Author: Dose

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Lane Hutson demonstrated yesterday that Corey Pronman was off base (and the latter added to it).

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 14: Logan Cooley #92 of the Utah Hockey Club and Lane Hutson #48 of the Montreal Canadiens battle for position as they skate after a loose puck during the first period of a game on January 14, 2025 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images)

Last night, the Canadiens Hockey Club was in Salt Lake City to face the Utah Hockey Club. And even without Emil Heineman, who was hit by a car on Monday and will miss a few weeks of action, the Habs found a way to win.

In a 5-3 victory, not everything was perfect, of course. However, Lane Hutson proved that he could be more than just an average player.

We say this obviously because Corey Pronman’s ranking placed Hutson 39th among his top players under 23, which has sparked quite a discussion in the city.

In fact, aside from the ranking (which is special in itself, but still), it’s mainly the fact that his puck skills were described as above average and that his competitive nature was labeled as “average” that caused such a notable reaction.

It wasn’t the analyst’s best take, let’s say.

And yesterday, on the ice, Lane Hutson demonstrated just how strong he is. Getting three assists in a 5-3 game is one thing, but we also have to mention his two blocked shots, his plus-3 differential, and his excellent defensive play.

He faces the best opposing players and he plays a lot, Hutson… in addition to racking up points.

But I think the comment that triggered the most reaction was Pronman’s statement that if Lane Hutson continues on this path, he could be a top-4 player one day in his career.

That was really good.

I’m not saying he would be on the top pair of every team right now, but he is playing on the top-2 of the Habs. He faces big opponents and holds his own defensively while also producing when he has the puck.

He leads all rookies in points, and only five defensemen in the NHL have more than his 35 points: Werenski, Makar, Hughes, Morrissey, and Theodore. That’s not exactly a bunch of slouches…

But this morning, while no one forced him to reshare his new article, Corey Pronman shared a piece about the players with the biggest rise in his rankings since the start of the season. And Hutson is among them.

We notice that there is a copy-paste of the segment on Hutson from yesterday (including the part about the top-4 and his competitiveness level) in a piece published this morning, right after the rookie’s excellent game yesterday. He doesn’t look any better this morning, Pronman.

But still. Those who watch the Habs games know what Hutson can bring to the ice. And once again yesterday, he was able to prove it to everyone in a Habs victory.

However, he wasn’t the only player who helped the Habs win. What do I take away from yesterday’s game?

1. The best were the best. We’re talking about Hutson and his three assists, but Mike Matheson (two points, including a beautiful goal) and Alexandre Carrier (two assists) were also solid on the blue line.

On offense? Patrik Laine, Kirby Dach (twice), and Cole Caufield found the back of the net. They took advantage of an opponent who wasn’t at their best defensively.

2. The Canadiens possibly played their worst 20 minutes in the first period in weeks. Good thing Samuel Montembeault, who deserves his win yesterday, was there to keep his team and teammates in the game.

But in the second period, it was much better. Especially in terms of penalties…

The Canadiens corrected their issues, and as Martin St-Louis said after the game, he didn’t need to intervene between the first two periods. This means the guys self-evaluated and corrected what needed to be corrected.

That’s a sign of maturity. And it reminds us that unlike many moments since the fall of 2021, the Canadiens are capable of regaining momentum and coming back in games.

3. In his last nine games, Kirby Dach has six goals. We’re talking about a stretch of nine games since returning from the holidays… and that brings his total for the season to eight. Clearly, he is regaining his legs.

And that’s a good thing.

4. Emil Heineman is the only injured player for the Canadiens at the moment. That wasn’t the case for André Tourigny’s men, who currently have several injured players (6-7 guys, including Shea Weber).

Result? The Canadiens dressed Michael Pezzetta for the game. Clearly, recalling someone to bring him to Utah wasn’t realistic.

