Author: Dose

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Excellent performance by Kaiden Guhle: he saved the Habs from disaster

With last night’s 3-2 victory over the Blackhawks in Chicago, the Montreal Canadiens return home with a 2-1-0 record after their first road trip, which was a success, but things could have been very different last night if it hadn’t been for Kaiden Guhle’s clutch goal.

In all seriousness, I think the Habs were lucky to escape with not just two points, but a regulation-time win.

Martin St-Louis’ troupe was very scrappy in this game, and looked completely disorganized in the third period, when you could sense a discouraging effect among the players.

[content-ads] Obviously, I won’t dwell on the negative, given that the Habs were playing a third road game in four days, but the fact remains that a lack of opportunism and lack of concentration almost cost the Habs the win.

The Canadiens are fortunate that Kaiden Guhle was ready for this game, as he really put in an excellent performance last night, aside from his goal.

[content-ads] Obviously, that’s what stood out this morning, when he saved the Habs from the disaster of losing to the Hawks after having TEN powerplay advantages. But in general, Guhle played a whole game of hockey, clearly his best since the start of the season.

In 16:32 of ice time, the CH’s #21 got four shots, one blocked shot and three checks, including a very solid one on Frank Nazar, a check that actually triggered real chaos.

And what’s all the more important with Guhle’s robust play, but especially this particular check, is that it led to the Habs’ second goal, Zachary Bolduc’s powerplay goal. Guhle’s big legal check frustrated the Blackhawks, leading to an instigator penalty for Louis Crevier.

Guhle was directly responsible for two of the Habs’ goals last night, which makes his performance all the more interesting. #21 (when healthy) is a very important pillar of the Habs’ defense, and he proved it last night [content-ads] Now, here’s what else I’ll take away from this game:1. After two very difficult outings in the face-off circle (40.7% vs Toronto and 42.5% vs Detroit), the Habs were excellent last night with a 61.5% percentage.

Note that Oliver Kapanen took no face-offs last night, while Alex Newhook served as center in such situations. Jake Evans (71%), Nick Suzuki (66%), Kirby Dach (57%) and Alex Newhook (57%) were all excellent, so let’s hope this trend continues.2. Zachary Bolduc is full of confidence, and it’s great to see. The Québécois scored a goal in his third consecutive game, as well as picking up an assist and disturbing the opposition at several points. Bolduc is really making a big name for himself, both in the dressing room and throughout the National Hockey League. A real pest scoring goals like he does, that’s really rare [content-ads]3. Samuel Montembeault saved the game in the third period. The Blackhawks had only ten shots on goal after two periods, but they opened up in the third period with 12 shots, when the Habs seemed to be asleep at times. Montembeault stayed calm, and was able to repel several big threats, and especially avoid the worst when things were spinning for long minutes in the Habs’ zone. Without him, the Habs don’t come out of this game with a regular win.4. The powerplay really needs practice. Even though the Habs converted 2 of their ten chances (20%), it was clear that there’s a problem, as there was almost never any rhythm or coordination. Everything was scrambled and executed pretty much to the point. And as soon as the Habs settled in, there was far too much looking for the perfect play, instead of simply going for a good shot to score a goal or give a throwback. What’s more, on Patrik Laine’s wave, i.e. the 2nd wave, everything was too predictable. You can see that the other players are just looking for Laine’s catch-and-shoot [content-ads]5. Arber Xhekaj only played 6:48, which can be explained by all the powerplays.6. Lane Hutson was good last night, but there’s still something missing from his game that we saw last season. He’s making more mistakes, hesitating more often, dropping the puck a lot, in short, his contract situation really seems to be playing on his mind. At least Hutson got his first point of the season on Guhle’s late goal.7. Tough game for the Newhook – Kapanen – Demidov line. All three guys lacked execution at several points, and they’ll need to get their act together at home, starting Tuesday against the Seattle Kraken.[spacer title=’Overtime’] – To read.

– A real machine.

– What an incredible scenario at the Shanghai Masters 1000.

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“Oliver Kapanen to replace Phillip Danault”

Virtually everyone in Montreal was very skeptical that Oliver Kapanen would start the season at center to Ivan Demidov and Alex Newhook, and worried that the Finnish rookie would take over the second center spot for the start of the 2025-2026 season.

