Author: Dose

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The Canadiens need Sean Monahan’s production this season

Photo by Jason Mowry/Getty Images

Sean Monahan is off to a good start with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The forward already has twenty points, including seven goals in twenty games so far this year.

In particular, he’s on a seven-game point streak (1 goal, 6 assists) that coincides with his team’s three-game winning streak.

This winning streak gives the Jackets a respectable first quarter of the season, playing for .500 with a 9-9-2 record, three points out of the final playoff spot.

Sean Monahan’s production also allowed him to make Columbus club history by becoming the third player to score at least twenty points in their first twenty games with the team. He joins Andrew Cassels and Johnny Gaudreau.

Although unintentionally, the former Canadiens player found another way to honor the memory of his good friend Johnny Hockey.

In fact, Monahan’s good start to the campaign could have helped the Habs perform better this season. His production of one point per game would make him the team’s leading scorer so far this season.

His presence would also make for a more balanced attack, while Monahan could have helped the contribution of our second line.

I understand why trading Monahan made sense from a rebuilding point of view, but it really felt like the organization sacrificed the present for the future.

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Yes, we got a good return with a first-round pick from the Jets who we then traded to the Kings to pick up excellent prospect Michael Hage, but who’s going to be able to help the team in what? One year, two years, maybe more?

However, Monahan is the kind of veteran you want on your team, who will lead by example and bring a good ethic to the youngsters.

This is really the first move in the rebuild where I’ve felt the team regress and start to fall in the standings following the Monahan trade. And you have to wonder if it’s the same regression we’re feeling so far this season.

In short, let’s hope Sean Monahan can keep up the momentum and have a good season with the Blue Jackets.

Overtime

– The solution?

– Ouch…

– It doesn’t stay that way for long.

– Big win for the Packers.

– The Broncos are to be taken seriously.

– Duel of birds.

– Silver for Canada.

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Jim Montgomery with the Blues: the real loser is Claude Julien

One piece of news that came out of nowhere over the weekend was that of Jim Montgomery’s signing with the St. Louis Blues.

After firing Drew Bannister on Sunday morning, the Blues went big for Montgomery, who was recently fired by the Boston Bruins.

It seems to have been a spur-of-the-moment move for the Blues, but the choice seems justified.

Montgomery is an excellent coach and there had to be a change in St. Louis.

What’s more, the Montreal coach has already been an assistant in St. Louis in 2020-21 and 2021-22.

However, my problem isn’t with the choice of Montgomery, but rather with the fact that Claude Julien has been completely forgotten.

The club should have taken a closer look at them, so it’s not necessarily Bannister who’s the loser in this story.

The big loser is Claude Julien, who was already an assistant.

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Julien has proved in the past that he can be a very good instructor, and the Blues should have looked in their own backyard before taking their business elsewhere, although Montgomery isn’t a bad choice.

On the other hand, like the Blues’ new coach, Julien also has a Jack Adams trophy in his pocket.

And I think it’s a bit disrespectful not to have at least looked at Julien for an interim position, while they looked at their options.

Not interviewing an assistant already in your backyard, when the latter has specifically said he wants to coach this team, is indeed disrespectful.

Interestingly, the last three Boston Bruins head coaches fired were all Jack Adams winners (Claude Julien, Bruce Cassidy and Jim Montgomery).

And they all found new jobs in eight days or less.

Montgomery should still pay off for the Blues, and hockey remains a business first and foremost.

But this seems to be a whim and Julien could have been as good a candidate as Montgomery.

Only time will tell if this was the right choice for the Blues.

Overtime

– A player on the waivers to make room for a youngster: why doesn’t the Habs do the same?

– A nice arrow aimed at Ryan Reaves.

– Am I the only one who really likes Pezzetta’s moustache? Obviously, it’s not a mustache of the calibre of Lanny McDonald’s, but still!

– What a mind-boggling start from Jaylen Brown.

– Heavy loss for the Charlotte Hornets.

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Dante Fabbro could become another great waivers story

Ahh, the great stories of the waivers.

All Montreal Canadiens fans will forever remember Paul Byron and all he did after being claimed by the Canadiens.

Other players such as Carter Verhaeghe and Gustav Forsling, both of whom were drafted by the Florida Panthers, also had great second-chance careers.

This season, one name in particular surprised many on the hockey planet: Dante Fabbro.

