Author: Dose

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Twelve points in thirteen matches: Oliver Kapanen is doing very well in Sweden.

MONTREAL, QC - SEPTEMBER 23: Look at Montreal Canadiens center Oliver Kapanen (91) during warm-up before the Philadelphia Flyers versus the Montreal Canadiens preseason game on September 23, 2024, at Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Oliver Kapanen has been performing well since his loan to Sweden.

The Canadiens’ prospect just scored his fifth goal and already has 12 points in 13 games so far with Timrå IK in the Swedish league.

Kapanen is a former second-round pick, 64th overall, in the 2022 draft.

He had a strong training camp to the point that the Canadiens decided to offer him a trial with the team at the start of the season.

However, Kapanen didn’t really get the chance to showcase his talents, mainly getting ice time on the fourth line. In twelve games, the Finn only registered two assists and a -4 plus-minus.

His ice time decreased with each game, and he was not used in situations where he could display his offensive skills.

On November 6, the Canadiens made the decision to loan Kapanen to Timrå IK, where his father is the general manager, so that the young player could get more quality ice time.

So far, this seems to be the right decision.

One might have thought that sending him to play in Sweden could affect his confidence, but Kapanen seems to see this as an opportunity to continue his development.

And 12 points in 13 games in the SHL, a league not particularly known for scoring, is very interesting production. If he had played the entire season at the same pace, he would be in the top 10 scorers in his league.

According to all probabilities, Kapanen will play the rest of the season in Sweden, where he can help his team, which is currently in sixth place in the SHL, in the playoffs.

Hoping he can build his confidence for the upcoming Canadiens training camp, Kapanen will begin the second year of his three-year entry-level contract, celebrating his 22nd birthday in July.

Without saying it’s a last chance camp, the forward will find a way to secure his place on the team sooner rather than later. Especially since we might see the arrival of an Ivan Demidov, which could limit available spots up front.

However, in the meantime, we can hope that Kapanen continues to perform like this and arrives fully prepared in September for the next Canadiens training camp.

In short, another Canadiens prospect to keep an eye on!

In Brief

– A fine of $100,000 for the Stars.

The @DallasStars have been fined $100,000 for violating the Collective Bargaining Agreement. https://t.co/2uTcZ43AFD pic.twitter.com/u6ILKrDgS8

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 30, 2024

– A twelfth-place finish for Canada

ALPINE SKIING: A 12th place finish on Sunday for 🍁Cameron Alexander at the Bormio World Cup Super G ahead of his compatriot Jeffrey Read. @Alpine_Canada @Equipe_Canada @MilanoCortina26 https://t.co/lkje1XkQQk

— Philippe Germain – VCI (@goVCIca) December 30, 2024

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Jesse Puljujarvi is placed on waivers by the Penguins.

Great things were expected from Jesse Puljujarvi when he was selected 4th overall in the 2016 draft by the Oilers.

But the player has never been able to reach his full potential.

He was traded to Carolina during the 22-23 season, before agreeing with the Pittsburgh Penguins… And now he finds himself on waivers today.

More details to come…

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Alexandre Carrier reminds (again) how much better the CH locker room is than in Nashville.

Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images

Before the holidays, shortly after his arrival with the Canadiens, Alexandre Carrier mentioned how much heavier it was in the Nashville Predators’ locker room than in that of the Canadiens.

With higher expectations in Tennessee than in Quebec, it was normal. Nashville is possibly THE disappointment of the season.

Now, for the second time in a short period, Alexandre Carrier didn’t hesitate to praise the Canadiens’ locker room compared to that of his former organization.

Arriving in a winning locker room (because yes, the Canadiens have been winning quite a bit more often these past few weeks) makes all the difference in his eyes.

The atmosphere is a lot more enjoyable for him than it was in Nashville.

It feels good. Mentally, it feels really good. – Alexandre Carrier, on the difference between playing for the Canadiens and the Predators

Believe it or not, this is not the first time he has compared the two situations and had less flattering words for the Predators’ locker room than for that of the Montreal Canadiens.

Is it a coincidence or not?

