Joel Armia played his best against the Dallas Stars

With his strong play for the Montreal Canadiens being so consistent, Joel Armia's situation is a rather curious one.

Do the Canadiens hold onto him beyond the Trade Deadline if they aren't in a playoff spot? Armia's contract ends come July, and he will 32 years old entering the 2025-2026 season. The Habs want to stay competitive, without blocking their young talent from rising up through the ranks.

I love what Armia brings, but if he can fetch a good return while playing his best hockey, should the Habs fail to be in contention heading into the deadline, I think Kent Hughes might explore the market.

Alongside Jake Evans, Armia forms the Habs top penalty-killing forward duo, and the pair are relied upon heavily. But he brings so much more to the team than just killing penalties, specifically on the forecheck, where he is a dog on pucks. Armia has become known as a guy who has the ability to strip the opposition off the puck.

With the puck on his stick, Armia stands out in the puck protection aspect of his game, giving opponents fits trying to get the puck from him. On Thursday night against the Dallas Stars, I recall a sequence where he made Jamie Benn look silly, pivoting with him on his back, and then skating away like it was nothing. Armia does things this routinely, and it begs the question, is he a part of the future or just here for a good time, not a long time?

His battle never wavers, and he gives his all every shift - of course, the shift where he broke his stick while defending and put on a clinic stands out. Rightfully so, it absolutely should - because Armia went into best mode. But this is a routine thing for Armia, who makes big, strong players look small with his incredible strength on his stick and strong knowledge of how to box out guys with his large frame.

Armia played a total of 17:24 against the Stars, and that is on the strength of his great penalty killing and responsible play. The big Finn registered a career-high eight hits, to go along with two shots and one block. If there ever were a performance that was physically dominant, it would be the one that Armia had against the Stars.

Additionally it was due time for Armia's strong play to reward him, and after a nine-game goalless streak, Armia put the bow on a great outing. With the clock winding down, and the Stars trying to draw even with Montreal, Armia made a great solo effort against Miro Heiskanen. The confidence, strength and will to not be denied were all on display.

Yes, it was an empty net tally, but the effort and pure determination to get the tally was anything but easy. The Canadiens had been on a hot streak before the Stars put a blemish in their record with a shootout loss, and they were hungry for revenge. Obviously Armia took that loss personally, and decided to take matters into his own hands.

Armia had himself quite the night.

Jacob Fowler blanks Providence for fifth shutout of the season

I have to admit that I am a big fan of an iron sharpening iron scenario between Jakub Dobes and Jacob Fowler. A little bit of anything you can do I can do better, this is a great way for the future between the pipes to bring the best out of one another. In my opinion, the starting role for the Canadiens will boil down to Dobes versus Fowler.

Dobes put together a masterful performance for his fourth win in his fourth start of his rookie season. Fowler answered back, one-upping Dobes, who let in one goal. Imagine the future of the crease battle having such a high standard, that a shutout is the measuring stick.

The kids are alright, and the future masked men for the Canadiens are putting on a show, both in Montreal, and in Boston.