The 26-year-old right-handed defenseman was placed in the waivers earlier this month by the Nashville Predators, and many fans saw him landing in Montreal.

The Habs were going for second choice, after the San Jose Sharks, but Fabbro was ultimately chosen by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Things are going rather well for Fabbro, who already plays an important role in the Jackets’ defensive brigade.

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On Saturday night, he scored his second goal under his new colors, amassing a total of four points in six short games.

Not bad for a debut.

Not only does he contribute offensively, but he has also become a man Dean Evason trusts and uses to great effect.

Fabbro played 19:17 and 16:16 in his first two games with Columbus, but in the last four games he hasn’t played less than 22 minutes per game.

And all that, with no time on the powerplay or shorthanded, if the frequently updated lineups on “Daily Faceoff” are anything to go by .

Fabbro definitely seems to be becoming another of those great waivers stories, and the poor Predators must be biting their fingers off.

Overtime

– Guillaume Lepage’s interview with Jacob Fowler.

– Read more.

– Well done.

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Round-up of Habs prospects: Michael Hage scores five points in a crazy game

While the Montreal Canadiens were being booed by their fans at the Bell Centre for their disgraceful performance against the Vegas Golden Knights, several of the Habs’ prospects stood out.

Indeed, many of them put a smile back on the Habs fans’ faces after a tough, tasteless defeat.

Here’s a rundown of the performances of the Habs prospects that caught the eye.

NCAA – Michael Hage – Center – 18 years old

Generally speaking, when a team drafts more than one player in the first round of a draft, it’s the first player drafted who gets the most attention, and whose performances are analyzed and followed closely.

The prospect or prospects drafted further back in the first round are therefore somewhat overshadowed, as was the case with Filip Mesar and Juraj Slafkovsky.

But this time it’s different, because despite all the attention Ivan Demidov rightly receives, Michael Hage manages to make a big splash every week with his excellent NCAA performances.

Indeed, Hage stands out in virtually every game he plays, and this weekend was no different.

After scoring two goals on Friday, Hage added to his tally last night with no less than five points.

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The Habs prospect picked up a goal and four assists in a wild 10-6 win for the University of Michigan over Penn State University.

The craziest thing about it all is that Hage finished his night with a -4 differential, given that he scored all five of his points on the powerplay.

In short, Hage is on fire in the NCAA, having just had a seven-point weekend in two games.

That now gives him 16 points (eight goals and eight assists) in 11 games, which is really impressive for an NCAA rookie.

Hage is really getting the habs fans excited about him, and they can’t wait to see him land in Montreal.

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AHL – Joshua Roy – Right wing – 21 / Jared Davidson – Center – 22

The Laval Rocket is off to a great start this season, thanks in large part to the club’s young players.

The team’s success is closely linked to the excellent performances of Joshua Roy, Owen Beck, Logan Mailloux and Jared Davidson, not to mention Alex Barré-Boulet and goalkeepers Jakub Dobes and Connor Hughes.

Last night, the Rocket were in action against the Belleville Senators, as Pascal Vincent’s team attempted to put an end to their first consecutive losing streak (2 losses in a row).

Mission accomplished, as the Rocket won 3-1, thanks to three points from Joshua Roy and two goals from Jared Davidson.

Here’s Roy’s goal.

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And here are the two goals from Davidson, who once again showed just how good his wrist shot is.

With their goals, Roy and Davidson lead the Rocket scoring charts with eight goals each.

And in terms of points, Roy is at the top with 16 points in 17 games, while Davidson is fifth with 11 points in 14 games.

Honestly, Roy clearly deserves a call-up to the Canadiens, so dominant is he in the AHL right now.

And even Davidson deserves a shot at the NHL by season’s end, as he continues to develop and improve.

But with the impending returns of Patrik Laine and Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, Roy and Davidson are likely to stay down, which isn’t a bad thing considering how well the Rocket are rolling.

Overtime

– Montgomery signs five-year contract with Blues.

– For interested parties.

– Coming up.

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“Even the goalkeepers who go to the Four Nations Tournament don’t make those saves” – St-Louis

Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

Samuel Montembeault was completely left to his own devices last night in the Montreal Canadiens’ crushing 6-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.

It’s a real shame for the Québécois goaltender that his teammates abandoned him like that.

Montembeault had been on an excellent run with an efficiency rate of .966 in his last four games, but it all came crashing down in the second period when the Golden Knights scored five unanswered goals.

