After 15 games, the Habs are a bit of a rollercoaster

November 13, 2023

It was a busy week for the Montreal Canadiens with four games on the docket. On Tuesday they were overwhelmed by the Tampa Bay Lightning in a 5-3 loss. They redeemed themselves on Thursday with a 3-2 overtime win over the Detroit Red Wings, and then thrilled fans with a 3-2 overtime win over the Boston Bruins on Saturday night. On Sunday, the Vancouver Canucks were too much in a 5-2 loss. Here are some thoughts on the Habs after 15 games.

After a slow start to the season, Nick Suzuki is on pace for a career year.

The Habs started the season with a centreman line-up of Suzuki, Dach, Monahan and Evans. That’s solid for a young group, and the best trio Suzuki has had playing behind him since he was anointed the top-line centreman for the Habs. He had that luxury for about four periods before Dach was lost to injury. We talk about how Dach’s loss impacted Slafkovsky’s development, but it had to be a kick to the mid-section for the young captain as well.

Suzuki has leveled out and scored in four consecutive games prior to Sunday’s loss, and is on pace for a 70-point season. That would be a career year, and everything Suzuki has done so far in his career has been in less than ideal conditions. When the Habs have a competitive top-6 we won’t be asking if Suzuki is a first or second line centreman. We won’t care.

Cole Caufield is the most exciting player the Habs have seen in 3-on-3 overtime.

I love to remind folks of the joke I used to make during the Bergevin-Julien-Ducharme years. Remember when the Habs would throw out their best penalty kill to start the 3-on-3 overtime? I won’t chase down the numbers, but in those years there was a criminal number of points lost to playing defensive hockey in the overtime where there was nothing to gain by doing so. Those days are done.

This week fans grumbled about Martin St. Louis shortening his bench late in the third period and giving Slafkovsky’s place to Evans in the last five minutes of the game. Is it playing for the tie when your odds are so good that Caufield can end it in the overtime?

If we’re counting overtime goals for Caufield we should probably also keep a tally of how many offside calls he gets, particularly on overturned goals. Cole has to get that under control.

Kaiden Guhle is becoming the most important defender on the Habs blue line.

With his overtime goal against the Bruins, he joined the conversation about youngest Habs defensemen to score an overtime goal. Wedged right in there between P.K. Subban and Larry Robinson. That’s some nice company. Do you know what I loved? He immediately skated to the boards and celebrated with fans through the glass. He recognized the moment – an OT win over the Bruins is big in any season. He has the constitution to be successful in this market.

Josh Anderson

We have never seen Anderson this snake-bitten in his time in Montreal, but count me in the group that thinks he will turn it around and have value at the trade deadline. He’s getting chances, and as soon as one goes in he will probably get a bunch. That’s how confidence works and right now Anderson doesn’t have any.

As much as he needs to get going, I don’t love him on Suzuki’s wing, and I really don’t like him on the power play. I liked him with Dvorak, who has been solid since returning from injury. A simplified north-south game until he gets out of his own head. This is not me criticizing the coach – the options are not extensive – but Marty may see more in Anderson than he’s been able to show the rest of us.

Kent Hughes is more patient in trade negotiations than I am, and that’s a good thing.

I would have already dealt Jake Allen to the highest bidder. If the big deal Ken Holland was reportedly looking at involved Allen, I would have already pulled the trigger. But now the Avalanche have their guy out for the season, and the market looks different. Patience is a good thing, I hear.

We did gather one important piece of intelligence this week. It was reported, and then confirmed by Sam Montembeault himself, that the Habs are working on a contract extension for Monty. If the parameters are three or four years at $10-12M, as reported, does this confirm Allen will be the odd man out in Montreal?

We know teams have expressed interest. We know Allen is playing his strongest hockey in years and Hughes loves to sell high. We know the three-headed monster in net has an expiry date. It seems like a matter of time.

The week ended with two exciting overtime wins, and two losses where the Habs were never really that in it. The rollercoaster is a reality for young teams learning how to rise to different opponents and keep their emotions level. If the playoffs started today the Habs would be battling Toronto and Tampa for a wild card spot. That’s an improvement over last year, but it’s also the murky middle they’d like to avoid for another year.