Author: Dose

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David Reinbacher: “He is so good, it’s scary”

Yesterday, David Reinbacher skated with the guys from the Canadiens for the first time since he underwent surgery.

The defender, who is progressing faster than expected, looked good on the ice not only because we didn’t expect his knee to hold up like that… but also because he was playing well.

Listening to Renaud Lavoie, who discussed the topic with Jean-Charles Lajoie last night, Reinbacher’s talent was evident on the ice.

In his eyes, his vision and talent were apparent on the ice. The journalist finds that “Reinbacher is so good that it’s scary,” and clearly, he was impressed by what he saw.

This is an interesting viewpoint because normally, it’s a discourse reserved for Matvei Michkov, who was overlooked by the Canadiens in favor of the Austrian defender.

If Reinbacher can become the defender that the Canadiens hope one day, it could solve some issues in Montreal. After all, on the right side, apart from Logan Mailloux and him, the prospects are thin…

But there is still a long way to go before arriving there.

It is also worth noting that Renaud Lavoie, in his column, mentioned that David Savard was assisting David Reinbacher a lot during yesterday’s practice. Is anyone surprised?

The veterans clearly hold Reinbacher in high regard.

He has that little something extra. – Mike Matheson on David Reinbacher

In an ideal world, Reinbacher would have a strong finish to the season in Laval and start the next season off well with the Rocket. And from there, if he is a reliable defender, a call-up could become an option.

We shouldn’t rush him.

I also imagine that the Canadiens, knowing that Matvei Michkov has plenty of talent, will want to give the defender every chance possible to succeed in the National Hockey League.

One step at a time… but for the past 24 hours, there has been a very positive vibe around Reinbacher.

In brief

– Too strong.

– Thomas Chabot: his father hates the Habs. [JdeM]

– Emil Heineman is improving.

– It won’t be easy.

– Yes.

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Connor Hughes got himself a new Canadiens mask

I don’t know if you like the masks of the goalies. But if you do, you will be pleased with Connor Hughes’ mask.

The artist Sylabrush, who is behind several masks, has just unveiled the Canadiens-colored mask made for Connor Hughes of the Laval Rocket.

It is simple, but it is also beautiful.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

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Top-5: When Moritz Seider decides to score… in his own net

The Canadiens were not in action yesterday.

The team will return to action tonight, as the Jets visit the Bell Centre.

There were still five other games featured in the NHL yesterday:

1: An emotional game in Detroit

Last night was special for Dominik Shine.

The 31-year-old veteran, who began his pro career in 2016, was playing his very first NHL game.

A great show of determination:

The Kings quickly opened the scoring in the match, and the second goal scored by the Los Angeles team was… Strange.

In fact, it was Moritz Seider who scored into his own net after losing the puck near his goal:

Despite being down 2-0 in the game, the Wings never gave up.

The team was able to come back and win 5-2.

Lucas Raymond, Alex DeBrincat, and Marco Kasper (twice) scored four of Detroit’s five goals:

Lucas Raymond was brilliant in his team’s victory.

The forward finished his work night with an impressive four-point harvest, helping the Wings secure two crucial points in the standings.

2: A goal for McDavid on his return

The Oilers’ captain was back in action after his three-game suspension.

And what had to happen, happened.

McDavid scored:

After McDavid’s goal, Zach Hyman missed a great chance to give his team the lead.

But it was okay: Corey Perry was there to fix his teammate’s error.

The former Canadiens player took advantage of a breakaway to make it 3-2:

This was enough for the Oilers, who never looked back in the game.

The club won their match against the Kraken by a score of 4-2.

Mattias Ekholm scored into an empty net.

3: Another loss for the Penguins

Poor Sidney Crosby…

The Penguins are going nowhere, as we saw again last night when they faced off against the Sharks in San Jose.

Crosby scored early in the third period, but that was the only moment of joy for the Penguins in the game:

Crosby and the Penguins were powerless against Macklin Celebrini and the Sharks.

Celebrini scored his team’s second goal in the game, which turned out to be the winning goal.

The Sharks won 2-1:

The Penguins now have a record of 3-7-0 in their last ten games.

Nothing is going right for Pittsburgh…

4: Quinn Hughes and J.T. Miller take care of the Blues

Did we tell you that Quinn Hughes is a good NHL player?

He proved it last night with a beautiful pass on Conor Garland’s goal.

This allowed the Canucks captain to register a point in a sixth consecutive game:

Immediately after Garland’s goal, J.T. Miller wanted to send a message to his teammates.

The star player of the Canucks fought with the Blues’ captain, Brayden Schenn:

The stars of the game were definitely Hughes and Miller.