The feeling I have is that he mainly wants to praise his new environment and that the comparisons with Nashville come naturally… but he doesn’t necessarily want to throw his former team under the bus.

But I could be wrong. Maybe he wants to do that a little.

The fact that the guys play for each other has also been highlighted by Carrier, who seems revitalized by his change of scenery. And in Montreal, nobody is missing Justin Barron at the moment.

It remains to be seen if this will continue in this way.

In brief

– Well said.

– For the fans of CF Montréal.

– History repeats itself.

– Worth reading.

– Ouch.

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Jakub Dobes in the NHL: the Canadiens must learn from the mistakes of the Cayden Primeau case

Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images

It’s done: the Canadiens have changed their second goaltender.

It seems that before the start of the season, we were so focused on issues like Lane Hutson’s, Logan Mailloux’s, Oliver Kapanen’s, or Emil Heineman’s places in the lineup that we weren’t talking about the goaltenders.

We thought Cayden Primeau would back up Samuel Montembeault and that Jakub Dobes would pair with Connor Hughes in Laval. And that’s exactly what happened for a few months.

But clearly, the Canadiens gradually lost confidence in Primeau, to the point where Samuel Montembeault started 10 consecutive games in December. The message towards the American was clear.

Recently, the Canadiens took advantage of Dobes’s return to health to do what they perhaps wanted to do for a while: test him in the NHL alongside Montembeault, himself a product of waivers.

By placing Primeau on waivers (which Kent Hughes had refused to do since the fall of 2023) recently, he changed the dynamics of his goaltenders. For now, Dobes is the #2 goalie in Montreal, and Primeau is back down.

The latter is far from his strong finish to the season in Montreal in 2023-2024.

But the question is: will the Canadiens only use Montembeault and Dobes in net until the end of the season? In my view, it’s an unlikely scenario.

Obviously, if Dobes continues to earn his spot in the sun, he will stay. But just because he’s there right now doesn’t mean it will definitely continue like this until April. He needs to understand that he doesn’t need to be placed on waivers to join the Rocket.

Primeau, if he plays well down there, can try to force the hands of the Canadiens’ management.

But above all, Kent Hughes, Jeff Gorton, Martin St-Louis, Éric Raymond, and the Rocket staff must ask themselves the following question: what is best for Dobes’s development?

You know as well as I do that a goaltender takes time to develop. And you also know as well as I do that it was by having Primeau warm the bench for the CH a few years ago that his development went off the rails.

Does the CH want that for Dobes? No, obviously.

If Dobes doesn’t get enough playing time up top and Primeau regains confidence, the CH will reassess the possibility of changing goaltenders again as things progress.

And this is true even if Carey Price likes Dobes’s work.

However, we must not forget that the CH is better than before. If the goal is really to be in the playoff race, Samuel Montembeault will play a lot, but the team will also, from time to time, need to win its games with its backup. And if Dobes contributes more…

That’s part of the equation.

Overtime

Obviously, there are several factors to consider. But for Primeau and Dobes, the situation is simple: they do not control their playing time or where they play.

They only control how they behave and their performances when the CH or the Rocket calls upon them.

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Madeline Gaudreau gave birth to her child.

Several months ago, the Gaudreau family experienced the worst of blows.

Just hours before one of the sisters in the family was to get married, Johnny and Matthew were killed by a drunk driver. This obviously paused the wedding in question.

This greatly affected the NHL community due to the fact that Johnny was a star.

What made the situation even sadder was the fact that Johnny had two children. Furthermore, both Johnny’s wife and Matthew’s wife were pregnant.

Matthew and his wife had announced they were expecting a child before his death, but not Johnny and his partner, who shared the news with everyone at the funerals of the two brothers.

So here we are at the end of 2024, Madeline Gaudreau, Matthew’s wife, announced on social media that she has given birth to the couple’s first child.

Tripp Gaudreau is the name of the child, as had been announced previously.