Well, after two games, we have to admit that Kapanen is fulfilling his role wonderfully and playing some excellent hockey. Of course, it’s only two games, and we’ll obviously have to see more, but so far, the 22-year-old center is impressing.

We can talk about his two goals in as many games, but it’s much more than that that’s catching the eye with Kapanen. Indeed, it’s his all-round game that impresses, because he literally does everything well on the ice, and does it with confidence. It’s a style of play that reminds us of a certain Phillip Danault, and that’s why Maxim Lapierre believes Kapanen will replace Danault in the long term.

https://www.youtube.com/live/I7NXdI6etJo [content-ads] That’s what the former NHL forward said on the latest episode of La Poche Bleue with Pascal Leclaire, explaining that this is the first time in a long time that he feels Phillip Danault has probably been replaced in Montreal.

Like Danault, Kapanen is a very intelligent player on both sides of the rink, who executes all the little details brilliantly, as well as being able to contribute offensively thanks to his very good vision of the game. The Finnish center even seems to have a little more offensive talent than the Québécois, which could make him even more important to the team. For Lapierre, Kapanen is exactly the kind of player who can stabilize any line-up, thanks to his very mature style of play.

[content-ads] Pascal Leclaire added that Kapanen is exactly what the Habs need at the center of a third line, and what’s more, he found him excellent at short-handed. He didn’t seem at all overwhelmed by events, and he played with great confidence against the big guns of the Leafs and Red Wings.

Of course, once again, it’s only two games, but if Kapanen continues to play the same way, with the same composure and maturity, he’ll be indispensable to the Habs.

It would even take some pressure off the Habs’ future second center, whether it’s a player obtained via trade, or Michael Hage. Having a center like Kapanen in the lineup adds depth and takes some of the defensive load off the other players. So for now, it’s safe to say that Ivan Demidov is in good hands, and there’s a great chemistry between the two.

[spacer title=’Overtime’] –

– Please note: I’

– Stay tuned today.

– More from the Habs prospect in Finland. He now has 12 points, including five goals, in 11 games.

– Too bad it ended in defeat for Canada.

– Well said.

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The Canadiens win last-second game in Chicago

After a win and a curtain-raiser loss for Martin St-Louis’ troupe, Montreal was back in action tonight in Chicago. A third original lineup in four nights. Here are the lineups:

The Canadiens didn’t have a bad first period under the circumstances. They spent most of the period in offensive territory, but on seven shots, the guys couldn’t find the back of the net, despite four power plays.

The highlight of this period with an extra man? Ivan Demidov’s backcheck.

[content-ads] Early in the second period, the Russian’s hard work earned the Hawks another penalty. This time, the Habs found the back of the net on the power play. If the Brewers need a 10th hitter, Cole Caufield is ready to fill in.

After watching the Blackhawks tie the game, Montreal scored another powerplay goal as Zachary Bolduc, already his third of the season, foiled Spencer Knight.

[content-ads] But as was the case after the visitors’ first goal, Chicago fought back, with Connor Bedard scoring the first goal of his career against Montreal on the power play.

In the third period, Samuel Montembeault was solid, helping his team win the game in the dying seconds. With 15 seconds left on the scoreboard, the visitors scored the winning goal, courtesy of Juraj Slafkovsky.

Final score: 3-2 Montreal (2-1-0). Martin St-Louis’ team finished 2/10 on the powerplay. The Hawks were really undisciplined throughout the game. The Canadiens will open their season at home on Tuesday against the Seattle Kraken. spacer title=’Prolongation’] – An unorthodox win is better than a loss.

– Well done.

– Great.

– A game signed special units.

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Ivan Demidov and Kaiden Guhle throw down the gloves on the same sequence

The Habs didn’t draft Ivan Demidov at #5 for his fighting skills. But today, it’s his fire that’s doing the talking. In the second period, he threw down the gloves against none other than Tyler Bertuzzi.

The Russian didn’t look bad, far from it. Earlier in the period, his relentless work in front of the opposing net resulted in a penalty.

