The Montreal Canadiens are on break for the next few days. The team will play its next match on Saturday.
But Marc Denis, on the air at RDS, has informed us that his holiday break will be a little longer than that. After all, he won’t be there for the first matches following the break.
After yesterday’s match in Columbus, Pierre Houde and he announced that the former goaltender would take three games off, which include the two matches in Florida (December 28 and 29) and the game against Vegas on December 31. He will return for the match on January 3 in Chicago.
The match on Saturday will be on RDS as it will be broadcast at 1 PM and not in the evening.
Denis simply decided, according to what has been announced, to take a few days off to spend time with family during the holidays. With his years of experience, he can afford to do so more easily.
Bruno Gervais will take his place. The game analyst for the Rocket on RDS will assist Pierre Houde during the three games where Denis will be at home with his family.
He will therefore be in Vegas on December 31. There are worse places to be, I think.
It’s worth noting that it’s in moments like this that we see a station’s intentions. If Gervais was chosen to replace him, it’s undoubtedly because he is held in high regard.
He will certainly have big shoes to fill since Denis does an excellent job as the game analyst for the Canadiens on RDS.
Let’s recall that yesterday, Marc Denis had a big evening because in addition to analyzing the game, he was at the center of two stories that generated quite a bit of talk involving Patrik Laine.
When he arrived in his position as GM of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Don Waddell talked about the mentality of the Blue Jackets.
As can be seen in a TSN article from August, the former Hurricanes executive stated about his new team that he felt losing was acceptable, even though it shouldn’t be the case.
Obviously, Waddell wasn’t there in the years prior, while Laine was. And since he was one of the highest-paid players in the locker room, his comments carry more weight than those of the GM.
Yesterday, we clearly saw it on the ice. The Blue Jackets, who are dealing with the loss of Johnny Gaudreau, probably found a second motivation to play well this year.
For those who think I’m exaggerating, put yourself in the shoes of the guys in Columbus: when you get called a loser, it gets to you, doesn’t it?
And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the Canadiens said Laine was a “game-time decision” during the match. The Canadiens never say that when a player leaves the ice during a game.
Patrik Laine’s return to tonight’s game is uncertain (upper body).
Patrik Laine is questionable to return to tonight’s game (upper body).
Did the Canadiens do what they did in the last preseason game this fall by not playing their best players because they expected things to get rough? Possibly, yes.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Laine at the next team practice (even if Martin St-Louis wasn’t sure what to expect yesterday after the game), after the Christmas break. I don’t think he was seriously injured during yesterday’s game.
However, like Renaud Lavoie said on BPM Sports’ morning show, I think Laine chose the wrong moment to speak up. He would have been better off asking Aaron Portzline from The Athletic to publish his piece after the game.
This way, he would have had a nicer reunion with his former team, maybe he would have had a video tribute, and most importantly, his former teammates wouldn’t have targeted the upper body, the part where he was injured last year.
The idea was not to say nothing (even though he wouldn’t have lost anything by keeping it to himself), but to choose the right moment.
But nothing prevents that right now, after experiencing the atmosphere in the Jets’ and Blue Jackets’ locker rooms, where players wanted his head, he must be so happy to be in Montreal. There must be a bit of that behind his statements.
Aaron Portzline on Bishop and Friends says after the 2019-20 season (believe he meant 2020-21), a meeting with veteran players took place (Atkinson, Jones, Werenski, Nyquist) where they «basically came back with ‘you gotta get Laine and Merzlikins out of here.’»#CBJ
But it’s not just Patrik Laine in all of this. After all, to the dismay of Ohio’s fans, the Blue Jackets won 5-4 against the CH in a game that wasn’t perfect for the Canadiens.
What do I take away from all this?
1. It feels like the guys weren’t always on their game. The Christmas break should help a few guys on the team, including Mike Matheson, Lane Hutson, and Samuel Montembeault.
