Montreal Canadiens: Three Players Poised To Be Far Better Post All-Star Break

Jan 17, 2024; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Montreal Canadiens right wing Cole Caufield
Jan 17, 2024; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Montreal Canadiens right wing Cole Caufield | Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports
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Josh Anderson

File this one under, well, he can't be any worse, right? Josh Anderson is a unique hockey player even at the NHL level. He has a combination of speed and size that just does not exist elsewhere.

The 29 year old winger is 6'3 and 224 pounds, but he flies down the wing like a helmeted Guy Lafleur. Of course, he doens't resemble Guy all that much when he gets around the net.

That was never closer to the truth than the beginning of this season. Anderson simply could not buy a goal. He played well to begin the season and was generating tons of chances but none of them would go in the net. It started to become almost comical, aside from the fact it was happening to a real life Canadiens player and you couldn't help but feel bad for the guy.

He played the first 24 games without scoring a goal before he finally scored an empty netter against the Seattle Kraken. He finally put a puck past a goaltender a few games later and suddenly went on a bit of a hot streak. He scored five goals in five games, trying to make up for some lost time, but was held scoreless for a handful of contests after that.

He wrapped up the first half with seven goals and 13 points in 45 games which included an indescribable cold stretch. He has to be better in the second half as he just can not possibly go through another 20+ game scoring slump.

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