It seems like the Canadiens have been on a bit of a roll lately, and they find themselves over the 0.500-point mark. Unfortunately for the Habs, Juraj Slafkovsky, one player I wanted to see step up in a big way, still hasn’t looked outstanding.
So, for the Habs to maximize their playoff chances, we must see a monster second half of the season from the former No. 1 overall pick; there’s no doubt about it. But Slafkovsky isn’t the only one who must play near-perfect hockey for the next three months.
Should the following three players bring their absolute A-Game, then a playoff appearance this year isn’t such a farfetched idea. But the Habs are still far from the best of the potential wild card contenders, so every player listed below must go above and beyond.
Nick Suzuki
I could have put Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson here, but if Nick Suzuki ups his already stellar game, every player on the Habs will feed off of it. Suzuki has proven he’s the Habs heart and soul at the moment, and it shows with 12 goals and a sensational 29 assists, good for 41 points in 40 games.
Now, imagine if Suzuki took that play up another notch. Yeah, he’s on pace to finally crack the point-per-game barrier, something he came close to last year with 77 points and 33 goals. Right now, Suzuki is on pace to find the net just 24 times, so if he bumped that number up to get on pace for 33 this year and kept up his playmaking, the Habs will be scary.
Sam Montembeault
If there’s anyone on the Habs who needs to step up more than Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkosvky, it might be Sam Montembeault. So far, he’s the only one on the Habs capable of putting up consistent play in the net.
And yes, I know, I know Jakub Dobes has looked promising lately. But I can’t judge anything off a two-game sample size, even if a shutout and a 0.48 GAA are eye-popping. At this point, the buck still stops with Montembeault until everyone in the hockey world knows someone else can supplement him.
That means fewer games of giving up four-plus goals, something he’s done three times in his last five starts.
Patrik Laine
While Patrik Laine has had issues with injuries and, more recently, an illness, he’s looked like someone on the path to a career resurrection. For Habs fans, this is refreshing, given how high Laine’s ceiling was once upon a time.
Still, with the way the Canadiens look like they’re getting so close to playoff contention or at least giving its fans something to cheer about, someone like a former No. 2 overall pick has got to make his presence known game in and game out when healthy.
So far, Laine’s done a good job with that, with eight goals and 10 points in 13 games. But, like Suzuki, if Laine can up his productivity to a point per game, the Habs might just be ultra scary.