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Eight wins in 12 matches: the best month for Martin St-Louis as a coach

TAMPA, FL - DECEMBER 29: The Montreal Canadiens celebrate a goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on December 29, 2024 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mark LoMoglio/NHLI via Getty Images)

In December, the Canadiens had 14 games on their schedule. They have played 13 so far… and I’m starting to think that regardless of tomorrow’s result against Vegas, the Habs will have had an excellent month.

Has it been difficult at times? Obviously. It actually started with a very ordinary departure against the Bruins in Boston on Sunday, December 1st.

Things were not going well in the city at that time.

Since that loss, however, the Canadiens have a record of 8-4-0. That’s really not bad for a team that was playing like a last-place team in the previous months.

Yes, there have been painful losses (including the 9-2 defeat against Pittsburgh), but the Habs have more often surprised their fans in a good way than the opposite.

The two games this past weekend in Florida are proof of that. Let’s remember that yesterday, the Habs won 5-2 in Tampa Bay.

In my eyes, what happened shows that the players stepped up, but also that Martin St-Louis was able to adapt and navigate through his first storm as a coach in the NHL.

This morning, I don’t see many people standing up and calling for his head, do I? It’s probably because he has just, based on the results and how he bounced back, had his best month as the Canadiens’ coach.

It must be the effect of the beard.

There is probably a direct correlation between the fact that he finally has a healthy team and that he is winning hockey games. Naturally, that must help a bit, right?

The arrival of Patrik Laine is addressing many issues – just like Carey Price back in the day. Alexandre Carrier stabilizes the defense. And even though the sample size is small, Jakub Dobes has the organization’s confidence, unlike Cayden Primeau.

These are elements that have allowed the five-game road trip after Christmas to start off quite well. If I had told you that the Habs would win two out of five, that would have been not too bad.

But for now, it’s two for two. #StillGood

But even if Carrier stabilizes the Canadiens’ defense and the guys who arrived in Montreal recently are changing the game, there’s more than that to explain how the Habs are playing.

What do I take away from yesterday’s game?

1. It is hard to overlook Jake Evans’ performances. For the fifth game in a row, he found the back of the net, which is quite remarkable for a guy like him.

Such sequences in the NHL are rare.

But you know, just like me, that the eye test clearly shows he is dominant on the ice. While shorthanded, he is one of the best forwards in the NHL.

Right from the start of camp, you could see that he was hungry. And now, he is delivering the goods.

In 36 games this season, he has 23 points. He is the third most productive forward for the Habs this season, and only Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Lane Hutson have more points than him.

And with his 10 goals, he matches Connor Bedard. Oh wow.

2. Emil Heineman is strong when protecting the puck. On Joel Armia’s goal, he played a key role since he really allowed his team to maintain possession of the puck for as long as possible.

He is a reason the Habs have scored at least four goals in their last five games. #InTheMix

3. To see a team like the Canadiens win two in a row in Florida (a first since 2009, by the way), everyone has to contribute. And since Christmas, the second line looks like a second line.

The puck was moving all over the place last night.

4. Just four days ago, if I had told you that Team Canada junior would lose to the Latvians and that the Canadiens would win against Florida teams, would you have believed me?

Yesterday, the Canadiens won against the Germans, but…

Overtime

Last night, around 10 PM, the Canadiens’ plane took off for Vegas. As we speak, the guys must be sleeping in Nevada on their day off.

Tomorrow, the team will play at 3 PM (Quebec time) against the Golden Knights.

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Top-5: Sidney Crosby, the best playmaker in Penguins history

The Canadiens were in action yesterday and defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning by a score of 5-2.

Eight other games were presented.

Here are the results and highlights:

1. Sidney Crosby, the top playmaker of the Penguins

In Pittsburgh, the Penguins defeated Patrick Roy’s team by a score of 3-2.

In the victory, Sidney Crosby recorded an assist and thus became the franchise’s all-time leading playmaker.

With his 1,034th assist, he surpassed Mario Lemieux at the top.

Despite the captain’s historic night, it was Michael Bunting and Philip Tomasino who led the charge for Pittsburgh.

They each recorded one goal and one assist.

2. Only 25 to go for Alex Ovechkin

Now that Alex Ovechkin is back, we’re going to follow him closely.

