Author: Dose

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From the worst to the best team in the NHL: the two faces of the Canadiens

Inexplicable! Improbable! Disconcerting!

What the Canadiens – who were languishing in the basement – are currently accomplishing could not have been foreseen. Going from the worst team in the league on November 25 (32nd in the standings) to the best team in the league for the past month is something.

Since December 16, the CH has a record of 11-2-1.

(Credit: NHL.com)

During this period, the Montrealers scored 51 goals, one less than the 52 from the Oilers and Blue Jackets, and they only allowed 30.

Their two special teams have a combined efficiency rate of 110%!

Jakub Dobes, Patrik Laine, Alexandre Carrier… some additions are at the heart of this turnaround. But Lane Hutson, Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, Kaiden Guhle, Mike Matheson, Samuel Montembeault, Jake Evans, Joel Armia, and others are not strangers to the team’s current success.

Are we going to make the playoffs?
The CH is in 10th place in the East this morning, just one point away from a playoff spot. With two games in hand…

(Credit: NHL.com)

In short, our club is in the mix.

The problem is that it won’t draft top three there are eight teams fighting for the two Wild Card spots in the East: the Blue Jackets, Bruins, Senators, Canadiens, Red Wings, Flyers, Rangers, and Penguins.

Two of the aforementioned teams are therefore likely to make the playoffs.

Does this mean the CH only has a 25% chance of extending its season after its 82nd regular game?

No! The Canadiens are on a good run and are closer to the top eight than the Flyers, Rangers, and Penguins. And they have an easier schedule than some teams in direct competition with them.

The renowned site MoneyPuck.com gives the Canadiens a 36% probability of making the playoffs this morning. It sees the Bruins and the Sens making the playoffs… but it also sees the CH and the Flyers as the most likely candidates to surpass them.

Let’s remember that MoneyPuck uses advanced statistical calculations to determine its percentages.

The site PlayoffsStatus.com is more generous regarding the Canadiens’ probabilities. It estimates the chances of seeing the CH play in the playoffs at 50%.

According to the site’s calculations, the Canadiens and Senators have better chances of extending their season than the Blue Jackets and Bruins.

The Flyers, Penguins, and Rangers have very little positive probabilities, according to PlayoffStatus.com.

Ultimately, the Tricolore has between one in three and one in two chances of making the playoffs…

Which makes the odds for this on Mise-o-jeu VERY interesting: 4.50.

I think I’m going to bet a little $20 on the CH.

In a nutshell

– It will be Toronto or L.A.

– Logical.

– Frederik Andersen is back.

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4 matches, 4 goals and 4 victories for Jakub Dobes: a historic pace

Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images

This season, the Canadiens are quite fortunate when it comes to rookies.

Obviously, there is Lane Hutson, whose skills on the ice are well documented. Everyone – or almost everyone – knows that he is already a top defenseman in Montreal.

There is also Emil Heineman. Yes, he will miss a few weeks of activity after being hit by a car in Salt Lake City, but he remains one of the most productive rookies in the Bettman circuit as of this writing.

And now, we can add Jakub Dobes to the list. And this, despite the small sample size.

In four games, the goalie has four wins against strong teams (Panthers, Avalanche, Capitals, and Stars) and has only allowed four goals in total. He is truly dominant.

Martin St-Louis, at this point, can send him against any NHL team.

Such a feat (four games, four wins, four goals) for a goalie making his first steps in the NHL is simply historic. In the last 60 years, only three players have done it.

Only four goals in his first four NHL games in the colors of the Montreal Canadiens, the greatest franchise in hockey, has never been seen for a goalie.

So we can say this: Cayden who?

Dobes’ average of 0.98, his save percentage of .963 (meaning 24 pucks out of 25 are stopped), and his shutout demonstrate that he wasn’t joking when he said he was ready for the NHL.

Yesterday, after the game, Dobes said he really wanted to be recalled and that he worked hard in Laval. Clearly, it paid off.

We must never forget that the development of a young player is never linear (Juraj Slafkovsky is a good example) and that the goalie could/should experience dry spells along the way.

But right now, given how he is playing and because he is helping the Canadiens win, it is hard to imagine a world where this competitor returns to Laval by the end of the season. However, he should take nothing for granted because things can change quickly, but…

In Brief

– Larry Robinson is impressed with Martin St-Louis.

– Hmm…

– Still.

– Worth reading.

– Zach Werenski is loved in Columbus.

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The CH will continue to win: Martin St-Louis does not intend to shave his beard.

This morning, I received a call. It was from my friend Tankathon.