This play deserves to be seen and reviewed:

The Canucks won the game by a score of 5-2, and in the victory, J.T. Miller stood out by scoring a Gordie Howe hat trick (one goal, one assist, and one fight).

Hughes, meanwhile, recorded two assists… And became the first defenseman in Canucks history to have 100 multi-point games in his career:

5: Important victory for the Flyers

The Flyers were not there to mess around against the Devils last night.

John Tortorella’s team scored three times in the first 23 minutes of the game:

The Devils tried to come back in the game, but they were never able to complete their comeback.

The Flyers eventually won by a score of 4-2 and managed to secure a big victory against the powerful Devils.

The game also featured this hit from Nick Seeler.

Nathan Bastian had to leave the game after the hit:

Overtime

– 😂😂

– The top scorers of the night:

(Credit: NHL.com)

– Eight games tonight, including the Canadiens’ game:

(Credit: Google)
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Oliver Kapanen is scoring at a rate of one point per game in Sweden

Oliver Kapanen did not experience the hoped-for start of the season with the Canadiens. He returned to play in Sweden, as planned, and this return has benefited him greatly.

He is increasing his point production from game to game and is also showing excellent development of his skills.

With a haul of 21 points in as many games, he is part of a short list of nine players with at least one point per game this season in the SHL.

Grant McCagg has observed him playing since his return to Sweden and noticed one very important thing that could explain Kapanen’s success.

His skating has significantly improved. Watching his highlights, one might think he glides on the ice. It’s enough to impress many people, including McCagg.

Here are some highlights from Kapanen’s last match, which were collected by McCagg.

McCagg noted that Kapanen has developed true confidence on the ice. His streak of seven games with at least one point is likely helping him gain some form of self-confidence.

The craziest thing about it all is that Kapanen is the only player under 24 years old to have at least one point per game in the SHL this season.

Kapanen is progressing very well, to the point where McCagg ranks him as the second-best center in the entire SHL. The only player ahead of him is David Tomasek, a 28-year-old veteran who has scored 46 points in just 34 games.

If Kapanen were still playing in the SHL at 28 years old, one could expect such dominance.

McCagg is also impressed with Kapanen’s work in the faceoff circle. He has won 55.8% of his battles, placing him among the elite in the SHL.

Kapanen scored the only two goals for his team in his last game and his progression is far from finished. Kent Hughes must be rubbing his hands in delight at the quality of play from his prospect.

In Brief

– Harvey-Pinard might soon get his chance.

– The season is not over.

– It’s a good point.

– Really entertaining!

– CF Montreal needs change.

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Canada should have invited Logan Thompson to the Four Nations Showcase

Canada made its selection at the beginning of December for its roster at the Four Nations Tournament. Samuel Montembeault has been invited alongside Adin Hill and Jordan Binnington.

The Canadian leaders may have made a mistake selecting these goalies. Other Canadian goaltenders have impressed this season, including Logan Thompson.

The Capitals goalie has been nothing short of spectacular, as he finds himself in the top three of the NHL for most goaltending statistics.

Here’s what his statistics look like this season.

Thompson is the only regular goalie (at least 10 games) in the NHL with fewer than three regulation losses this season.

And that’s not all! His save percentage and goals against average per game place him just behind Connor Hellebuyck, who is having an outstanding season.

Logan Thompson is currently in the running for the Vezina Trophy. His statistics are way too impressive!

The Capitals have not wasted any time and have extended his contract for six seasons. The worst part is that his contract will only count for $5.85 million against the Caps’ salary cap.

Returning to the Canadian goalies, Thompson simply dominates all the goalie statistics among Canadian netminders.

With 22 wins, he has three more than his closest competitor, Adin Hill, who has played four fewer games than him.

Hill is the goalie selected by Canada with the best save percentage (.903), but he ranks ninth among Canadian goalies in that category. Eight other regular goalies of Canadian nationality surpass him!

Logan Thompson has a save percentage of .925 and he is closely followed by two other overlooked goalies, Darcy Kuemper (.921) and Mackenzie Blackwood (.915). These three goalies could have been an interesting choice for the tournament.

They are used to playing in front of teams with many talented players, which the Canadian goalie will have to do during the tournament.

The former goaltending coach of the Canadiens, Stéphane Waite, even stated on the podcast Sortie de zone that he would have liked to see Thompson invited to the Four Nations Tournament.

It is a source of pride to see Samuel Montembeault represent Canada, but Logan Thompson truly deserves a spot on the national team.

Quick Hits

– The Senators’ executives apologized for the Nordiques jersey.

– It’s thanks to a great performance by Jacob Fowler.

– We love to see this.

– The duo worked well in the regular season.