The longer this goes on, the clearer it becomes that Pezz, both for himself and for the Habs, needs to be put on waivers – for his own good. He either doesn’t play, or he doesn’t play… well.

We know what he can bring, but it’s tough to do so while playing so little (3:50 yesterday, less than an hour since the beginning of the season) and it’s hard to make an impact when taking bad penalties. Get him out of his misery, for his own good.

5. At one point, in terms of shots, it was 12-1 for Utah. It ended 26-25 for the Habs, who really tightened their defense starting in the second period. It took a long time for the home team to shoot in the second period.

6. Seeing the Canadiens use the term “hit-and-run” on X made me laugh.

overtime

The Canadiens will not practice this morning: it will be a travel day to Dallas instead. Their next practice will be tomorrow morning in Dallas. #MorningSkate

Let’s remember that the Habs will play in Texas tomorrow before returning home for two games at the Bell Centre this weekend. The Maple Leafs and the Rangers are on the agenda.

(Credit: NHL.com)

As we can see, after tomorrow’s game against the Stars, it will mostly be at home for the rest of the month. Aside from a little trip to Detroit, the guys will mostly play at the Bell Centre from now on in January.

But don’t forget that the trip to California is coming up… #BeginningFebruary

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Top-5: Kirill Marchenko with the goal of the year in shootouts

26 teams out of 32 were in action last night.

There was a lot of action.

Here are the results and highlights:

1. Kirill Marchenko with the goal of the year in the shootout

Canadiens’ fans will certainly start watching Blue Jackets games closely.

Columbus currently occupies the last playoff spot with 48 points. The Canadiens are not far behind with 46.

Yesterday, Dean Evason’s group won in the shootout thanks to this goal by Kirill Marchenko.

Zach Werenski also contributed to the offense.

He extended his home games point streak to 17 with this goal.

He added another one a little later.

Final score: 3-2.

2. A second shutout in three games for Leevi Merilainen

Another team in the playoff picture is the Senators.

And they found their goaltender in the absence of Linus Ullmark. Young Leevi Merilainen blanked the New York Islanders with a performance of 24 saves.

It’s his second shutout in three games.

Steve Staios mentioned he won’t be shopping for a goalie ahead of the trade deadline. Here’s why.

Ottawa may have won, but it was far from a masterpiece. First, Brady Tkachuk collided with his teammate Nick Jensen.

And Thomas Chabot took a puck directly to the face.

3. Brayden Point left out does not favor the Lightning

The Boston Bruins took advantage of Brayden Point’s absence, who was left out for missing a team meeting, to crush Tampa Bay.

This 6-2 victory allowed Boston to catch up with Tampa in points, but the club still has four more games.

In his 76th NHL game, Parker Wotherspoon scored his first NHL goal.

David Pastrnak, on the other hand, is a bit more accustomed to scoring goals.

He found the back of the net for the seventh time in six games.

Despite a flood of 6-2, Jeremy Swayman was good in net for the Bruins.

He stopped 43 shots.

4. Frank Vatrano sends Tom Wilson to the bench

It’s rare for Tom Wilson to be the victim of a big hit, but yesterday he learned that Frank Vatrano could hit a bit.

He sent Wilson to the players’ bench.

The Caps still won the game by a score of 3-0.

Shutout of 19 saves for Logan Thompson.

Alex Ovechkin did not score in the game, but rookie Ethan Frank made his mark again.

Three points, including two goals, in three games since his recall for the speedy forward.

5. Cale Makar at 50 points, Nathan MacKinnon at 70

In Colorado, the Avalanche won 3-2 in overtime against the New York Rangers.

Devon Toews completed the comeback for his team and sealed the game in extra time.

Artturi Lehkonen forced an overtime with just over a minute left in the game.

In the victory, Nathan MacKinnon collected two assists and Cale Makar one.

Both stars reached important milestones. MacKinnon is the first player to reach the 70-point plateau and for the defender, he is the first at his position to reach 50.

What players!