Basically, he said he noticed that I talked less about him during the summer, only once the draft was over… but he felt that I was neglecting him a bit too much this season compared to previous campaigns.

I therefore had no choice but to tell him that this season, aside from the Canadiens’ results, I didn’t really have a choice but to set him aside.

(Credit: Tankathon)

The results speak for themselves: if the season ended today, the Canadiens would be lined up to draft 16th overall. Winning the lottery (1.1% chance of happening) would give the Habs the sixth spot in the next draft. #Unlikely

And all this is because the CH is one point behind the Bruins and the bottom spot in the playoffs. The CH has a better points percentage than the Bruins, who have two more games played this season.

(Credit: NHL.com)

The fact that the Canadiens are the team of the moment in the NHL – let’s not mince words – means that their rise in the standings is simply spectacular. Nothing less.

Let’s just say it was hard to foresee such a rise at the beginning of December.

Just yesterday, the Canadiens beat one of the good teams in the NHL, namely the Stars. This was done on the road, without Emil Heineman and with Michael Pezzetta, who is increasingly living on borrowed time.

One wonders if the coach has celebrated like that again…

via GIPHY

Thus, there is only one logical explanation for discussing the Canadiens’ rise: Martin St. Louis’s beard.

The mixed beard, as my father calls it, has been around for a few weeks. And for the past few weeks, the Montreal Canadiens have been winning games like there’s no tomorrow.

Coincidence? Probably not.

And on this topic, after the 3-1 victory against Dallas, St. Louis was asked if he was superstitious and if he planned to shave soon. And rest assured: no, he does not plan to shave in the near future.

 

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Top-5: Nathan MacKinnon scores one of the goals of the year in the NHL

13 games were presented in the NHL last night, including the Canadiens’ match in Dallas.

The CH won their game against the Stars, but we also need to talk about what happened elsewhere across the league.

It was a busy evening:

1: Nathan MacKinnon scores one of the goals of the year

Nathan MacKinnon is part of the elite in the National League.

And we saw it last night, as the Avalanche hosted the powerful Oilers at home.

The Dog scored one of the goals of the year by completely outsmarting Evan Bouchard… before beating Stuart Skinner:

The Avalanche was controlling the game… Until the Oilers’ big guns decided to wake up.

The Edmonton team scored four unanswered goals to ultimately win 4-3, after trailing 3-0 in the first period:

Evan Bouchard (one goal and one assist), Connor McDavid (one goal and one assist) and Leon Draisaitl (two assists) contributed to their team’s victory.

Things are going well for the Oilers lately, who have won eight of their last ten games.

2: Another goal for Ovi

We move to overtime in the game between the Senators and the Capitals.

The score is 0-0… And it’s the guy who usually scores goals who decided to step up.

You guessed it, Alex Ovechkin gave his team the victory (1-0) with a good shot:

Ovi now has 874 goals scored in the NHL.

He is only 21 goals away from surpassing Wayne Gretzky, and it’s safe to say it’s just a matter of time at this point.

Note that with his goal, Ovechkin has now scored against 179 different goalies since the start of his NHL career.

This is a record:

3: Things are going well for Kakko

The Rangers traded Kaapo Kakko to Seattle in December.

And let’s just say the Finnish player is doing what he can to make Chris Drury look bad.

Kakko got an assist on the Kraken’s first goal against the Jets yesterday:

He now has 10 points in 13 games since arriving in Seattle.

Not bad!

However, it should be noted that the efforts of the main player were not enough: Dylan DeMelo scored with 27 seconds left on the clock to secure the victory for his team.

The Jets escaped with the W (final score 2-1):

Once again, Connor Hellebuyck was brilliant in net.

The Jets’ goaltender stopped 18 of the 19 shots he faced, marking his 28th (!) victory of the season.

He’s going to win the Vezina, for sure.

4: An assist for Michkov and Celebrini

Lane Hutson recorded an assist last night in the Canadiens’ victory in Dallas.

What does the Calder race look like, then?

In fact, let’s first note that Matvei Michkov and Macklin Celebrini also registered an assist last night in their respective games.

It’s heating up:

Hutson has now recorded 36 points since the start of the season.

Michkov and Celebrini each have 32 points.

I can’t wait to see who will win the Calder…

Note that Michkov and the Flyers took advantage of their visit to Long Island to beat the hapless Islanders (5-3).

Celebrini and the Sharks, for their part, lost 4-1 to the Blue Jackets in Columbus.

5: 1300th career game for Vlasic

Marc-Édouard Vlasic is no longer the defender he once was.