Demidov also made a defensive withdrawal earlier in the game.

Meanwhile, Kaiden Guhle took care of Louis Crevier. Guhle had previously taken a (legal) check from Frank Nazar, and Crevier steps in to

teammate.

[spacer title=’Prolongation’] On the sequence, Crevier was given an extra two minutes for investigating, and Montreal took advantage to score a power-play goal. Who else but Zachary Bolduc? Already his third of the season. Logan Mailloux who?

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Lane Hutson’s contract: Arpon Basu surprised that the matter will be settled this season

Is the signing of Lane Hutson imminent? Some say yes, some say no. Arpon Basu is on the pessimistic side. On The Basu & Godin notebook podcast, the journalist doesn’t think the matter will be settled this season. Elliotte Friedman also recently said that signing the contract is not imminent.Negotiating during the season is not necessarily the priority for some/many athletes. In Hutson’s case, he’s not involved and simply wants to concentrate on his play on the ice. But, according to Basu and his colleague Marc Antoine Godin, the defenseman will have to start getting a little more involved for the matter to be settled [content-ads] It’s currently his agent (and his father) who is handling the negotiations and, presumably, he’s only in it for the money. We know that the 48 wants to stay in Montreal, and that’s why the young defender should take more of a role in the negotiations. He’s not playing badly (despite no points so far), but it’s true that contract negotiations can be a real distraction.

In an interview with TVA Sports earlier this evening, the main interested party told Félix Séguin that he’s not a finished product.

His agent Sean Coffey knows that.

And I imagine it’s his main argument in negotiating his star player’s next pact.[spacer title=’En rafale’] – Ouin.

– Game 1 of the ALCS starts tomorrow night.

– He’s back

– He’s unlucky.

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Juraj Slafkovsky to 30 goals this season: one of Arpon Basu’s bold predictions

One goal (on the powerplay, on a throw-in) in two games is nothing to write home about, but if you’ve been watching the Habs games this season, you’ll have noticed that Juraj Slafkovsky wants to start off on the right foot. He’ll probably never be the 100-point player, but 30 goals in one season is possible. At least, that’s one of 32 bold predictions by Arpon Basu, who wrote a piece on The Athletic on the subject. The sample size is small (two games), but he’s on track to score 41 goals, hehe. No, but more seriously, scoring 30 goals is still a very distant plateau, but in Toronto and Detroit, we felt he was more physically involved and in enemy territory, especially.

He’s not going to make headlines like the Connor McDavids and Nathan MacKinnons of this world, but his play is freakishly effective, which will help him rack up points and create space for teammates Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. He’s been one of the team’s best players since the start of the young season. content-ads]

In the last two seasons, Slaf has scored 50 and 51 points respectively. But remember, he got going in the second half of the season. If he can be consistent this season, he could do some damage. Plus, he’s playing with the club’s two best forwards. In the text of bold predictions, Basu also sees Alexander Nikishin or Sam Rinzel winning the Calder Trophy, much to Ivan Demidov’s dismay. The journalist also wrote that the Ducks will make the playoffs, the Panthers will make a huge deal to replace Aleksander Barkov and much more just HERE[spacer title=’Overtime’] – Interesting.

– An interesting case to watch.

– Well done.

– Jordan Harris will play for his childhood club tonight.

– A major league shot.

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“Patrik Laine is sure to end up being a baboon”

Patrik Laine is in his second season with the Canadiens. The forward, acquired in the summer of 2024 to add some offensive punch to the lineup, showed off his scoring skills last year… but the overall quality of his game was the talk of the town for not so good reasons.He seriously, seriously struggled at 5-on-5.All of which means that this year, Laine is placed in rather different conditions. The Finn finds himself on the wing of the 4th line… and, more importantly, he’s on the second powerplay wave (unlike last year, when he was on the first). This was the topic of discussion on the most recent episode of the Exit the Zone podcast… and in the eyes of Richard Labbé, Alexandre Pratt and Stéphane Waite, it’s inevitable that all this will lead to Laine “babooning”.

They talk about this at around the 17-minute mark of the episode.