Monty had started the game so well with an impeccable first period, allowing his team to stay in the game with 12 saves, many on excellent scoring chances.

In short, last night’s defeat was in no way Montembeault’s fault, as Martin St-Louis made clear in his post-game press briefing.

What’s also important to note is what the head coach added immediately afterwards.

“Even the goalkeepers who will be going to the Four Nations Tournament don’t make those saves.” – Martin St-Louis

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Indeed, St-Louis defended his goaltender, saying that the goals scored by the Golden Knights last night wouldn’t even have been stopped by the best goaltenders in the world – those who will be taking part in the Four Nations Tournament.

One might think that St-Louis is simply defending Montembeault with this statement, but at the same time, one might think that St-Louis is perhaps discreetly implying that Monty won’t be going to the tournament to represent Canada.

Montembeault has been considered a serious candidate to represent the Canadiens at this tournament since the start of the season.

Does St-Louis know something we don’t?

Because by saying that the goalkeepers of the Four Nations Tournament themselves wouldn’t stop Vegas’ goals last night, well, St-Louis is in a way excluding Montembeault.

In the end, maybe St-Louis was just clumsy in his defense of his goalie, but it’s still an interesting quote.

Overtime

– A clearly undeserved day off.

– He won’t have been at the helm of the St. Louis Blues for long.

– More positives from the Maple Leafs.

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Laine and RHP back in the game: Heineman and Condotta don’t deserve to be punished

MONTREAL, QC - OCTOBER 09: Look on Montreal Canadiens left wing Emil Heineman (51) during warm-up before the Toronto Maple Leafs versus the Montreal Canadiens game on October 09, 2024, at Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Last night’s defeat was no ordinary defeat.

The Montreal Canadiens were dominated, picked off and crushed at home at the Bell Centre on a Saturday night , 6-2, by the Vegas Golden Knights.

It was a disgraceful game overall, one that clearly deserved to have the Habs players booed by their fans.

The worst part of the game was that the players who showed up the least, and were therefore the softest and worst, were two players seen as important pillars of the Habs’ future.

Indeed, Juraj Slafkovsky and Kirby Dach were pitiful last night, playing very soft, flavorless, emotionless hockey, and each costing their team a goal with unacceptable turnovers.

They didn’t get a single shot each, and Slakfovsky ended his night’s work with a -4 differential.

In short, the two young players are really having a tough time of it this season, and more often than not, they’re invisible, if not detrimental, in every one of their appearances.

It’s not for nothing that Martin St-Louis decided to punish them and demote them from the first line to the team’s bottom-6.

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It’s a real shame and worrying to see two players supposedly so important to the team’s success perform like this.

It’s even more worrisome and problematic considering that they will surely take priority over other players when Patrik Laine and Raphaël Harvey-Pinard are well and truly ready to rejoin the Habs lineup.

Indeed, when Laine and RHP return to action, two players currently on the Habs roster will have to bail out.

And unfortunately, these two players may not be the ones who deserve to be bailed out.

Chances are that Lucas Condotta and Emil Heineman will be the two players who will have to pay the price by losing their place in the line-up, despite the fact that they play good hockey and give their all every time they play.

They’re both high-energy players who know how to help their team despite their limited playing time.

Heineman proved it again last night with his 4ᵉ goal of the season, which now gives him six points in 19 games.

The Swedish winger is having a good NHL rookie season, and he’s managing to endear himself to his coach and the fans.

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In short, it’s a real shame, but by necessity, Martin St-Louis is stuck with the poor performances of Juraj Slafkovsky and Kirby Dach, whereas if we went on merit, Condotta and Heineman would be ahead.

Clearly, MSL could very well decide to send Slaf and Dach to the stands for a game or two, especially since that’s the next step after being demoted to the fourth line.

But in the end, both will still have priority due to their status as top draft picks.

Even if they do end up in the stands, they’ll be back in the lineup in Emil Heineman’s stead in no time.

In short, the Habs are stuck with all their forwards, and will have no choice but to give Laine and RHP a chance to find their rhythm.

Heineman will have to be patient if he’s ever taken out of the lineup.

And I haven’t even mentioned Michael Pezzetta, who isn’t even playing right now, with Laine and RHP still injured.

It really feels like the end for him in Montreal, and that’s a shame.