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Fatigue is starting to catch up with Lane Hutson

Playing significant minutes right from his arrival in the NHL can be very exhausting. That is exactly the task that Lane Hutson must accomplish this season.

He is the second most utilized player on the Canadiens, just behind Mike Matheson. Hutson averages 22:37 per game.

Hutson was used to playing important minutes with Boston College and the U.S. team at the Junior World Championship, but he was playing many fewer games.

As Arpon Basu from The Athletic pointed out in a piece he published on Monday, Hutson has now played 49 games this season. That’s two more games than the 47 he played during the 2023-24 season with Boston College, the Canadiens, and the United States.

The excuse of fatigue would be easy for a rookie player to use, but that’s not what he wants to do. In front of the media members, he insists that he has simply not played his best hockey in the last games and that he just needs to be better.

It’s a good thing to see Hutson avoiding easy excuses. It’s exactly the kind of attitude that everyone loves to see in a hockey player.

Hutson even recently mentioned that he would give himself a grade of “C” or “D” for some of his recent games. As Basu explained in his piece, if that is the worst of Lane Hutson, then the games where he gives himself a “B” must be incredible.

The American defenseman has not had his best games in the last two outings of the Canadiens, not registering any points and finishing with a -2 rating, but he has not been the worst player on the ice. Hutson demands a lot from himself.

It is certain that he has flaws, and that is a good thing. Having flaws helps us work on ourselves in a positive way.

For example, Hutson should do a better job of covering the slot. According to data from the NHL’s Edge software shared by François-David Rouleau from the Journal de Montréal, Samuel Montembeault is the goalie who has faced the most high-risk shots in the NHL this season with 291.

The American defenseman was on the ice 121 times out of 291. That is the second highest total on the team behind Mike Matheson’s (149), who is his defensive partner.

Lane Hutson may be going through a rough patch and needs to improve some aspects of his game, but he is aware of it and will evolve with more experience in the NHL. He should be able to find his usual level of play very soon.

In Brief

– The NFL and the Canadiens are popular.

– A player with potential.

– Wow!

– Stuart Skinner’s child is born!

– MLS could be a good option.

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The former referee Tim Peel hated Michel Therrien

Tim Peel is a former NHL referee who has experienced his share of scandals.

If you are a regular user of Twitter/X, you have surely seen him share sharp opinions on the platform.

This time, he was a guest of former Canadiens player Chris Nilan, on his podcast The Sick Podcast – Raw Knuckles. One of the topics discussed was former Canadiens head coach Michel Therrien.

Let me tell you that Peel did not have Therrien in his good graces. When a podcast listener asked him which head coach had given him the most trouble during his career, he replied that he hated Michel Therrien and the feeling was mutual.

According to Peel, he and Marc Bergevin were great friends. When he officiated a Canadiens game, he would go out for a drink with the former general manager of the CH.

At one point, Bergevin requested a meeting between Peel and Therrien to bury the hatchet. The two men agreed to meet in the coaching office.

Upon his arrival, Peel was insulted by Therrien, who told him he looked like a limousine driver in his suit and tie.

The former NHL official took the time to chat with Therrien, explaining that they had no reason to hate each other and that they were just doing their jobs on the ice.

The meeting seems to have gone well because, according to Peel, he and Michel Therrien are now friends!

Even though they are now friends, let’s say that Michel Therrien probably had good reasons for not liking Peel. Let’s just say that the end of the referee’s career did not go as planned.

A microphone on the ice caught a conversation he was having in which he admitted to giving a penalty to the Nashville Predators simply because he wanted to give them one.

Tim Peel is an intriguing individual, but he knows very well how to get himself into hot water.

In Brief

– It’s an idea.

– Interesting.

– News of the Canadiens’ prospect.

– It smells like a trade in Miami.

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The CH fights to make it to the playoffs: Why is Michael Pezzetta still playing?

Against all odds, the Canadiens are currently fighting for a playoff spot.

And in the context where the CH needs to win games to solidify their position in the Eastern standings, there is a question that needs to be asked right now.

Why is Michael Pezzetta still playing?

Martin St-Louis praised his player, saying he is a good teammate and behaves like a true pro.

But that’s not an excuse to keep him in the lineup either…

Pezzetta, as of January, claims an average ice time of 4:25 minutes per game. He has been in the lineup since Emil Heineman’s injury, but he doesn’t play much because he often hurts the team.

That said, isn’t there anyone in Laval who could fill a fourth-line role until Heineman is ready to return to the lineup?

Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, who was called up on Saturday, couldn’t have taken Pezzetta’s place in the lineup considering the latter played just seven minutes?