[content-ads]And in their eyes, the reason is quite simple: Laine is at the end of his contract and is currently trying to store around for a new one. For a player whose bread and butter is scoring goals, he’s not exactly placed in a position that brings out his skills.The second powerplay wave hardly plays at all, after all: the first is on the ice for almost the entire two minutes, so the second often gets a single (and very short) opportunity to do some damage. We’re not exactly talking about winning conditions for Laine. That said, it’s worth remembering that Martin St-Louis doesn’t coach to ensure that Laine gets a new contract: he’s there to ensure that his club wins games. And right now, it’s hard to argue that Laine deserves more playing time.He’s not bad, of course, but he doesn’t particularly stand out, which is what other guys ahead of him in the pecking order are doing right now. We can think of Zachary Bolduc, for example, who “stole” his place on the first wave… and who is playing some very big hockey.We’ll have to see how all this develops over the coming weeks and months, but it will be interesting to see if Laine eventually starts complaining about his role. Because we know he’s capable of speaking his mind in front of the media.[spacer title=’Overtime’]- A first game with the Bruins for Jordan Harris tonight.

– Jacques Lemaire honored by the Wild.

–

Zayne Parekh

–

– Interesting.

– The Blue Jays’ opponents are in a precarious situation.

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Reconstruction of the habs: the little mistakes of 2022…

There’s been an unquestionably positive narrative surrounding the Canadiens’ fully-assumed rebuild since the departure of Marc Bergevin and the arrival of the Hughes-Gorton (HuGo) duo.

I know, I’m an active participant in this narrative, along with 100% of other commentators and analysts of the Canadiens’ every move!

The good times are multiplying

– A plethora of astute transactions

– Several excellent draft picks: Slafkovsky, Hutson, Fowler, Demidov, Hage, Zharovsky, among others;

– Many contracts that will age well;

– Etc.

We won’t go into too much detail about all these success stories, which have already been highlighted and analyzed from every angle.

Jasons of the less good shots

However, four years after Bergevin’s departure, we can also see that some of “HuGo’s” little mistakes have already had a certain impact on the rebuild.

That’s to be expected. No director has a perfect batting average.

For the sake of objectivity, then, and to counterbalance the infinitely positive “official” narrative surrounding the rebuild, let’s take a first inventory of the least good moves that we can already begin to list with a fair degree of certainty, namely those of 2022.

[content-ads]1. The Artturi Lehkonen trade

Of course, Lehkonen, a modest2nd-round pick in 2013, wasn’t having such a great career with the Canadiens before being traded to the Avalanche (149 points in 396 games) in March 2022.

He also never had the chance to play with a Nathan MacKinnon..

A third-line player, a numerical disadvantage specialist, often criticized for missing too many scoring chances, his departure was not mourned for long. At most, his legendary winning goal on St-Jean-Baptiste Day against Las Vegas was remembered with nostalgia.

One gets the impression that both the Bergevin and Hughes-Gorton administrations failed to realize just how good a hockey player they had on hand. And he’s even better in the playoffs!

I was watching him the other night in the opening game against the Kings, wow! What an intense, intelligent player!

[content-ads]At the time, we applauded the acquisition of a promising young right-handed defenseman in Justin Barron. And, by the same token, the Lehkonen deal also helped maximize our chances of drafting atNo. 1 in 2022. That, too, was part of the plan.

Unfortunately, Barron didn’t develop as planned

Fortunately, the mistake was corrected with the acquisition of Carrier.

But we have to admit that we didn’t recognize Lehkonen’s full value, nor did we bet on the right horse when we traded him.

Sakic’s reading of the subtleties of Lehkonen’s game beat that of Barron’s potential by the Canadiens’ thinkers.

[content-ads]2. Romanov trade, Kirby Dach acquisition and Nazar selection in Chicago

In the minutes following the selection of winger Slafkovsky in place of centers Wright and Cooley, HuGo wanted to make another big splash in the middle of the Bell Centre with the trade of Romanov and the acquisition of Kirby Dach, a young pivot of 6’3 and over 200 lbs

Romanov was off to a great start with the Canadiens and was probably already the team’s best defensive defenseman at the time of the trade in the 2022 draft.