Overtime

– Montgomery won’t have been out of work for long.

– Note that he already lives in St. Louis in the summer.

– That’s the right attitude to have.

– Read more.

– What do you think?

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Only 17 shots last night: the Habs shoot the least in the NHL

After back-to-back wins over the Columbus Blue Jackets and Edmonton Oilers, we were all starting to think that the horrible, emotionless performances were behind us.

Well, we guess we were wrong, and that the momentum of good performances with a great work ethic was only temporary.

The Montreal Canadiens completely fell back into their bad habits last night against the Golden Knights, as they put on a mediocre performance in front of their fans, with a 6-2 loss to Vegas.

The Habs had a horrible second period, allowing five unanswered goals, leaving Samuel Montembeault completely alone against the Golden Knights.

Costly turnovers, sloppy passing, incomplete plays and a blatant lack of finishing marked this game and this performance by the Habs players, who clearly deserved to be booed.

In short, the Habs clearly haven’t changed, and an electroshock is still needed, because last night was game 3 of the season’s home disgraces, after the thaw against the New York Rangers and the one against the Seattle Kraken.

The bottom line is that the Habs are sluggish, lacking hustle and hard work in all areas.

Defensively, it’s blatantly obvious, and offensively, it’s not much better, because in the entire NHL, the Canadiens are the team that shoots the least.

(Credit: NHL.com)

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In fact, of the 32 teams in the National Hockey League, including the Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks, the Canadiens have the fewest shots on net per game.

On average, the Habs direct 24.2 shots per game, which is VERY low, considering that more than half the teams have an average of over 28.

The bottom line, then, is that the Habs, who don’t score enough goals and lack finish, simply don’t shoot, or at least don’t shoot on target.

Bad luck?

No.

It’s clearly a lack of effort and hard work, because directing pucks at the net doesn’t require crazy talent.

It takes hard work to create space and, above all, intelligence to send the puck through the line without hitting an opponent.

Talk about Mike Matheson, who simply can’t seem to avoid aiming at an opponent or the bay window.

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And to reach the net and get a shot on target, you also have to shoot!

It sounds ridiculous to mention, but Kirby Dach and Juraj Slafkovsky don’t seem to get it, playing with a controller with a faulty SHOOT button.

It’s not for nothing that both were demoted and punished during yesterday’s game.

In short, if the Habs don’t shoot, when they’re already sorely lacking in finishing, it’s going to be very bad.

Last night, 17 measly shots were directed at the cage by Adin Hill, who had little to do to help his team win a game away from home.

The Habs didn’t make it difficult for the Golden Knights, while coming to play at the Bell Centre in Montreal, in front of the NHL’s best fans, should be a burden and a big test.

It’s a real shame, but the Habs aren’t putting on a consistent show for their fans this season.

Overtime

– Verstappen is officially world champion for 4ᵉ times in a row!

– Here are the race results.

– Here are the standings after the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

– Interesting.

– Stay tuned.

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Top-5: Jonathan Drouin scores his first two goals of the season

After a quiet evening on Friday, yesterday was a huge day of hockey, with 15 games on the National Hockey League schedule.

With 30 of the NHL’s 32 teams in action, there were plenty of highlights.

Here’s what caught our eye.

1. Jonathan Drouin scores his first two goals of the season

After missing most of the season so far due to injury, Jonathan Drouin has been back in action for a few games now.

Yesterday was his fifth game of the season, and he took advantage of the opportunity to score his first two goals of the season, both on assists from Cale Makar.

Drouin tied the game twice against the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, and in the end, the Avalanche won 7-4.

Makar was smoking again in this game, and in fact became the second-fastest defenseman to reach the 100-game plateau with more than one point in his career. He did it in 336 games, with only Bobby Orr ahead of him.

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2. 5ᵉ defeat in a row for the Ottawa Senators

Once again this season, the rebuild doesn’t seem to be over in Ottawa, when many were loudly claiming that this was their year, and that they’d finally be back in the playoffs.

It’s the same story every year, and personally, I don’t understand how so many people believe in this team.

After a respectable start to the season, the Senators had a horrible November, with only three wins in 11 games.

They’re currently on a five-game losing streak, including yesterday’s 4-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks in regulation time.

In short, nothing is going right for the Senators, who have just one small point more than the Montreal Canadiens with the same number of games played.

They rank 28ᵉ in the entire NHL, while the Habs are 31ᵉ.

