The second week of action for the Habs was a disorganized mess

October 20, 2024

The Montreal Canadiens played three games in the second week of action for the 2024-25 season, and it was a disorganized mess. On Monday they lost 6-3 to Pittsburgh, on Thursday it was a 4-1 loss to Los Angeles, and on Saturday night they finally salvaged one point from the week in a 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Islanders.

It’s early, but right now the Canadiens are a disorganized mess.

The top line is not playing like we know they can.

We should not be fooled by the stats. Cole Caufield is off to a flying start with six goals and one assist in six games, and that is a very good sign for him after a season when he wasn’t quite himself. Juraj Slafkovsky is also working a point-per-game clip with a goal and five assists in six games. Captain Nick Suzuki has five assists after six. But we shouldn’t be fooled.

The advanced stats tell us the top line for the Habs is struggling against the top opposition of each team they face. That’s not the line we saw to finish last season.

Suzuki has a reputation for slow starts. The kid also has a reputation for heating up as the season wears on and being raw fire in the playoffs, which we will someday enjoy. But right now the Habs need him to get going. The missed breakaway attempt on Saturday night is not something we want to get used to.

The second line is not a second line.

Let’s be honest. Alex Newhook will not likely be on the second line for the Habs when they are at the height of contention. Maybe it’s Patrik Laine, or Ivan Demidov, or Michael Hage, or all three of them. But for right now, Newhook makes sense, and he’s the best performer of the lot so far. He’s a blue collar worker and I love it.

If there are three zones on a sheet of ice, Kirby Dach is struggling in four of them. Our recovery expectations were probably too high, and he needs time… and help.

For the love of all things sacred, Marty, give Oliver Kapanen a look on that second line. Oh, he’s a kid and he hasn’t earned it. Really? When did Joel Armia earn it? In that handful of games last season when memories of Laval were still fresh in his mind? I’ve always been an Armia supporter, but he’s not a top six guy.

The second line could well end up being too much for Kapanen, but we know with certainty it is no place for Armia. He might not hurt you there, but that’s not what you’re going for in your top six. Give the kid a chance to bring some energy. Maybe he can help Dach with a few draws along the way, or convert some of the setups Dach is still managing despite the struggle. He might not prevent the offensive zone penalties Dach is taking, but who can but Dach?

That expensive third line was supposed to dominate the opposition.

Let’s get one thing clear, as Gordon Ramsay would say to his crowd of wannabe chefs. Josh Anderson has looked much better to start the season. Similarly, Brendan Gallagher is finding ways to make himself useful late in his career and even scored in the early games.

When did our expectations get so low for these two?

The bright spot is Jake Evans, who is having an excellent start to the season. There is a kid who has earned every single game he’s ever played in the NHL. Smart teams should be clamouring for him at the deadline.

The third line is hardly the biggest problem for the Habs, but they’re not exactly showing off on the scoresheet yet.

The fourth line challenge is at C.

Emil Heineman has looked good, and that kid can seriously shoot. He notched a nice one in the shootout on Saturday night, as did Kapanen. Heineman has also shown some chemistry with Dvorak, but he can’t win his draws.

When Dvorak isn’t winning faceoffs, what does he bring? Nothing that you can’t get for a fraction of the cost. If Marty doesn’t want to give a kid a shot on that second line, maybe he should consider playing Kapanen at 4C for a bit and let Dvorak sit for Pezzetta for a few,

By the way, Marty, Dvorak’s faceoff prowess wasn’t good enough to warrant 3-on-3 time last year. It’s not this year, for sure. Suzuki, Evans and Kapanen are all better than Dvorak’s 43% to start the season.

The D group looks exactly like we should have expected.

Everyone’s talking about the holes in the defense group, and whether Marty’s system works. This season should be about getting as many NHL games under their young belts as possible. Perhaps a simpler system might help, but reps is the focus, frankly.

Hutson is handling it, Barron is showing himself to be an NHLer, and I thought Mailloux looked good in his first of the season. Guhle being down with yet another injury has to cause concern.

The coach is patient to the point of exhaustion.

After Thursday’s loss to a tired Kings team, we all expected line changes. Nope. Only those necessitated by injuries. A better game followed, but not good enough for a win.

We might be at the stage of the rebuild where we’re growing tired of the losses, but the coach can’t afford to be. His job is to be patient and not make rash changes. Perhaps with the changes he was forced to make on D he felt it best not to line juggle.

It’s unfortunate that the preseason wasn’t more useful in sorting out some of the disorganization, but here we are. And we might be here for a while yet.