I’m not saying the guys weren’t good, but they seem tired. And that’s normal.
2. I’m at the point where I think Kirby Dach has really upset the Hockey Gods. Even if he’s not perfect on the ice, he just seems unable to score.
3. Yesterday, Juraj Slafkovsky remembered that he was a bigger and stronger guy than others. On Lane Hutson’s goal, he did a great job in the corner to come out with the puck.
This is what we want to see. And well done to Hutson, who scored his second in the NHL.
4. Jordan Harris, traded this summer by the Canadiens, scored his first in his new colors. So all his NHL goals involve the Canadiens, when you think about it.
I wonder if he had money on the board.
5. Jake Evans picked the right time to have the season of his career, as he will be a free agent in a few months – unless he signs a new contract by then, of course.
6. The Canadiens took 31 shots on goal. After taking 33 shots on goal last Friday, the team seems to have developed a taste for taking more than 30 shots on the opponent’s net… after not hitting that mark once this season until last week.
That’s worth noting.
Overtime
After failing to string together four wins in a row, the members of the Canadiens went their separate ways to celebrate Christmas. From the 24th to the 26th, nothing will happen with the Canadiens.
On the 27th, the guys will have to head to Florida for the game on the 28th against the Panthers. And as tradition dictates, the upcoming games will not be played in Montreal after Christmas.
Alex Kovalev certainly speaks his mind. Just two weeks ago, he criticized Ivan Demidov for how little he was used by his coach. His opinion was contrary to that of most fans who see no other option but to wait for the year to end.
Kovalev replied that it was the Russian goalie who was better.
“Shesterkin is better. He reads the game better.” – Alex Kovalev
From breaking down Rangers trades to praising Shesterkin over Price and Necas’ rise, Alex Kovalev delivers sharp insights into hockey’s biggest stories!https://t.co/MAS9Nr26WG
The former CH player stated that Price had success due to his size and positioning, while Shesterkin fights for every puck and reads the play better.
He concluded by mentioning that Price relied too much on his defenders during cross-ice passes, while Shesterkin takes care of it himself.
Despite the great player that Kovalev was in the NHL, it’s hard to agree with him on this. Without taking anything away from Shesterkin, who is an excellent goaltender, Carey Price rarely had a good team in front of him and consistently ranked among the top goalies in the NHL year after year.
His team did not score enough in front of him for most of his career, but he found a way to lead his team to victory.
It’s no wonder that other NHL teams considered him the most intimidating goalie to face.
Shesterkin is a very good goalie, but he won’t have the same aura. Will my viewpoint change in five years? Time will tell, but for now, if I had to choose one of the two goalies for a game, it would be Price.
Quick Hits
– Ouch!
Even though Chris Kreider was sidelined, the result is the same. A thirteenth loss in their last seventeen games for the @NYRangers who were shut out 5-0 by the @NJDevils@TVASports
In the category of “how to self-destruct in a few months,” the Rangers deserve a gold medal, or even ten. This downfall began with the public exit of general manager Chris Drury, who had threatened some of his players with a trade and told his peers that he was open to exchanges.
Since then, Jacob Trouba and Kappo Kakko have been traded, and the Rangers continue to sink in the standings.
In the midst of this disaster, Sean Avery believes he has the solution to turn the ship around.
“I have officially submitted my application for the head coach position of the New York Rangers. I have already reached out to those I would like to have with me behind the bench” – Sean Avery
The former pest of the Rangers even mentioned that he is considering having a co-head coach, Steve Ott, and sharing duties with him.
This story is quite incredible. Having official discussions for a replacement for Peter Laviolette, who is still the head coach, might signal the end for Drury.
Perhaps also for Laviolette, who is watching his team collapse.
Today, the Rangers faced the Devils in the afternoon in Newark, and the result was disastrous.
The Rangers lost 5-0 and only took 12 shots on the opposing net. The atmosphere was already tense in the New York camp before the game, as Kris Kreider was left out of the lineup.