Overtime

– A 1000th win for the Preds.

– What a goal!

– Nice play.

– Quite a match for the rookie!

– More fear than harm.

– A hat trick in the first period for Kyle Connor.

– He leads the charge, indeed.

(Credit: NHL.com )

– Two games on the schedule.

(Credit: Google )
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Patrik Laine scores his first five-on-five goal with the Canadiens.

Patrik Laine is a master of the power play. When the puck finds its way to him with a man advantage, opposing goalies better be ready.

Laine finally managed to score at even strength!

After nine power play goals with the Canadiens, Laine scored his first even-strength goal on Tuesday during the game against Utah.

The funniest part is that the goal is an identical copy of his typical power play goals. A blast from the left circle to beat the goalie.

Laine has thus reached the milestone of 10 goals with the Canadiens.

The Finn has become the sixth player of the Canadiens to reach this milestone this season. It took only 43 games for the Canadiens to have six 10-goal scorers.

This is a good improvement compared to previous years.

It’s also worth mentioning that this was Laine’s 400th point in the NHL. He achieved this feat in just 495 games.

Not bad!

More details to come.

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Carey Price doesn’t even think about the idea of putting his equipment back on because it’s so damaged.

Carey Price will never play in the National Hockey League again.

We know this… Because his body simply can’t keep up anymore.

The goaltender has not yet officially announced his retirement and until then, he is enjoying life with his family in British Columbia.

Richard Labbé spoke to him, and in an article published on La Presse’s website, it is mentioned that Price is still able to lace up his skates to have fun with his son at the local rink.

But it can also be read that the goaltender isn’t even considering putting his goalie gear back on, so much so that his body is worn out:

At 37 years old, he can still put on his skates for a stroll with his son at the local rink, but he can’t even imagine slipping on the pads again. – Richard Labbé

At the end of the text, we also learn that Price will be back at the Bell Centre by the end of the season:

It’s such a shame.

Professional athletes are proud, and they all want to make the decision to retire when the time is right for them.

However, sometimes, some are forced to leave the sport much sooner than expected due to injuries, and that must be frustrating in a way.

Because it’s 100% certain that Price must be gritting his teeth watching the recent success of the Canadiens, and it’s also 100% certain that he would like to be there to help the team on the ice.

Unfortunately, that’s part of reality…

That said, Price still watches the CH games and he made sure to congratulate Jakub Dobes after his first victory (with a shutout, no less) in the National Hockey League.

It’s a way of staying close to the game in a sense!

In Brief

– Still.

– Puljujarvi is going to the American League.

– The top NHL scorers before tonight’s games:

– Where will he sign?

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Martin St-Louis, Jeff Gorton, and Kent Hughes: They often argue among the three of them.

Jeff Gorton, Kent Hughes, and Martin St-Louis form an interesting trio within the Montreal Canadiens organization.

It will soon be 3 years (early February) since they began working together, and we are starting to see results over the past few weeks.

The Canadiens have been winning lately, after all.

Jean-Charles Lajoie (TVA Sports) had the opportunity to sit down with the Canadiens’ GM recently to conduct an interview, and there was one aspect in Hughes’ comments that caught my attention.

We know that Hughes, Gorton, and St-Louis are three guys who are competitive by nature… And perhaps that’s also the reason why the three often argue.

However, that’s not a bad thing because it allows them to push each other. They all have the same goal, which is to make the team win.

On the other hand, listening to Hughes, maybe Gorton should be more open about some ideas (hehe)… But the GM is right in saying that it’s beneficial for the club’s work environment:

Jeff Gorton says my middle name is “disagreement”. I don’t mind!

A good work environment encourages differing opinions. – Kent Hughes

Note that the Journal de Montréal has also written on the subject:

If everyone always agreed, there would be a problem.

No one would challenge whether it’s really the right decision… And it would limit the organization’s potential because the opinion of multiple leaders is (often) better than that of a single person.

This works in any job field.