No matter. In theory, trading Romanov, the 38th player drafted in 2018, for the 13th and 66th picks of 2022 and using that 13th pick to acquire Dach, the3rd overall pick of 2019, was a very nice gamble.

The left side of the defense was pretty well taken care of with Guhle, Struble and Xhekaj, all sturdy fellows, at least one of whom would become as good as Romanov. We could sacrifice the Russian “bowling ball” to get our hands on a potential high-quality second center, or even a first, who knows..

Lamoriello and the Islanders knew that agent Dan Milstein was right on target in 2018 when he said his client deserved to be a top-10 pick. We clearly understood Romanov’s value as a sure thing, no matter what happened to that famous 13th pick the Habs gave up to the Hawks a few minutes later..

[content-ads]Unfortunately, Dach has played just 117 games in three seasons in Montreal, and injuries have undermined his development

To this day, at nearly 25 years of age, we still don’t know if he’ll be able to approach the player HuGo had in mind for the summer of 2022 and who we’ve seen so little of since his arrival in town..

Meanwhile, Guhle plays barely more games than Dach, Struble and Xhekaj alternate in the role of 6th defenseman, while Romanov has cumulated 221 games in New York in addition to showing a plus-41 differential…

Meanwhile, Frank Nazar, ultimately selected 13th overall by the Hawks, is well on his way to becoming a star center in the NHL. Watch him against the Habs: he’s quite a hockey player!

In short, we’re not quite there yet, but does anyone still have a great deal of confidence that Dach will have a brilliant career in Montreal?

For the moment, Kapanen, a Timmins-Bergevin pick, is surpassing expectations, and his subtle qualities – speed, shooting, intelligence and vision – were undoubtedly underestimated. du If Dach doesn’t get back on track, could he correct this dent in HuGo’s rebuilding plan? Let’s suspend judgment for now…[content-ads]3. Filip Mesar’s selection 26th in 2022

The more time passes, the more it seems that our initial hypothesis holds true, i.e. that the Habs drafted Mesar largely to please their friend Slafkovsky, at the expense of Jiri Kulich.

Of course, at 26th, the chances of being wrong are greater than in the top-15.

Of course, the Habs seem to have bounced back nicely with the unthinkable selection of Lane Hutson at 62nd and, to a lesser extent, Beck at 33rd, Rohrer at 75th and Engstrom at 92nd.

That makes up for it…

But Kulich (28th ), the man with the shot of fire, already CLEARLY better at the time, was on the same “hunting ground” as Mesar in Europe.

And we think he has superior talent to Kapanen and Dach..

[content-ads]Conclusion

Ultimately, replacing Lehkonen with Barron, now Carrier, an effective third-pair right-handed defenseman of roughly the same age as Lehkonen, really isn’t such a big “mistake”. But you can’t say it represents long-term progress, which is the goal of any rebuild..

Then, in retrospect, and somewhat ironically, it was Kirby Dach’s multiple injuries that benefited the Habs’ rebuild. If Dach hadn’t been injured all season in 2023-2024, HuGo probably wouldn’t have had the chance to draft Ivan Demidov at No. 5!

Finally, the “final-final” verdict is still out on Mesar’s selection. But despite encouraging signs at the last camp, the indicators are still in the red for the Slovak. Which is definitely not the case for the left-handed Kulich, 6’1, 193 lbs, promoted to the center of the second line in Buffalo! Well, well, well!

(Screenshot: Dailyfaceoff.com)

But, all in all, in the overall picture, these “little mistakes” of 2022 are not dramatic and, paradoxically, some of them may even have been profitable for drafting early in 2023 and 2024…

That said, Kapanen or not, no one would say no to Nazar or Kulich today at the center of the second line!

[content-ads]” And isn’t Slaf a mistake?”

We’re hearing this one more and more often! In my opinion, Cooley may be becoming an NHL offensive star and Wright may be showing encouraging signs, but I still don’t buy the idea that Slafkovsky could have been a “mistake” at first. It would take a catastrophe to change my mind.