The Rangers had just lost to the Hurricanes yesterday, and it soured again today. How long will this last?
One thing is certain, the soup is hot in the Big Apple, very hot.
Yesterday, on this last day of action in the National Hockey League before the holiday break, we had 13 games.
26 teams were therefore in action one last time before going to unwrap their gifts.
Here are the various highlights that caught our attention yesterday.
1. Kucherov expelled from the game for a vicious knee-on-knee hit on Matthew Tkachuk
The Battle of Florida was on the agenda last night, and true to form, it did not disappoint.
Indeed, we know that the two teams do not like each other, which always results in a lot of intensity and animosity.
Even the star players get involved in the physical and dirty play in this type of game.
This was the case last night, as after scoring his 15th goal of the season and 50th point in 30 games, Nikita Kucherov delivered a vicious knee hit to Matthew Tkachuk.
Fortunately for the Panthers, Tkachuk returned to the game, so it was more fear than harm.
Let’s see now if Kucherov will be suspended for this clearly deliberate and disgusting act.
As for the game itself, the Lightning won 4-0, with Jonas Johansson stopping all 36 shots from the Panthers.
2. Sidney Crosby ties a franchise record held by Mario Lemieux
Last night, while the Pittsburgh Penguins enjoyed a 7-3 victory against their arch-rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers, Sidney Crosby achieved quite a feat.
Sure, he got four points, but what stands out is that he registered three assists.
With his three assists, Crosby tied Mario Lemieux and equaled the franchise record for the most assists in Pittsburgh Penguins history.
Crosby and Lemieux both have 1,033 assists.
With 3 assists tonight, Sidney Crosby has tied Mario Lemieux for the most in Penguins franchise history (1,033).
This is quite an achievement to catch up to Mario Lemieux in a statistic.
It speaks volumes about Sidney Crosby’s career and how much of a legend he is in the sport.
3. Jacob Markstrom records a second consecutive shutout with 12 saves
The New Jersey Devils are back in full force this season, largely due to having solved their major goaltending issue from last season that cost them a playoff spot.
Indeed, Jacob Markstrom (and even Jake Allen) is really solid in front of the Devils’ net, regardless of the action he faces.
Sometimes, Markstrom needs to save a game, but other times, he barely has to do anything to help his team.
This was the case in the last two games, as the Devils’ goaltender has now recorded two consecutive shutouts with 12 saves each.
On Saturday, in a 3-0 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins, and last night in a 5-0 victory against the New York Rangers.
Speaking of the Rangers, things are not getting better in New York, as even with shaking things up by trading Kaapo Kakko or benching Chris Kreider, the Rangers continue to lose miserably.
The Rangers are currently five points out of the playoffs and have only two points more than the Montreal Canadiens, with the same number of games played.
In short, things are really bad for the Blue Shirts, and the New Jersey Devils did not hesitate to mock them last night.
Indeed, they taunted Kaapo Kakko’s selection in 2019 by showing on the big screen the reaction of Rangers fans during that selection, then showing Jack Hughes on the bench smiling.
The Devils fans also chanted Kaapo Kakko’s name throughout the evening.
In short, nothing is going well for the Rangers, much to the delight of their rivals.
4. The Sabres finally end their horrible losing streak
And there you have it, the Buffalo Sabres have finally won a hockey game, as they ended their streak of 13 consecutive losses by demolishing the New York Islanders 7-1.
The Sabres managed to get Islanders fans to leave well before the end of the game.
It’s a long, cold walk to Emerald and no one could blame Islanders fans tonight.
And sure Jonny, I’ve seen Rangers fans leave this early my entire life. One Cup in 80+ years has an impact. https://t.co/vLYalDOuDC
This is a harsh defeat for the Patrick Roy’s Islanders, who remain five points out of the playoff picture while having the worst special teams in the entire NHL.
