hitting the 30-goal and 70-point mark for the first time. Both Kapanen and Demidov had impressive rookie seasons, with the Russian winger leading all rookies in points, while the Finnish centre finished second in rookie goals. The Canadiens decided to break up the trio known as the “Kid Line” following the Olympic break, after the production started to diminish, reuniting Slafkovsky with Suzuki and Caufield.
After a lack of production at 5-on-5, Martin St. Louis decided to shuffle his lines, moving Josh Anderson up to the first line and Slafkovsky to the second line alongside Jake Evans and Demidov. The Canadiens needed a way to get both Slafkovsky and Demidov going, and pairing the two players who found success together made sense, but it did not play out how the team probably would have liked. If the Canadiens are going to continue playing Anderson on the top line alongside Suzuki and Caufield, Slafkovsky and Demidov are going to need to find a way to be key contributors in this series, but if they can not, St. Louis might have to start thinking about reintroducing Kapanen into the lineup pairing him with the two dynamic wingers, considering how much success they had in the regular season. Someone will have to come out of the lineup for that to happen, and we will leave it up to St. Louis to make that tough decision, but reconnecting the “Kid Line” could help the team balance out their offence.
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