(Credit: NHL.com)

Note that on the Canucks side, it was Kiefer Sherwood who scored the winning goal.

He’s having an absolutely phenomenal personal season with 12 points, including six goals in 19 games.

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3. Matvei Michkov gives the Flyers another overtime win

While David Reinbacher is in rehab, Matvei Michkov is dominating the NHL, leading the charge for the Philadelphia Flyers.

The 19-year-old Russian winger has really developed a “clutch” side since arriving in the NHL, and he proved it again last night.

He scored the winning goal in overtime to give the Flyers a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.

It’s his second career overtime goal, and his 7th of the season (16 points) in 19 games.

He’s no savior, however, if John Tortorella’s words are anything to go by.

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4. Oilers have fun against Rangers

It was a big game last night between two very entertaining teams, as the New York Rangers visited the Oilers in Edmonton.

The Oilers are quietly getting back on track after a poor start to the season, and last night they really put in a tremendous performance.

They won 6-2 over the Rangers, while the big guns had a blast.

A great win for the Oilers, who are currently in 8ᵉ and last place giving access to the playoffs.

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5. Preds come from behind to beat NHL leaders

Nashville is very disappointing this season, when we were really expecting a great season from them after all their acquisitions this summer.

The Predators just don’t seem to click.

But that hasn’t stopped them from believing in themselves and putting in a string of great performances, such as last night’s 4-1 win over the NHL’s leading team, the Winnipeg Jets.

Winnipeg is off to a completely opposite start to the season than the Preds, when everything fits together perfectly, but they still escaped yesterday in Nashville.

Overtime

– Here are all the results from the previous day.

– Here are yesterday’s top scorers.

(Credit: NHL.com)

– Today’s program: a single game.

(Credit: Google/NHL)
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“We deserved the boos” – Martin St-Louis

Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

The Canadiens were washed out by the Vegas Golden Knights tonight.

A 6-2 loss hurts. Giving up five goals in the second period is a no-no. Not putting in the effort is horrible. Seeing the fans boo the players is priceless.

In fact, it’s not true: it cost a lot of people a lot of money to buy tickets. And they probably didn’t go home in a good mood…

After gaining momentum in the games beforehand and enjoying a few days off, the Canadiens came out very badly. And the problem is, it’s not the first time this has happened at home this season.

That’s why fans chose to boo the guys in the second and third periods.

We deserved the booing. – Martin St-Louis

It’s not Patrice Brisebois who’s being booed because of his salary: it’s the guys on a team who are being booed because, once again, they’re not putting in enough effort.

You can be less talented, but you can’t push yourself any less. In fact, you MUST push yourself.

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Fans understand that the club is rebuilding and they still show up at the Bell Centre. But once again, at home, the Habs got washed out due to the pedal not being on the floor.

And don’t tell me that “the Habs are only six points out of the playoffs” as I write this to convince me that the club is #InTheMix.

The Golden Knights didn’t use the “three games in four days” or the travel excuse to pull out a bad one: the club just forced itself. And so, the best club got its hands on the W.

One day, the Habs will have to learn to do that.

Prolongation

– The Habs’ last win over Vegas? June 24, 2021.

– Speaking of Vegas.

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It’s kind of weird to see Sean Avery with Canadiens merchandise.

Yesterday, Drake unveiled its new Ovo (October’s very own) clothing collection in partnership with the NHL.

Fans of Canadian NHL teams will be able to add new items to their collection on the official Ovo website .

William Nylander was obviously seen wearing Leafs merchandise, and one of the other models was Sean Avery. Seeing him with Canadiens gear on his back is pretty weird… He’s already worn the blue-white-red colors in the NHL with the Rangers, but still.

If you were planning to buy some gear in your favorite team’s colors, you’ll have to break your piggy bank.

It’s not cheap.

The coat costs no less than $368.

(Credit: OVO )

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And the hoodie, close to $200.

Good thing shipping is free on orders over $200…

(Credit: OVO )

I invite you to visit the website, which I’m reposting HERE.

In any case, the $368 coats are very popular. The Leafs, Oilers and Flames are already sold out.

If you want one from the Habs, you’d better hurry!

Overtime

– Joshua Roy opens the scoring.

– Classic.

– Well-deserved.

– Can’t wait to see him in Montreal.

– Really cool!

– Competitive teams don’t need a quarterback…