Habs Weekly: Another Strong Week Against Strong Opponents

Going into the week, few would have expected Montreal to come out with five out of six points against Vancouver, Washington, and Dallas.  However, their strong two-way efforts continued, allowing them to do just that.

The Week That Was

Jan. 6: Canadiens 5, Canucks 4 (OT) – After a week where the Habs had sluggish starts, they flipped the script for this one with Cole Caufield’s hot streak continuing barely a minute into the game to open the scoring.  The Canucks battled back and had a two-goal lead early in the second, one that Montreal was able to erase in the third, even briefly taking the lead when Lane Hutson banked one off Quinn Hughes and in.  That lead was short-lived though as Jake DeBrusk potted a power play marker less than two minutes later to send the game to overtime.  In the extra session, Nick Suzuki was the hero, scoring less than a minute in to give the Habs the extra point.

Jan. 10: Canadiens 3, Capitals 2 (OT) – Once again, Montreal got off to a rough start with Jakob Chychrun scoring a power play goal less than three minutes into the game off a failed clearing attempt.  But they clamped down considerably defensively after that, allowing to take the lead in the second off a Josh Anderson shorthanded marker.  But they couldn’t hold onto it as Lars Eller scored early in the third off a beat-out icing play, setting the stage for overtime once more and once again, Suzuki was the hero (though it took 1:15 to get there this time).

Jan. 11: Stars 2, Canadiens 1 (SO) – After getting in late from Washington, Montreal looked like a tired team early on although Samuel Montembeault held the fort, making 17 saves in the first.  The Canadiens took the lead in the second off a power play marker but the lead was short-lived with Jamie Benn scoring barely two minutes later.  A tight-fought third led to an overtime period that was more about puck possession than scoring chances and then Jason Robertson was the only one to score in the shootout to give Dallas the win.

StatPack

Skaters:

Goalies:

Shootout – Skaters:

Shootout – Goalies:

Team Leaders:

Goals: Cole Caufield (23)
Assists: Nick Suzuki (30)
Points: Nick Suzuki (43)
+/-: Jake Evans (+7)
PIMS: Arber Xhekaj (57)
Shots: Cole Caufield (125)

News And Notes

– Lane Hutson became the fastest rookie defenceman in franchise history to record 30 points, doing so in 42 games.  Chris Chelios (45 games) was the previous record-holder.

– David Savard (back) and Patrik Laine (illness) both returned to the lineup on Saturday.

– While Hutson has been putting up the points as of late, his playing partner is in a bit of a slump.  Mike Matheson has just five points in his last 17 games despite still averaging more than 25 minutes per game during that time.

Last Game’s Lines

Caufield – Suzuki – Slafkovsky
Newhook – Dach – Laine
Anderson – Dvorak – Gallagher
Heineman – Evans – Armia

Hutson – Matheson
Guhle – Carrier
Xhekaj – Savard

The Week Ahead

Tuesday at Utah – The busy road stretch continues for the Habs as they’ll they’ll travel to Utah for the first time.  The Hockey Club are a lot like the Habs in that they’ve surprised some teams this season to hang around the Wild Card picture.  Clayton Keller leads the way offensively while Logan Cooley has 36 points thus far, 13 more than Juraj Slafkovsky, who was picked ahead of him in the draft.  They’ll be without two of their key younger players as Sean Durzi remains out long-term while Dylan Guenther suffered a lower-body injury this week and is out indefinitely.

Thursday at Dallas – Yes, them again.  The Stars will be coming off their Canadian road trip heading into this one.  They’ve been particularly stingy at home this season, winning 16 of their first 21 games.  Stingy also is a good way to describe their team as Montreal got a first-hand look at how structured Dallas is on Saturday night.  Former Hab Evgenii Dadonov has 11 goals and 20 points at the midway mark; both of those are higher than his one partial campaign with Montreal two seasons ago.

Saturday vs Toronto – Their ‘core four’ up front continues to do the bulk of the work offensively, contributing 53% of their goals and nearly half of their total points.  While that hasn’t changed since last year, the Maple Leafs have become a better defensive team and aren’t content to play a run-and-gun style.  With Anthony Stolarz still injured, Joseph Woll is Toronto’s starter and is already three starts away from matching his career high.  Meanwhile, former Hab Max Domi has just three goals in 36 games so far while Max Pacioretty has a dozen points in 30 games while also being scratched at times.

Sunday vs NY Rangers – It has been tough sledding for New York for most of the season and instead of battling for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division, they’re among the teams battling for a Wild Card spot.  They’re struggling offensively while Igor Shesterkin – now healthy after briefly being on IR recently – isn’t stealing them as many games as they hoped he would.  Alexis Lafreniere inked a long-term extension earlier this season but has cooled off considerably since then.  In his last 23 games, he has just three goals and eight assists.

Final Thought

With Martin St. Louis understandably not wanting to break up one of his other lines when Patrik Laine was out, he decided to play Michael Pezzetta on the second line.  It wasn’t a great fit style-wise but it’s not as if Pezzetta played enough for that to matter.

And that’s the problem.  It’s beyond clear that Pezzetta does not have the confidence of the coaching staff as his high mark in ice time while Laine was out was a whopping 5:49 while his last two games saw his playing time start with a three.  At this point, what’s the point of keeping him on the roster?  He’s a permanent healthy scratch when the team is healthy and if he does suit up, he doesn’t even play two shifts a period. 

Now that David Savard is back and Jayden Struble is in the press box, it seems like the Habs might go with seven defencemen the next time a forward needs a night off.  Sure, Struble’s playing time might not be much higher than Pezzetta’s but he’d at least probably give Mike Matheson and Lane Hutson the odd shift off.  That’s probably more valuable than having Pezzetta in a spot where he knows the simplest miscue is going to staple him to the bench for the rest of the game.

I get that there’s a culture element at play and without being in it, none of us can really quantify its importance.  But if you have a player – a pending UFA no less – who you never want to actually use, wouldn’t that roster spot be better served going to someone they might actually want to use at some point?  I’m not advocating bringing up a prospect to have him sit, I’m thinking more along the lines of a waiver claim or trading Pezzetta for a role player who can be trusted to maybe kill a penalty or two, something that will actually buy him the benefit of the doubt with the coaches. 

Right now, Pezzetta’s market value is going down the drain with his lack of usage, something I’m sure he doesn’t appreciate.  This management team has spoken about trying to do right by players which is a nice goal to aspire to.  It feels like he’s not being done right by when it comes to his extended stint as a healthy scratch and barely seeing the ice when he does play.  Unless his role in the team culture is so vital that it can’t be disrupted, it’s time to give him a chance to catch on elsewhere and give someone else a chance.  At this point, I think it’s the best thing for both sides.