3 Canadiens roster players who must step up in Emil Heineman's absence

Emil Heineman's absence will be felt if some bottom six forwards don't step up.

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Christian Dvorak

Christian Dvorak
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Emil Heineman has been a massive contributor to the team as a fourth-line winger. Teams don't expect their fourth-liners to chip in much on offense, but Heineman, Jake Evans, and Joel Armia were slowly becoming one of the most productive fourth lines in the NHL. Heineman had three goals and two assists over his past ten games, which is much more than Christian Dvorak can say.

Dvorak is pointless in six consecutive games and has just one goal and one assist over his last ten. The Canadiens aren't losing Cole Caufield-like production with Heineman out of the lineup, but those five points over ten games add up in the long run. It could be naive to believe in Dvorak, but can he turn it on for the Canadiens for a month to keep them in the playoff race? It could also increase his trade value heading into the deadline...

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