Seeing Pezzetta in the lineup right now is simply illogical… Especially when looking at the Canadiens’ position in the standings:

(Credit: NHL.com)

There are guys in Laval who deserve the chance to be called up.

And here, it makes sense to think of Jared Davidson, who is frankly having a great season in the American League.

He has the qualities to play on a fourth line: Davidson is gritty, he can disrupt the opponent, he has a good skating ability, and he also has strong individual skills… Moreover, we’re talking about the best scorer in the American League in terms of plus/minus.

(Credit: Theahl.com)

In my opinion, it’s Davidson who should have been called up by the Canadiens, not Harvey-Pinard.

RHP hasn’t been impressive since his return to play in Laval, but the CH decided to recall a guy with experience, which is understandable as well.

However, to make use of Harvey-Pinard’s experience, he needs to play… And at this point, it’s really time for the Canadiens to understand that things are not working out with Michael Pezzetta.

In brief

– Oh.

– He’s having a big season in Columbus.

– The same goes for Oliver Kapanen in Sweden.

– Evander Kane is nearing a return.

– Interesting…

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Sweater Ottawa / Quebec: Senators fans are angry

This morning, we learned that the Los Angeles Kings and the Ottawa Senators will play two preseason games in Quebec next September.

They will face off against the New Jersey Devils on the 28th, and two days later, the Canadiens will be there to challenge the Sens for victory.

Colleague Charles-Alexis Brisebois wrote an article about the Canadiens’ upcoming visit to Quebec:

For their part, the Senators are delighted with this opportunity.

They shared a photo on their Twitter account showing the team’s mascot… wearing a special jersey.

Half of the jersey features the colors of the Nordiques, while the other half is in the colors of the Sens.

That said, I invite you to check the comments under the post to see how upset the fans are:

“What the f*ck…”

“Remove that…”

“Disgusting…”

“What a bad idea…”

“We are the Senators. Stop…”

The reactions are numerous. And it’s clear that it is really not going over well with management:

(Credit: Twitter)
(Credit: Twitter)
(Credit: Twitter)

The fans’ anger is palpable, and it’s agreed that it’s normal.

Replacing half of your jersey with that of another team is acceptable if you’re a fan attending a game.

But it doesn’t sit well for a professional organization.

Imagine if the Canadiens published a photo of Youppi! with his big smile wearing half of the jersey in Leafs colors… There would definitely be some unhappy fans in Montreal!

All this to say that the Sens dropped the ball, and it will be interesting to see if the organization does anything to remedy the situation.

Although the damage seems already done…

In brief

– We hardly hear about him lately, either.

– He had some good moments in the NHL during his first year with the Red Wings.

– This topic will always be talked about in the MLB.

– Well deserved!

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Trading Savard for another right-handed defenseman: A scenario that exists (according to Arpon Basu)

David Savard no longer needs an introduction.

His qualities are well known in Montreal, and it’s clear he is a useful player in Martin St-Louis’s lineup, even if he is slowing down a bit.

That’s why the idea of seeing him traded by March 7 is not unanimous in the city. Especially if the Canadiens are still battling for a playoff spot in just over a month!

Speaking of the defender, Arpon Basu (The Athletic) raised a possibility that could make sense to some.

What if the Canadiens traded Savard… to find his replacement for the coming years?

There could even be a scenario where the Canadiens trade Savard as a rental player and acquire a replacement on the right side. – Arpon Basu

This is the first time we’ve heard of this idea:

There are two ways to look at this.

The first: David Savard is no longer the defender he once was, and Kent Hughes could take advantage of that to maximize his value. There is also a chance of seeing the defender leave this summer through the free agent market if he cannot come to terms with the Canadiens on a new contract.

In other words, the CH could lose him for nothing in a few months.

The second: Even though the Quebecer is 34, he is still an extremely important player in Montreal. He wears a letter on his sweater, is one of the big leaders of the team, and enjoys being in a big brother role. He could help the team fight for a playoff spot until the end of the season because of his competitiveness.

Players who are willing to sacrifice themselves like he does are hard to come by:

If I were Kent Hughes, I would definitely listen to offers for Savard. But it would take a lot to let him go.

And there’s the problem, exactly.

It would be surprising to see Savard traded for an excellent draft pick or a great prospect, and it makes one realize that the defender still holds greater value in Montreal.

Because we know how important he is to the Canadiens and that he is willing to do anything to win here.

In Brief

– Another honor for Jacob Fowler. He was notably excellent Saturday night, as my colleague Mathis Therrien pointed out in an article yesterday.

– Logical.

– Nicolas Aubé-Kubel placed on waivers.

– Another defender heading to the Islanders.

– New contract (deserved) for Logan Thompson.

– Your turn to respond!