But he experienced a nice moment last night, even though his team lost to the Jackets.

The defender played his 1300th game in the NHL:

1300 games… That’s a lot.

And the defender’s achievement is notable as he becomes just the 74th player in NHL history to play that many career games.

That’s quite an accomplishment.

Overtime

– It would have been crazy.

– Another victory for the Kings.

– Stamkos scored the game winner for his team against the Hawks in a shootout.

– Bedard scored in his team’s loss:

– Beautiful goal.

– In the Leafs’ victory, Marner reached the 700 career points milestone:

– Nice.

– A first career game for Donovan Sebrango. The family was emotional:

– Beautiful milestone for Victor Hedman.

– Sniiiipe.

– The top scorers of the night:

(Credit: )

– Only two games today in the NHL:

(Credit: )
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The same scenario repeats: the Canadiens have (again) defeated an NHL powerhouse.

For the second time in less than a week, the Canadiens faced the Dallas Stars. After a loss in a shootout last Saturday at the Bell Centre, the CH had the chance to get revenge in Dallas.

For the occasion, Jakub Dobes was in goal for the team.

Here is the lineup for the Tricolore:

On the Stars’ side, Jake Oettinger was in goal for a roster dealing with some injured players.

Here is the lineup for the home team:

We quickly had some action at the start of the game. In fact, it didn’t even take four minutes before the first goal of the match was scored.

However, it was the Stars who scored, courtesy of Jason Robertson (and a defensive sequence from the CH that won’t be remembered).

That said, we’ve seen in recent weeks that the Canadiens are competitive… and they proved it once again less than a minute after the Stars’ goal.

A beautiful sequence from Cole Caufield allowed Juraj Slafkovský to tie the game.

It calmed down afterwards, the score was 1-1 after 20 minutes.

In the second period, during a power play for the Stars, Joel Armia found himself without a stick after giving his to Alexandre Carrier.

This, however, did not stop the Finn from being defensively useful. Quite an effort on his part.

It should be noted that in the second period, no goals were scored… and this was notably thanks to Jakub Dobes’s excellence.

The young Canadiens goaltender was dominant during the first 40 minutes of the game.

After 40 minutes, the score was still 1-1.

In the third, the CH continued to fight in a fiercely contested game… and once again, Lane Hutson created something offensively.

The defenseman took a shot on goal that was deflected by Alex Newhook… before ending up in the Stars’ net. Suddenly, the CH took the lead in this game.

The Stars had a few good chances to equalize, but Dobes and the CH held their ground.

Joel Armia sealed the score with an empty-net goal.

Final score: 3-1 Montreal

The Canadiens will be back in action on Saturday night when they return home to face the Maple Leafs. This will be the first game of a two-game back-to-back series.

Overtime

– Once again tonight, the Canadiens demonstrated that they can be competitive against any NHL team. The games are piling up for the club… and for the first time in years, this is a good thing.

– The CH really defeated a team on fire tonight. This is only the second loss in 10 games for the Stars, who are having a dream season.

– Joel Armia was possibly the best player for the Canadiens tonight. He was everywhere on the ice, and he greatly deserved to score the insurance goal into an empty net. He is well paid at $3.4M per season, but when Armia plays with confidence, he is quite a hockey player.

– This group is really tightly knit. Look at how the team reacted when the Stars got a little too close to Jakub Dobes for the CH’s taste.

– Speaking of Dobes, he stopped 32 of the 33 shots from the Stars tonight. He is really, really solid, the kid.

– I don’t know if we will have repeated enough one day that Lane Hutson is special… but once again tonight, it’s thanks to him that the Canadiens got two points. By the way, he now has 10 points in his last six games… and he has 25 points in his last 23 games.

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It’s (really) difficult for Alexis Lafrenière since he signed his big contract.

Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

The New York Rangers are having a horrible season. The club is 20-20-3 before today’s game, and for a team that had Stanley Cup aspirations, this is obviously an unacceptable performance.

Moreover, having to deal with a new drama almost every week doesn’t help, we can agree.

That being said, at the beginning of the season (on October 25, to be precise), the club reached an agreement on the terms of a long-term contract with Alexis Lafrenière. He had a strong start to the season (seven points in seven games), and the club wanted to resolve the contract situation.

However, since signing his $52.15 million contract over seven years, it has been really difficult for Lafrenière. In fact, since October 25, he has only seven goals and 17 points in 36 games.

And the Quebecer is the first to admit it: he confessed to Alexandre Gascon (Radio-Canada) that it has been a challenging campaign for him.