Patrick Roy did everything he could to get his team back in the game, pulling his goalie with 11 minutes remaining in the game while trailing 5-1.
#Isles Patrick Roy pulled his goalie down 5-1 with 11+ minutes in the 3rd and honestly, I don’t hate it.
Since joining the St. Louis Blues via the offer sheets submitted to the Edmonton Oilers, Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg have really blossomed.
The two former Oilers seem to be thriving with the Blues, especially in Holloway’s case.
In 89 career games with the Oilers, Holloway had only nine goals and 18 points in the regular season.
And now this season, before yesterday’s game, Holloway had already surpassed his career best with more goals (10) and more points (19) in 35 games with the Blues.
And yesterday, the former Oilers player scored his first career hat trick in a 4-0 win for the St. Louis Blues against the Detroit Red Wings.
In short, Holloway seems to be really enjoying his time in St. Louis, and it’s great to see the 14th overall pick in the 2020 draft bloom like this at age 23.
Overtime
– Ouch. John Gibson had to leave the game after this incident. Hopefully, he is not seriously injured.
Ducks goalie John Gibson is forced to leave tonight’s game after the blade of a Vegas player’s stick goes into his mask pic.twitter.com/6lTfhWGkYa
Moreover, he was not back on the bench at the start of the second period.
We hope that his injury is not too serious.
The fact that Olivier said “no comment” is much more significant than if he had said that Columbus didn’t care about his comments and that the club was playing its game.
By giving such a response, I understand that he meant: yes, but I’m not talking about it. It’s worth noting that Olivier and Laine were good friends in Columbus, but today it’s different.
The Blue Jackets really took the comments badly, then.
Imagine if a former Canadiens player had said that about Montreal… It would have definitely made waves.
Overtime
The one who was traded for Laine, Jordan Harris, took advantage of his former team visiting the city to score his first goal with the Jackets.
Of course…
Jordan Harris scores against his former teammates and it’s 3-1 for the Blue Jackets! pic.twitter.com/YoTse8hJ9b
Since Patrik Laine returned to the game, the Canadiens have not lost. At least, they haven’t lost as much as before.
Montreal has only lost three times in nine games. And in those nine games, Laine, the third star last week, scored eight goals, all on the power play. He is helping the team to win, and that’s what matters to him. The Finn doesn’t like to lose, which is why he requested a trade from the Jackets.
Indeed, as noted in Aaron Portzline’s excellent article on The Athletic, the CH winger wants to win, and he felt that not all players and management members in Columbus shared the same mentality as him.
The Athletic: Patrik Laine, set to face the Blue Jackets for the first time with #GoHabsGo, said he asked for a trade because #CBJ weren’t committed to winning.
“I was tired of losing and just giving up when it’s December to start focusing on next year.”https://t.co/dzou0b4CZm
“If he didn’t like losing, then why did he agree to be traded to the Canadiens, Raph?”
First of all, Montreal was not on his list of 10 teams he didn’t want to be traded to. Secondly, although it is ironic to want to win and be traded to a worse team than his former one, there is a winning mentality in Montreal.
Laine told Portzline (The Athletic) that even in losses, he feels the players are giving their all to win.
In Columbus, that was not the case.
I feel like we were doing the same thing year after year. I was tired of losing and giving up when it’s December and we should start focusing on next year. I don’t intend to do that. As a player, it’s frustrating to try to win when some people aren’t like that. – Patrik Laine
Tonight, the Finn will play his first game against his former club. He doesn’t know if he will be warmly welcomed, but if not, he doesn’t really care.
He is there to play hockey with his new team, he is happy here, and for the rest, he doesn’t worry.
With a win in regulation, the Canadiens (31 points) could pass the Jackets (32 points) in the standings. For Laine, only the victory matters tonight.
It would be great to leave them behind [in the standings]. – Patrik Laine
In brief
– When he plays, he performs.