Note that Kent Hughes also stated in the interview that he thinks his players look more “business-like” than before, and it makes sense because that comes with time.

The players are older, they are slowly gaining maturity… And now, they are able to taste success.

They are in a good position, and even though they know it, we don’t see the team panicking on the ice for some reason. We often saw the Canadiens collapse last year after giving up two or three quick goals to the opponent, but it’s different now because the guys are confident.

This also comes with the new culture that has been established within the organization.

After all, the atmosphere is good in the locker room because the players play for each other, and we must commend the work of the coaches and executives at this level.

It starts from the top, after all.

In Brief

– The guys are having fun with the Rocket.

– A little slap on the wrist for the Kings player.

– Good.

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SKA: Roman Rotenberg’s position has been threatened.

Since the beginning of the season in the KHL, Ivan Demidov has not been playing regularly.

Roman Rotenberg has stubbornly limited the playing time of the Canadiens’ prospect, and his decisions have sparked talk all the way to Montreal.

It’s only natural, because everyone wants to see what Demidov has to offer ahead of his arrival in the NHL.

The SKA would be participating in the playoffs if the KHL playoff tournament started tonight, but that doesn’t mean everything is rosy within the organization.

Not at all, in fact.

There are rumors circulating right now about Rotenberg possibly leaving his position as head coach of the team. His position has been somewhat threatened, but it seems that the chances of him leaving are slim at the moment.

It’s still interesting though.

In Saint Petersburg, there is pressure.

The SKA has been one of the best teams in the league for several years, and there are always high expectations, season after season.

This can become intense over time, especially if the team does not meet those expectations.

That said, even though the SKA is currently in a playoff position… The club is also in 7th place in its division, which is somewhat disappointing.

It’s understood that the team has had to cope without Evgeny Kuznetsov (injury) for a while, and now, it has lost the services of Tony DeAngelo for the rest of the season.

Adding to all this is the fact that Rotenberg is being criticized for his choices regarding Ivan Demidov… And it creates quite a circus.

Things must be moving quickly in Rotenberg’s mind. The head coach of SKA needs to find a solution to lead his team through to the end… And he will have to do so without DeAngelo, who was one of the best offensive defensemen in the KHL.

Maybe giving more playing time to the team’s 3rd leading scorer Ivan Demidov could help?

I’m just asking the question for fun…

In brief

– Meh…

– Well done. Wow!

– News from CF Montreal:

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Other details have emerged concerning the accident (and the health condition) of Emil Heineman.

This is the news of the day: the Canadiens announced this morning that forward Emil Heineman was involved in a traffic accident (while he was a pedestrian) in Salt Lake City.

The Canadiens also announced that the forward would miss three to four weeks of activities… But there weren’t many details regarding the accident and the player’s health status.

Additional information is starting to come to light, however.

Here’s what you need to know: Heineman was struck by a car while walking alone a little before 3 PM (Salt Lake City time) and he subsequently received treatment from the Canadiens’ medical staff.

The agent of the player in question said in an interview in Sweden that they might be talking about a broken wrist and that his player would consult a specialist to determine the exact nature of the injury.

But Emil Heineman’s agent wanted to emphasize that “it’s nothing too serious,” which allows us to believe that the forward is doing relatively well at the time of writing.

Clearly, we can agree that this sucks.

This sucks for the organization, for the player… And for the fans, because the forward was playing his role perfectly in Martin St. Louis’s lineup since the start of the season.

But at least, Heineman avoided the worst and that’s the main takeaway from this story.

Martin St. Louis joked with reporters by saying that it’s more the car that took the hit due to the size of the Swede:

It should be noted that the driver of the car that hit Heineman is a city employee of Salt Lake City.

He was not paying attention and collided with the Canadiens player:

Other guys will need to step up during Heineman’s absence – we can agree on that – and it will be interesting to see how the Canadiens will deal with this situation in the coming weeks.