In addition to getting off to a good start in his career and still developing like most big players at his age, is his usefulness among Montreal’s multiple small forwards really up for discussion? Imagine the average size of the Habs’ two first trios in his absence! At 21, very few NHL players are as good as he is at making life easier for his partners and winning 1-on-1 battles in the back of the net. The proof:

Without him, the Caufield-Suzuki duo really isn’t as effective. Together, the guys form the 4th best 5-on-5 line in the NHL! All that’s left is for Slafkovsky to put a few more pucks in the net. The rest of his game is really solid and useful to the team. In my opinion, he’s still the best choice the Habs could have made at No. 1.Next![content-ads]And 2023?Now, let’s just hope that David Reinbacher’s selection at No. 5 in 2023 doesn’t become THE big mistake of the Habs’ rebuild. If it does, it could be harder to correct than, say,the acquisition of Dach and the selection of Mesar

That’s the big taboo right now…

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The Newhook-Kapanen-Demidov line is less effective than you might think

Right now, there’s a huge wave of optimism surrounding the Canadiens. Seeing the club have two good games (despite its 1-1-0 record) to start the season is a good sign.Especially since, in recent years, the start of the season has been a more… complicated time.Of the lot, Oliver Kapanen is highly praised, with two goals in two games. All this makes it easy to assume that his trio with Ivan Demidov and Alex Newhook is playing some great hockey.

Last night, on the Tellement Hockey podcast, Martin Leclerc decided to dig a little deeper to see which of the club’s trios were really dominant, by looking at their puck possession rate per game.

After two games, Kapanen’s line is (by far) the Habs’ worst: it controlled the puck only 42% of the time in the first game and 30% of the time in the second. As an indication, anything less than 50% is not a great performance. https://youtu.be/NQj_zXxQ034?si=_-O2sHxRAz13UhOF&t=1356 [content-ads]What Leclerc is explaining is that the other three trios all finished at least one game with a rate above 50%. That’s not to say they were dominant in both games (Jake Evans’ line had an atrocious outing against the Red Wings with 22%, but broke it all in Toronto with 75%), but they all had at least one good game. Seeing Kapanen score two goals in two games makes it all fly under the radar. That said, the first of those two goals was scored shorthanded, mind you,although it’s also worth remembering that the second was scored thanks to great work from all three players.

It’s still very early in the season, and you’d think Martin St-Louis would want to be a little more patient before tweaking his trios. The three guys will still be together tonight, and it’s safe to assume they’ll be together for at least a few more games.But sooner or later, things will have to settle down, otherwise the coach might have to readjust his aim.[spacer title=’Overtime’]- Speaking of that line.

– Ivan Demidov is no slouch.

– Samuel Girard on the sidelines.

– Wow!

– Can the Blue Jays reach the World Series?

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Practice: Joe Veleno and Jayden Struble should be left out (again)

Today, the Canadiens travel to Chicago to take on the Blackhawks. This will be the last road game for Martin St-Louis’ troupe before they play their first game at the Bell Centre this season. Remember that, so far, the club has been defeated by the Maple Leafs, then Yzerplatted the Red Wings. The club has a 1-1-0 record… and with a game against the poor Blackhawks, the opportunity is there to go home with a record above .500. That said, in these first two games, Joe Veleno and Jayden Struble have been left out. At practice this morning, Veleno and Struble were still practicing as extras, while the trios and duos remained unchanged, so expect Veleno and Struble to be left out once again.

[content-ads]This isn’t a huge surprise in light of the club’s dominant win over the Wings. So we probably don’t want to change a winning formula… even if Veleno and Struble will eventually deserve to play games.Sooner or later, they’ll get the opportunity to do so.Note that in front of the net, we’re still expecting a change: Samuel Montembeault will get the start despite Jakub Dobes’ brilliant performance on Thursday.And when you note that the Habs have at least one day of rest between each of their next six games, you have to expect the Québécois to be in front of the net for the majority of them. He’s still the #1 goaltender in town, after all.

In short, we shouldn’t see any changes to the line-up tonight, except for the one in front of the net.Veleno and Struble will continue to have to be patient.[spacer title=’Overtime’]- Here’s the Blackhawks line-up for tonight. Kirby Dach’s little brother, Colton, is on the first line.

– Please note.

– Too bad.