The Montreal Canadiens faced a tired opponent on Saturday night: The Columbus Blue Jackets, who were playing their third game in four nights, a run that included an in impressive win over the Pittsburgh Penguins Friday.
And the Canadiens took advantage of the tiring team in the third period, scoring three times in the final frame for a 5-1 win.
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The Canadiens have a had a tough start this season. This isn’t disputed by anyone. However, there have been criticisms that have been overdone as well. Perhaps the biggest narrative that has been overblown is that Nick Suzuki is having a terrible first quarter of the season.
It is true that Suzuki does have poor analytics so far this year, but it is nearly impossible to play in an analytic vacuum. If the four players on the ice are struggling, it’s impossible to have numbers that don’t reflect that struggle.
Overall, Suzuki is simply a part of his surroundings, considering how much hockey he has played in his own zone this season. When they all figure it out, the captain will be leading the charge to better numbers.
On offence, this is actually the best start of Suzuki’s career. This is his sixth season and he has notoriously been a slow starter. He has never managed a point-per-game season in his career.
He was close last season with 77 points in 82 games. And for a while, he was almost there, before slowing down in the final 20. This season, with a gorgeous goal in the second period last night, Suzuki has 18 points in 18 games.
He’s right at a point-per-game, and it doesn’t feel as if he has played as well as he can. Suzuki has a higher gear, so this may be the year he finally does it.
Another positive, recently, is that it does feel as though Kirby Dach is starting to get more comfortable. Dach is holding on to the puck longer and is starting to move into traffic with less trepidation. Dach picked up an assist on the opening goal scored by Mike Matheson.
Dach still is only at a half point-per-game, but small signs of improvement are moving in. He’s not the former Dach, but he’s heading in the right direction.
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The second line finally started to show a little chemistry as they try to get to know each other. Jake Evans scored the 4-1 goal on a perfect feed from Cole Caufield. Caufield had two assists on the night. Alex Newhook skated well, though he didn’t get on the scoring summary.
Also, it must be noted that the Canadiens are tightening up significantly on defence. They had a 30-35 Goals Expected Shot Share for most games this season, but in the last four they have moved up to a 50. It’s only 50-50, but at least, with these numbers they have a chance in every game and will avoid embarrassment.
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It’s a start. It’s not impressive yet. It’s a start and, after running around in their own zone for most of the game in October, the Canadiens look at least somewhat organized in November.
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Juraj Slafkovsly was taken off his line midway through the second period after a shift that had him so frustrated he slammed his stick on the ice, then broke it in half over his knee when he got to the bench. Joel Armia took over on Slafkovsky’s line. He then didn’t get a shift for about 15 minutes of action before being put back on the top line to close the game.
Slafkovsky is frustrated with only one goal this season. The reason he is not scoring is quite obvious. He has a tendency to not actually shoot. For the last half of last season, he was shooting a lot, but he is back to his old habit of not actually letting his shot fly.
Slafkovsky has to drive the net and find a home in front of it to screen and deflect. That’s his easy path to success in this league. He can do that path just by changing his instincts. Think go to the net to be big and to play angry.
He’s easily defended right now. He doesn’t work particularly hard to get to the goal. If Brendan Gallagher can get there, Juraj Slafkovsky can get there. That’s the easy work for him, but he has to change his instinct.
The harder work is the work that he seems to think is his wheelhouse — like skating through zones and beating players one-on-one. That’s not yet who he is. That’s extremely difficult to achieve on NHL defenders.
Slafkovsky can eventually reach those harder goals with experience, but right now, he just needs to do the easy things. Take advantage of his big frame and strength to take a defender out of the play in front of the net. Keep eyes on the puck and time screens, deflections, and rebounds.
Easy first. Difficult after. Change your game. Be where the goals are scored in front of the net, and goals you will score.
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The Laval Rocket continue to be the best team in the American Hockey League, but it isn’t just the strong record that is important. It’s also who is shining brightly.
If an AHL team is winning, but the only players who are strong are career minor-leaguers, excitement is muted. The ultimate goal is graduating great AHL players to become great NHL players.
The Rocket have only two losses in their first 14 games and it’s the young guns who are leading the way. The only career minor-leaguer to shine is Alex Barré-Boulet. He is tied for the team lead in scoring. After that, it’s nothing but excellence from prospects.
The other player with 13 points is Joshua Roy. He was one of the top players in Canada at the junior level. Now he’s one of the top players in the AHL. The natural progression is that he becomes an NHL regular.
The best defenceman in the league is Logan Mailloux. He has 12 points in eight games. He also has a mean streak in the AHL that makes him an intimidating force. He hasn’t felt comfortable to show that yet at the NHL level in his brief stint. The natural progression is that he becomes an NHL regular as well.
The AHL is a competitive league. Many CHL scorers arrive to the AHL and find their offensive games die. Not Owen Beck who is just shy of a point-per-game with 11 in 14 contests. Beck is also showing that he is an extremely intelligent player. He’s adapting brilliantly showing that there is an NHL job for him after this tutelage.
There have been some pleasant surprises as well. Jared Davidson already has six goals. That’s an outstanding start to his pro career. Luke Tuch doesn’t get a lot of points, but he plays a pro game completing checks, winning a lot of battles, and playing sound defensive hockey. Adam Engstrom is also adapting very nicely in his pro start. Jakub Dobes is earning an NHL look in net.
There may be as many as eight on the Rocket roster that get an NHL look and conservatively four who will have a career as a regular, and they might even have two with high ceilings. Mailloux and Beck have the best chance of stardom based on observances this year.
The ceiling on Mailloux is top-four, and Beck, with his outstanding defensive posture, just might be a second line centre in the mould of Philip Danault. This is the best Canadiens’ AHL affiliate since Carey Price carried the Hamilton Bulldogs to a championship in 2007.
Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sports writer, brings you Call of the Wilde on globalnews.ca after each Canadiens game.