Kirby Dach's bright night against the Utah Hockey Club

If there is a better feeling for Montreal Canadiens fans than seeing Kirby Dach having fun and scoring points, I'm not sure what it is.

Maybe him and Patrik Laine putting on a show together on the Canadiens second line. Both players have struggled with their own issues over the past few years, and their hard work is paying off. Laine battled hard to get back from a knee injury, and Dach returned this season, after missing the entire 2023-24 season.

Laine has been scoring, while it's basically just on the power play, and Dach has been working steadily at everything. The Canadiens were in fine form on Tuesday night against the Utah Hockey Club, and one of their bright spots was Dach. The former third overall pick of the Chicago Blackhawks had his best outing of the season, recording two goals, and locking things down defensively.

Dach's first goal of the night was largely because of the brilliant hockey mind that is Lane Hutson. Hutson entered the zone and then found Dach streaking into the zone, hitting him with a perfect pass in-stride. Dach drove to the net with the puck before pulling it across his body to his backhand, where he placed the puck past the Hockey Club's goaltender Karel Vejmelka.

Dach's first tally of the night displayed his power in-stride, his puck protection skills and some silky mitts. He made the goalie looks silly, and then tucked it past him, not to add insult to injury. He is feeling confident, and that was abundantly clear on his second goal of the night.

Alexandre Carrier, what a player that guy has been for the Canadiens, I must say before going any further, found a wide-open Dach cutting through the neutral zone with a nice pass. If you know Dach, he rarely shoots the puck. But he fired a wicked wrister entering the offensive zone that beat Vejmelka clean.

Laine embraced Dach, and I feel like he made a joke with him, about learning a thing or two from him about shooting the puck. Dach is up to eight goals on the season, and if his recent play is a sign of things to come, it looks pretty good. Dach's linemate is up to 10 goals on the season, and Alex Newhook the third part of the Canadiens second line made a beautiful cross-zone pass to Laine, who made no mistake for a beautiful goal.

Alexandre Carrier continues steady play

Montreal is scoring goals and the goaltending is playing well, what more can you ask for? How about adding a steady, right-shot defender who stabilizes his pair with one of the Habs' brightest young defensemen (Kaiden Guhle)? Alexandre Carrier doesn't do much flashy at all, but he kills penalties and keeps the puck from the front of his net, with smart and physical play.

He isn't the biggest or fastest, but he uses everything in his power to defend, and he plays much bigger than what he is. Carrier was rewarded for his strong play with an assist on Dach's second goal of the game. I love that it's understood what Carrier brings to the team, and he isn't expected to score like Hutson does.

Carrier has been the perfect addition to a young, developing blueline and the simplicity of his game, makes for the perfect defence partner for Guhle.