Ivan Demidov took full advantage of his increased ice time in his last 2 games!@grantmccagg: “You can’t shoot it any better than that”
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - MAY 11: Chris Kreider #20 of the New York Rangers watches before a face-off against the Carolina Hurricanes during the second period in Game Four of the Second Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PNC Arena on May 11, 2024 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Josh Lavallee/NHLI via Getty Images)
Oh boy…
That was my reaction upon seeing this news that just came out in the last few minutes.
Chris Kreider will not play this afternoon as his team faces the Devils. And it’s not because he’s injured…
The veteran is disappointing, and his performance has been atrocious since the start of the season.
He has only 12 points (11 goals) in 30 games, and now, Peter Laviolette has decided that it’s enough.
Kreider will be a healthy scratch today:
Chris Kreider is out of the Rangers lineup on Monday. He has 2 goals in his past 3 games, with New York having lost 9 of them. pic.twitter.com/PPJPHYcvsm
This stirred controversy because he pointed his finger at his coach in front of reporters. He was traded a few days later…
That said, maybe Kakko’s comments reached Laviolette’s ears.
This clearly did not fall on deaf ears… And Laviolette is doing what he can to keep his job.
It remains to be seen if the decision will pay off…
Follow-Up
It should be noted that this is a second game in as many days for the New York team.
Yesterday’s game against the Hurricanes was broadcast on TVA Sports, and Sébastien Goulet, who described the game, said he barely saw Kreider throughout the evening:
LAVAL, QC - OCTOBER 18: Look at Laval Rocket left wing Joshua Roy (10) during the game between the Rochester Americans and the Laval Rocket on October 18, 2023, at Place Bell in Laval, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Joshua Roy had the opportunity to showcase himself with the Canadiens after starting the season in the American Hockey League.
He played four games with the CH… And he was invisible.
The organization then decided to assign him to Laval, which was the right decision when looking at his performance since his demotion.
The forward has participated in eight games with the Rocket since the beginning of December, and it’s going well.
He has seven points in his last eight games, even though he has been blanked three times:
One goal against Syracuse (December 4)
One goal against Toronto (December 6)
One assist against Toronto (December 7)
No points against Rochester (December 11)
No points against Hartford (December 14)
No points against Bridgeport (December 15)
One goal and one assist against Belleville (December 20)
One goal and one assist against Springfield (December 22)
The Canadiens’ prospect has now collected 23 points (in 25 games) since the start of the season in the American Hockey League.
That’s a nice production for a 21-year-old player:
(Credit: AHL.com)
It’s good in terms of points and production, but there is one aspect that Roy needs to work on in his game.
I’m talking about his consistency, and we have a clear example of this since he was sent back to Laval.
The forward is seen as an offensive player who is also capable of being responsible in all three zones of the ice (he had a defensive role at the World Junior Championship), but he is also viewed as a guy who doesn’t show up every night.
Because Roy has the skills and talent to play in the NHL. He held his own last year and did well (nine points in 23 games) and looked like he belonged at times.
But if he was cut by the Canadiens at the start of the season… It’s mainly because he didn’t have a good camp and because he was inconsistent during camp. He arrived in September with the mentality of a guy who already had a spot on the roster, and it cost him a position.
It’s up to him to prove he can maintain the same level of effort night after night. It’s by playing with intensity in every game that he will have the opportunity to be recalled, and it’s by playing with intensity consistently that he will have a great career in the NHL.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 22: Pyotr Kochetkov #52 of the Carolina Hurricanes plays the puck against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on December 22, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images)
The Canadiens did not play yesterday.
But there were still six other games presented across the league!
Let’s see what happened:
Nathan MacKinnon and Leon Draisaitl became the first two players to record 20 points this December and helped each of their teams earn a League-best eighth win in the final month of 2024.#NHLStats: https://t.co/z2MyZARzvypic.twitter.com/4uQXPCNwC4
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(@sammisilber) 
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