In fact, since December 9, Lafrenière has only four points in 17 games, even though he is on the first power play unit. Given that the Rangers are having a nightmarish season, part of the lack of production is justifiable… but the contract he signed means he needs to be part of the solution.

The deal hasn’t kicked in yet (it will start on July 1), but it has nonetheless changed the player’s status in the locker room.

If we look at Lafrenière’s statistics since he signed his contract (seven goals and 17 points in 36 games), we realize that during the same period, Kirby Dach scored eight goals and 14 points in 36 games.

Essentially, Lafrenière has pretty much the same production as Dach for nearly three months… and Dach, who doesn’t have a huge contract and is coming back from a significant injury, has received a ton of criticism regarding his game. Imagine what it would be like in town if the Quebec forward had had this stretch in Montreal…

Obviously, Lafrenière still has time to shake off his slump and prove to the Rangers that they made the right decision. That said, sooner or later, he will need to show some promising signs.

After all, Dach is showing at least a few…

In brief

– Frank Seravalli is going hard on Kyle Dubas.

Mathias Brunet has essentially done the same thing, by the way.

– It’s (pretty much) better than the Islanders’ performance.

– Choosing Matt Murray and Tristan Jarry over an “aging” Marc-André Fleury was not a good decision in Pittsburgh.

– The Blue Jackets are no longer losing.

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SKA: Tony DeAngelo “was not liked and argued with everyone”

In Montreal, the SKA of St. Petersburg has never been more followed than it has been since the beginning of the season. With Ivan Demidov, the club’s major prospect, playing there, people are closely monitoring what is happening within Roman Rotenberg’s team.

This clearly shows how eager fans are to see Demidov arrive in town.

Among the many events this season for the SKA, the signing of Tony DeAngelo was a significant moment. A high-quality offensive defenseman joining the group was a great opportunity for a talented player like Demidov…

Except in the end, he left the team for “family reasons”… and it sounded like an explanation that was hiding another.

However, according to MatchTV, the hidden explanation might be the one that has been problematic for DeAngelo since the beginning of his career: in fact, according to a source from the Russian media, DeAngelo “was not liked and argued with everyone” at the SKA.

In the publication above, we can notably see a video in which a SKA coach tells DeAngelo off as he returns to his bench. He allegedly did this in response to similar comments from DeAngelo towards him.

DeAngelo, whose majority of his salary was tied to performance bonuses, is also accused of being selfish and only thinking about his statistics.

Quite the picture, all of this.

Of course, one must take and leave with stories like this, especially since DeAngelo has not been able to give his version of events. That said, DeAngelo has not always had the reputation of being a gold teammate during his time in the NHL… and this story seems to fit the defender’s history.

Once again, maybe the MatchTV source amplified everything to make the defender look bad after he left the club… but all of this remains peculiar.

That said, we know that (at least publicly) DeAngelo has never hesitated to praise Demidov. He repeats to anyone willing to listen that the hope of the Canadiens is a special talent who should never have slipped to the Canadiens’ selection rank.

Perhaps behind the scenes, the relationship between the two was more strained… but one can wonder if Demidov lost a teammate who believed in him. The good news, is that Roman Rotenberg seems to now be part of that clan, but in any case, Demidov lost a talented teammate.

In brief

– 6-0-0: the record of the Canadiens this season when Kirby Dach scores.

– A beautiful way to honor his memory.

– He is a name to watch.

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Evgeni Malkin: in the end, his three rings were found at his home.

Yesterday morning, colleague Charles-Alexis Brisebois published an article reporting that Evgeni Malkin had been the victim of a burglary. Among the items reported as stolen were, notably, the three Stanley Cup rings of the veteran.

It’s understood that it’s unfortunate to see him lose items that must hold a lot of value for him.

The investigation has obviously been ongoing since the burglary… but tonight, a new interesting detail has emerged from this story.

In fact, the X account of the local police department made a small update about the Russian’s rings: they have been found.

What’s peculiar, however, is that they were found… at Malkin’s home.

It’s understood that this whole situation is quite peculiar and one may wonder how the rings could have been reported as stolen if they never left the Penguins player’s home. Were they moved during the burglary before being found? Did Malkin forget where he had placed them? I imagine these are possible leads.

One might also ask if this is an insurance matter… but nothing indicates that this is the case, for now.

Notably, via the X account of the Penguins, Malkin expressed his gratitude to all those who supported him since the incident. He specifically thanked the police officers and his teammates, as well as the fans.

