Todd: Canadiens deliver message with statement streak — Catch us if you can
Nick Suzuki looked like his fumes were running on fumes.
Lane Hutson’s shimmy had lost its shake.
Even Cole Caufield, man of the hour, couldn’t quite muster the 50th goal that would have made the Bell Centre levitate.
So they lost. that is better than its record. If you have a problem with that, then I need to have a chinwag with your mama about the way you were brought up.
There are streaks and there are streaks. Winning eight straight in October or January is not the same as winning in late March and April. Not only did the youngest team in the league come together to win eight straight, they also won five in a row on the road in the suffocating pressure of a playoff race.
On Sunday afternoon before the streak ended, the Canadiens learned that Detroit’s loss meant they had clinched a playoff spot. They could have been forgiven if they chose to warm up with a couple of dozen bottles of Dom Perignon’s finest.
Instead, they battled. They played defence, they hit. But the firecracker offence that has carried this team through much of the season had lost its oomph. When the legs go, the head will follow.
It was predictable. They were playing their sixth game in nine days. Eight games and 16 points earlier, they were on the upper edge of the playoff bubble. It appeared the race would go down to the final game of the season.
Then they hit the afterburners and soared from 84 points to a cool 100 with a demonstration of how to win when it matters most, with timely scoring, great goaltending, structured defence and sheer junkyard dog determination.
Now it’s all about positioning and preparation for the playoffs. Quit forcing the play to Caufield and the 50th will come naturally — and more. Try to win the division, don’t worry if you can’t.
If you’re one of the fans going sour on this team because of one loss, recall the history. In April 2022, the Canadiens finished the season with 55 points. Four years later, they’re not far from doubling that total.
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote that there is no clear ceiling for this team. Ignore the “too small, too inexperienced” codswallop. That’s like Chris Pronger bleating that Hutson has to quit running around out there, simply an indication that Pronger doesn’t understand how the game has evolved.
Pronger’s career high was 62 points. Hutson had 66 as a rookie and he’s at 74 points this season with five games to play. By now, we know Hutson’s game — he would make the Energizer Bunny plead for mercy. All he needs is a little time to catch his breath and the shimmy will be back in his shake.
Sooner or later, this team will put together multiple long playoff runs. Maybe starting this year, maybe next or the year after. But this was a statement streak. It was the Canadiens as a club, saying to the league: “You say we’re too young. You say we’re too small. Okay. Let’s see if you can catch us.”
Say it ain’t so: At 60, Patrick Roy has the same unruly hair, the same expression of a kid who spends more time in the principal’s office than in class.
Sadly, it’s also the expression of a guy who is out of a job.
I hate this firing and not only because I have a soft spot for St. Patrick. I’m deeply disappointed in Mathieu Darche. Coach firings late in a season are weak. They smack of desperation, of a GM who has overestimated the talent he has and decides to make the coach the scapegoat.
Yes, Darche clearly wanted the much-recycled Peter DeBoer because he had a four-year deal ready and waiting. So it goes. Around and around.
I ceased to be a fan of coach firings when Bob Gainey was running the Habs. Gainey couldn’t help himself. He fired everyone in sight, even his friends. He fired Guy Carbonneau, arguably the best coach between Pat Burns and Martin St. Louis, because he and Carbo didn’t agree on how soon Carey Price was ready to take over.
It’s shabby. The fact that the average tenure for a head coach in the NHL is 2.45 years is ludicrous. You build good teams on stability and long-term vision, not on revolving doors.
In fact, I can tell you precisely how it’s done. Hire Jeff Gorton, Kent Hughes, Martin St. Louis and Nick Bobrov — and get out of the way.
Heroes: Martin St. Louis, Jakub Dobes, Nick Suzuki, Juraj Slafkovsky, Ivan Demidov, Oliver Kapanen, Lane Hutson, Kaiden Guhle, Mike Matheson, Josh Anderson, Joe Veleno, Kaitlin Willoughby, Sandra Abstreiter, Abby Roque, Vic Rauter, Erling Haaland, Patrick Roy &&&& last but not least, Cole Caufield.
Zeros: Clueless Keith Pelley, MLSE, the Maple Leafs, Auston Matthews, Mathieu Darche, Brady Tkachuk, Matthew Tkachuk, Jack Eichel, the Azzurri, Geno Auriemma, Wayne Gretzky, Bud Selig Jr., Claude Brochu &&&& last but not least, David Samson and Jeffrey Loria.
Now and forever.
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