Because we must not forget one thing: the Canadiens’ 4th line (Armia, Evans, and Heineman) had been excellent lately and had played a role in the team’s recent success.

So I can’t wait to see if whoever replaces him before his return will be able to be just as useful…

Overtime

Let’s recall that the Canadiens will not make any call-ups for their game tonight in Salt Lake City.

However, we can expect some movement tomorrow…

For tonight, it will be Michael Pezzetta taking Emil Heineman’s spot in the lineup. Alex Newhook will be able to play, and Monty will get the start against André Tourigny’s team:

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SKA: Roman Rotenberg’s position has been threatened.

SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA - 2024/01/07: Roman Rotenberg, Head Coach of SKA Hockey Club at a press conference, during the Kontinental Hockey League, regular season KHL 2023 - 2024 between SKA Saint Petersburg and Metallurg Magnitogorsk at the Ice Sports Palace. Final score; SKA Saint Petersburg 1: 2 Metallurg Magnitogorsk. (Photo by Maksim Konstantinov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Since the beginning of the KHL season, Ivan Demidov has not been playing very regularly.

Roman Rotenberg has stubbornly limited the playing time of the Canadiens’ prospect, and his decisions have sparked discussion all the way to Montreal.

It’s normal, because everyone wants to see what Demidov has to offer ahead of his arrival in the NHL.

The SKA would make the playoffs if the KHL playoff tournament started tonight, but that doesn’t mean everything is rosy within the organization.

Not at all, in fact.

There are rumors circulating right now about Rotenberg, who could leave his position as head coach of the team. His job has been threatened in a way, but it seems the chances of him leaving are slim at present.

It’s still interesting, though.

In Saint Petersburg, there is pressure.

The SKA has been one of the best teams in the league for several years, and there are always high expectations, season after season.

It can get intense over time, especially if the team doesn’t meet those expectations.

That being said, even though the SKA is in a position that allows access to the playoffs right now… The club is also ranked 7th in its division, which is somewhat disappointing.

It’s understood that the team had to do without Evgeny Kuznetsov (injury) for a while and now, it has lost the services of Tony DeAngelo for the rest of the season.

Adding to that is the fact that Rotenberg is being criticized for his choices regarding Ivan Demidov… And that creates quite the circus.

Things must be starting to move quickly in Rotenberg’s mind. The head coach of the SKA must find a solution to lead his team to the finish… And he will have to do it without DeAngelo, who was one of the best offensive defenders in the KHL.

Maybe the idea of giving more playing time to the team’s 3rd leading scorer Ivan Demidov could help?

I’m just asking the question for fun…

In brief

– Meh…

– Well played. Wow!

– News from CF Montreal:

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The guys from Spittin’ Chiclets announced that they have purchased an ECHL team.

It’s always special to see guys who have played (or are playing) hockey buy sports teams.

The most spectacular case remains that of Mario Lemieux (we know the circumstances that led the great #66 to become a shareholder of his Penguins), but there are others.

Recently, Zach Hyman’s family bought an OHL team (the Bulldogs) and that made waves.

But this morning, the guys from the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast (Paul Bissonnette, Ryan Whitney, Mike Grinnell, and Keith Yandle) announced on their podcast that they have bought an ECHL team. And a part of me still wonders if it’s a joke.

We’re talking about an expansion team based in Greensboro, North Carolina. The name will be revealed tonight.

Obviously, you’ll understand that Paul Bissonnette, in the segment of his podcast where he announced that his boys and he had bought a team, oversold what the client wanted.

He said he wanted to be controlling and fire the media who would speak against him. Classic Biz.

Obviously, we can agree that Bissonnette is overselling what the client is asking here. However, it is clear that the North Carolina team, due to its owners, will become a franchise to watch closely in the coming years.

And we can’t say that about all ECHL teams.

in brief

– Well, come on.

– What characterizes elite goalies? [RG]

– Oh boy.

