Ever since becoming a Montreal Canadiens player, Kirby Dach has dealt with more injuries than most players will experience in their entire careers. Since the former third overall was acquired by the Canadiens, he has only played in 154 out of a possible 328 games, missing time with a variety of injuries. He has had to deal with multiple knee surgeries, a foot fracture, and a bunch of different smaller injuries that have not only affected his game on the ice but also his development. When the Canadiens acquired Dach, the plan was for him to one day be Montreal’s long-term solution at second-line centre. While the injuries have derailed that from coming to fruition, his play so far in these playoffs should have fans optimistic that we still have not seen the best of Dach.
Dach Delivering in the Playoffs
Dach’s playoffs started rough. He was under heavy scrutiny after what happened at the end of Game 2 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He had a costly mistake in overtime that led to the J.J. Moser winner, and was under fire from the media and fans. Some of the backlash went way too far, but Dach did not let the hate get to him and responded with a great Game 3 performance. Dach had a goal and an assist in the game, helping the Canadiens take a 2-1 series over the Lightning. Dach scored again in the Canadiens Game 5 win, which gave Montreal a commanding 3-2 series lead. In a short amount of time, Dach went from public enemy number one to one of the crucial reasons why the Canadiens made it out of round one.
Dach formed a great partnership with Zachary Bolduc and Alexandre Texier, which was arguably the Canadiens' best and most consistent line all series long against the Lightning. At a time when Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovsky were struggling to produce while on 5-on-5, it was Dach’s line that was producing crucial goals. According to MoneyPuck, the Bolduc-Dach-Texier line is tied for first in goals for with 6. Their line was on the ice for one goal against, which shows just how effective they were against the Lightning.
Dach’s great play continued in the Canadiens’ first game of round two against the Buffalo Sabres. Despite the loss in Game 1, Dach scored a goal late in the second period, bringing the Sabres' lead down to two. His late goal helped reenergize the Canadiens, who outshot Buffalo 11-1 in the third, but could not cut into their lead.
Could Dach Unlock Demidov?
While the Bolduc-Dach-Texier line was one of the Canadiens' best in round one, Martin St. Louis chose to shuffle his line prior to Game 1 against the Sabres. St. Louis introduced Joe Veleno into the lineup, centring a line between Bolduc and Dach, moving Texier onto a line with Phillip Danault and Josh Anderson. Dach’s new line acted as the Canadiens fourth line, and while he only played just under 10 minutes, he still found a way to be effective. Dach deserves to play more than nine minutes a night, and with the Canadiens second line still struggling to generate offence, is it finally time to try him out alongside Ivan Demidov?
Demidov has been very quiet so far in these playoffs. After not recording a point since Game 1 against the Lightning, He picked up his second point of the playoffs in the loss to the Sabres. Both of Demidov’s points have come on the power play, and he is struggling, like most of the Canadiens stars, to generate any offence while 5-on-5. The Canadiens have tried multiple line combinations to try and get him going, but one they have not tried yet is playing him alongside Dach. Going into Game 2 against the Sabres, the Canadiens' second line should be Bolduc-Dach-Demidov.
Both Dach and Bolduc have been great so far in these playoffs and have done the majority of their damage while 5-on-5. Both Dach and Bolduc have physical elements to their games, which could open up space for Demidov to use his stick-handling and playmaking ability. The Canadiens need to respond after their Game 1 loss, and moving Dach and Bolduc with Demidov could potentially give Montreal another line they can count on to produce offence.
Add us as a preferred source on Google