Yesterday, he scored his 17th goal of the season, bringing him 25 goals away from Wayne Gretzky.

At 39 years old, the Russian has 17 goals in 20 games. That’s very good!

He has 870 career goals and remember that Gretzky’s record is 894.

There are 46 games left in the Caps’ season. Could Ovi score 25 by the end of the season?

It’s possible he could break the record this season. We would witness history!

3. Leon Draisaitl is the first to 25

Ovechkin might be 25 goals away from Gretzky, but Leon Draisaitl is also an excellent scorer.

He may not be as close to 99 as Ovi, but still. Yesterday, he scored and became the first player to reach the 25-goal plateau this season.

He scored another goal later in the game, bringing his total to 26.

With that goal, he tied with Gretzky for the most games with two or more power-play goals in Edmonton history.

Definitely, everyone is catching up to 99 these days.

Kirill Kaprizov, Brayden Point, and William Nylander are tied for second place with 23 goals each.

Despite the German’s good performance, it was the Ducks who emerged victorious from this match with a score of 5-3.

4. 1300 points for Patrick Kane

Patrick Kane may not score like Alex Ovechkin and may not assist like Sidney Crosby, but one thing is certain, he has a great career.

Yesterday, in a victory of the Red Wings against the Capitals (4-2), Kane recorded the 1,300th point of his career.

He has achieved all this (477 goals and 823 assists) in 1,261 games.

The American has been a key contributor to a victory against one of the NHL’s best teams. He scored once and registered one assist.

Lucas Raymond did the same, and Alex DeBrincat scored two goals.

5. Three consecutive wins for the Sabres

The Sabres are back!

After losing 13 consecutive games, Lindy Ruff’s team is getting better. They have won their last three games.

Yesterday, it was a 4-2 victory in St. Louis.

During these three games, Buffalo even scored 17 goals.

It’s safe to say the offense has awakened!

Peyton Krebs opened the scoring early in the game.

Then, Tage Thompson doubled the lead a little later.

The visitors never looked back after that.

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Despite a victory against Germany, Canada was very unconvincing.

After the famous defeat on Friday against Latvia, Canada wanted to forget this poor performance and faced Germany this Sunday evening.

In addition to losing the match and the confidence of several fans, the Canadians also lost the services of 18-year-old defenseman Matthew Schaefer.

A clavicle fracture forces him to withdraw from this important international tournament for one of the best prospects in the upcoming draft.

Here is the Canadian lineup ahead of this confrontation:

Schaefer was the quarterback of the power play, but with his absence, it was Oliver Bonk who had to take his place at the point.

Generally, Bonk is used in the bumper position during power plays and ultimately that’s where he was employed for the match against the Germans.

And this decision paid off midway through the first period for Canada as Bonk opened the scoring on the power play.

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The AN was running well throughout the match, the puck was circulating nicely and the chances were there, but not the finishing touch.

Germany was very undisciplined, especially in the first two periods. Fortunately for them, Canada did not capitalize as much as they should have.

The absence of Schaefer clearly does not help, but nothing indicates that he would have changed everything.

They still lack offensive punch, despite the fact that the club is very well endowed.

It’s good to balance the lines and have “veterans” aged 19. But when you can have guys as talented as Beckett Sennecke, Carter Yakemchuk, and Zayne Parekh, you can afford to remove veterans.

As Michel Bouchard says, you can’t just have veterans and players with a supportive role.

Sennecke could very well have made the team and is not one-dimensional. In my opinion, this is the worst oversight for Team Canada.

Whether without or with the puck, he is very dangerous and intense.

The intensity is severely lacking in this edition of Team Canada. The talent is there, obviously, but without the grit and the will to win, it creates disappointments like against Latvia.

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In the first two periods, the shot count was very close between the two countries. However, Dave Cameron must have shaken things up during the second intermission, as the third period belonged to the Canadians. 17 shots compared to only 7 in the final period.

Just when there hadn’t really been any action since Bonk’s goal, with five minutes to play, Canada provided a cushion for their goalie Carter George.

It was very lucky, but Canada took advantage of a good bounce to double their lead.