In short, all of this is a situation that, it’s understood, is quite unusual… but the most important thing is that, ultimately, Malkin has found his rings.

However, it’s worth noting that the investigation remains open. We will see if new developments arise in the coming days.

In Brief

– Alexandre Carrier helped Kaiden Guhle, but he also helped Lane Hutson advance to the next level.

– Toronto highlights the return of Sheldon Keefe.

– Connor Hellebuyck should be considered for the Hart, says Martin Brodeur.

– A beautiful moment.

– Indeed.

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Martin McGuire: It’s crazy how the atmosphere at the CH and at the Rangers is different.

What is the difference between the New York Rangers and the Montreal Canadiens?

Easy: one team has been winning for a month, while the other is losing. Hehe.

Joking aside, the two teams are in completely different situations, and it shows, especially in the atmosphere within both teams.

The Rangers are visiting Salt Lake City for their game tonight, and the Canadiens were there too in the last few days.

Both teams stayed at the same hotel (at the same time)… And the beat reporters were also set up at the same hotel.

Martin McGuire – who was at the hotel – saw what differentiates the Canadiens from the Rangers, and he discussed it in a radio segment (98.5 FM) last night.

The vibe with the Canadiens is exceptional… While with the Blue Shirts, it’s more than complicated:

It was glaring.

You could see the team was confident, a solid team… And you could see the team full of doubts, full of internal conflicts, and full of problems. You could see it in the players’ faces! – Martin McGuire

It certainly helps when you are able to win!

David Savard’s comments align with McGuire’s, by the way.

The Canadiens’ defenseman said in an interview that it’s fun to go to the arena these past few weeks:

We also saw it after the team’s victory in Salt Lake City on Tuesday night.

The guys are having fun together, and it’s refreshing because we know how difficult it has been in Montreal for the past few years:

Good for them, really.

When the atmosphere is good and when the guys are confident, it really helps a team to win games.

Whether it’s hockey, football, basketball, baseball, or soccer… It’s always easier to win when everyone is on the same page.

And that’s what we see with the Canadiens right now, unlike what we see with the New York Rangers.

Quick Hits

– A great moment for Donovan Sebrango, who will play his first NHL game tonight.

– Nice list.

– Your turn to answer!

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Alex Newhook is the worst scorer on the Canadiens among regular forwards.

Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

Nick Suzuki is the top scorer among the forwards of the Canadiens.

The captain has 43 points in as many games since the start of the season, and Cole Caufield is close behind with his tally of 42 points in 43 matches.

In 3rd place among the best scorers (also among the forwards) of the CH is Juraj Slafkovsky. The tall Slovak boasts a total of 23 points in 40 games in 24-25.

We have eliminated three players from the equation, and that brings me to ask you the following question.

Among the 12 regular forwards of the Canadiens, which one of them has the fewest points since the start of the season?

If your choice is Joel Armia, Christian Dvorak, Josh Anderson, or Brendan Gallagher, you are mistaken.

And if your choice is Kirby Dach, Patrik Laine, Emil Heineman, or Jake Evans, you are not correct either.

There is only one left… And it is Alex Newhook.

Yes, we are talking about the same Alex Newhook who has been playing on the team’s top-6 since the very first game of the Canadiens’ season… And who also plays on the power play.

(Credit: NHL.com)

When Kent Hughes went to get him from Colorado, we did not expect Newhook to arrive in Montreal as the savior of the organization, nor did we expect him to bring a Stanley Cup to the city.

But we also did not expect it to be so difficult offensively for him.

10 points in 43 games… That is not even 20 points over a full 82-game season. Newhook is on track to have (by far) his worst offensive season of his career since his debut in the National Hockey League, and even though he has been playing better lately, everyone would agree with me if I said he needs to do more.

Ultimately, it should be noted that he has played a lot with Dach – who has also had his share of difficulties – this season.

The second line has been invisible for several weeks, and Laine’s absence also plays a role in all this.

But still: if you are playing on the top-6 of an NHL team, you must be able to produce. You have to be able to pick up points here and there, but that has not been the case for #15 this season.

Alex Newhook is 23 years old, and he still has time to flourish. He was not drafted 16th overall in the 2019 draft because he has beautiful eyes: it is because he has interesting potential due to the qualities we can see (at times) in his game.

On the other hand… He needs to find a way to contribute more offensively. He is playing for his spot on the team’s top-6, and if he wants to keep it going forward (which might not happen with the addition of Ivan Demidov), he needs to step up.

In Brief

– What do you think?

– The Bell Centre is going to explode.

– Ouch.