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Top-5: A huge ovation for Marc-André Fleury in Vegas

The Canadiens did not play yesterday.

They will resume action tomorrow night when they will be in Salt Lake City to face André Tourigny’s team.

However, there were still five games played in the NHL on Sunday:

1 : Kudos to the Golden Knights

The Golden Knights did not treat Marc-André Fleury well.

The goalie was traded for peanuts in July 2021 after winning his first Vezina Trophy, and the Golden Knights’ decision caused quite a stir.

However, the fans showed love to the Québécois yesterday, in what could be his last visit to Vegas.

Fleury started by signing autographs before the game:

During the game, the fans gave him a massive ovation lasting several minutes.

The Golden Knights honored his career, and the T-Mobile Arena erupted afterward.

It was a beautiful moment, and you could see that the goalie was emotional:

The Golden Knights ultimately won the game against the Wild by a score of 4-1, but it was Marc-André Fleury who stole the show despite not playing.

At the end of the game, with just a few seconds to go on the clock, the fans started chanting Fleury’s name in the stands:

Kudos to the Golden Knights fans.

Because if anyone deserves that much love after what happened a few years ago… it’s definitely Marc-André Fleury.

2 : Cutter Gauthier takes care of the Hurricanes

I don’t know if Cutter Gauthier had a good evening on Saturday night.

He played his first career game in Philadelphia and the fans let him know that he was not welcome in town.

The American was held scoreless against the team that drafted him 5th overall in 2022.

However, last night we saw why the Flyers decided to select him so high in the draft three years ago.

Gauthier showcased the quality of his shot against the Hurricanes:

The forward only had five goals before his game last night in Carolina.

He can now say he has seven… because he was also the one who ended the debate in overtime:

The young Ducks had a big test against the Hurricanes, and they were able to win by a score of 3-2.

This is how a young rebuilding team progresses by winning games like that.

3 : The big guns of the Lightning take care of the Penguins

If you are a regular reader of DLC, you know that I like to say this: when a team’s best players perform like the best players on the ice, it helps to win.

The Lightning is lucky because they have, good productive players in their lineup.

Yesterday, Brandon Hagel put on a show in Pittsburgh:

Hagel (one goal and one assist) was good, Jake Guentzel had two assists, Anthony Cirelli scored once in addition to adding an assist…

Oh, and there’s also Nikita Kucherov who stood out by scoring two goals.

Hard to ask for more:

The efforts of the Lightning’s big guns were enough to lead the team to a 5-2 victory over the Penguins.

Note that this marks the seventh loss for the Penguins in their last ten games. Things are not going super well in Pittsburgh…

4 : No problem for the Senators against the Stars

The Canadiens played well against the Stars on Saturday night at the Bell Centre.

That said, the Dallas team was visiting Ottawa yesterday (two games in two days) aiming for their eighth consecutive victory, but the Senators showed up to play.

They scored two quick goals (39 seconds apart) to take the lead in the second period:

Matthew Highmore scored his first goal in a Senators uniform in the third period, which allowed the Ottawa team to win 3-2 against the Stars.

A nice win for the Sens… And for Dallas, this is their first loss since December 27.

5 : The Red Wings are too strong for the Kraken

Were the Red Wings in form yesterday?

I’ll answer this question quite simply: yesterday, the Wings scored not one, not two, not three… but four goals (!!!) in the first eight minutes of the game.

The game was held in Detroit, and the fans on site were ecstatic:

The Red Wings never looked back.

At one point, it was even 6-0 in favor of Detroit…

In the end, the Wings won by a score of 6-2, and now it’s starting to get interesting for the team.

The Wings have won their last seven games and are just two points shy of a playoff spot right now.

They have a record of 7-1-0 since Todd McLellan took over:

Overtime

– Bang.

– He’s good, that one.

– The top scorers of the day/evening:

(Credit: NHL.com)

– Three games tonight in the NHL:

(Credit: )