The start of the regular season is right around the corner for the Montreal Canadiens when they take on the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night. They will have a few days off before they are on the ice again for another road game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
After that, it is four straight home games that include two playoff rematches against the Carolina Hurricanes and Buffalo Sabres. With the schedule they have, they are going to want to get off to a fast start as a team.
It is a pivotal stretch for the team, but for a few players, these games could determine their entire season. They are either coming off a lackluster preseason or are trying to fend off players who played really well and are coming for their spot.
Oliver Kapanen
The Montreal Canadiens didn't add a center this offseason and Oliver Kapanen is expected to enter the season as the center on the second line. The coaching staff has put him in the best position to be successful as they have him on a line with Juraj Slafkovsky and Ivan Demidov.
These three played well together last season, and the hope is that they can do so once again. However, the Canadiens are going to need this line to deliver to take pressure off their top line, and if they struggle early, it wouldn't be surprising to see a switch made.
Last season, Kapanen had 22 goals and 15 assists but faded towards the end of the regular season and wasn't much of a factor in the playoffs. A productive stretch to open the season can at least quiet some of the questions for a bit.
Kirby Dach
Kirby Dach had a tough preseason, and in what is essentially a prove-it season for the former third overall pick, he is not off to a great start. At the start of training camp, he was expected to have a spot in the bottom six, but that is not a guarantee at this point.
The reason is that Florian Xhekaj had a great training camp and made the initial 23-man roster. However, he played well enough to not just warrant a roster spot but also a spot on the ice against the Maple Leafs.
Even though Xhekaj played better than Dach, the coaching staff might want to give Dach one final chance to show what he can do when the games matter. If Dach does get that opportunity, he is going to need to make the most of it with Xhekaj right over his shoulder.
Jakub Dobes
No one was able to predict at the start of training camp that Samuel Montembeault was going to be the Montreal Canadiens' best goalie. While Jakub Dobes isn't in danger of losing the starter job, the Canadiens might be considering changing how they were going to split the starts to begin the season.
In three games that Dobes appeared in, he had a save percentage of .857 and allowed four goals in his last preseason game. However, it is important to note that all four goals were scored on the power play by the Senators.
As for Montembeault, he allowed only one goal over three games and had a save percentage of .971.
The Canadiens might not need Montembeault until midway through October when they have back-to-back games but if Dobes looks shaky in net early in the season, the Canadiens might want to give Montembeault a start to see how he does and if he can continue his success from the preseason.
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