Caden Price was the author of the goal, while Calum Ritchie and Sawyer Mynio each got an assist on the goal.

Finally, the match ended with a score of 3-0 thanks to an empty-net goal from Quebecer Mathieu Cataford. Goalie George earned an assist on that goal.

Canada is now tied with the United States for first place in the group.

The next match for the Canadians will be this Tuesday against the Americans.

Quick Hits

– Mario Lemieux is still ahead of Crosby in my opinion.

– Uff…

– It’s incredible nonetheless.

– To listen

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“The Carrier effect” is becoming stronger and stronger.

Alexandre Carrier is becoming increasingly appreciated in Montreal.

He does everything very well, and it’s hard to find negative points in his play since he arrived in the metropolis.

The Tricolore has won four of its five games with Carrier on the blue line.

Without him, the CH’s record was 12-16-3.

His presence in the defensive zone is highly valued, especially by the goalies.

Let’s just say that Jakub Dobes and Samuel Montembeault are quite happy to have him in front of them. The defenseman is very involved defensively, plays smartly in his own zone, and does not hesitate to block shots.

Even though he’s not the biggest, he plays as if he were taller and sturdier, and this seems to increasingly annoy the CH’s opponents.

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Earlier this evening, the Tricolore visited the Lightning in Tampa Bay and Carrier played well once again.

He played very well, in fact, as he recorded two assists in the Canadiens’ 5-2 victory.

We knew he was reliable defensively and intelligent as a player, with and without the puck.

But the Quebecer is proving to us that he is much more than just a simple mobile defenseman who is good in his own zone.

He knows how to support the offense as we saw today against the Lightning.

His two points against Tampa Bay bring his total to four points in five games in his new colors.

And we can sense that he is happier than ever in an environment like Montreal.

The Carrier effect is increasingly felt, and the defensive brigade is much more solid with the addition of the Quebecer to the lineup.

As Nicolas Cloutier says, all the defensemen seem to be in the right place now.

Indeed, Justin Barron was not at Carrier’s current level, and the Quebecer is stabilizing the defensive brigade very well.

Let’s see where the CH will finish in the standings, as currently, things are going rather well, especially since the return of Patrik Laine and the addition of Carrier.

In a nutshell

– Very interesting.

– It’s done, Sidney Crosby has surpassed Mario Lemieux for the career assist total.

– What a save.

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Connor Hellebuyck dominates all the NHL statistics among goaltenders.

When it comes time to determine who the best goalie in the NHL is, it varies from year to year, but a few names often come up.

Igor Shesterkin and Connor Hellebuyck are generally the most consistent each year, but for Shesterkin, it’s much harder for him.

This season, Hellebuyck is once again very dominant, as he has proven over the seasons.

He’s even a bit too dominant.

It’s quite rare to see this, but looking at the leaders for each statistic among goalies, the netminder for the Winnipeg Jets is at the top of each one.

And we’re not just talking about goals against average (2.06) and save percentage (92.8%).

He is also the NHL leader in wins (23), total saves (772), shutouts (4), and total minutes played (1744:18).

Aside from these simple statistics, Hellebuyck is also first in goals saved above expected with 24.9. His closest competitor is at 16.0 (Lukas Dostal).

Regarding Goalie Point Shares, it is an advanced statistic that estimates the number of points a goalie has contributed with his strong performance in net.

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A goalie will always dominate more than another, but rarely this much.

According to Big Head Hockey, Hellebuyck could be the first goalie in the last 40 years to win the Vezina Trophy unanimously.

Incredible, nonetheless. It makes you wonder if he could enter the top-5 of all time for goalies, especially if he accomplishes this feat.

The chances of seeing him win the Vezina are very high, and it would be his third in his career.

With this achievement, he would join Martin Brodeur as the only goalies since the 2000s to have won this honor three times.

I believe there is no doubt that Hellebuyck is one of the best goalies of modern times and can easily be considered in the top-10 of all time.

In Brief

– Finland won against the United States.

– What a shot by Cole Hutson.

– Still very dominant.

– Must read.

– The Laine effect is increasingly felt.