The Montreal Canadiens played their 41st game of the season on Saturday afternoon against the Blues. They left St. Louis with a record of 22-13-6 and the second best points percentage in the Atlantic Division.
Looking ahead to the second half of the season, the Habs have merits and demerits.
Goaltending
The obvious goaltending merit for the Montreal Canadiens is they have drafted and developed Jacob Fowler, who is projected to be a starting goaltender. If there were any concerns that he would not be quite ready when the window was opening wide, he has erased those concerns during his unplanned call-up.
The demerit in this area is just as obvious. HuGo’s plan for the net this season took a punch in the mouth when starter Sam Montembeault couldn’t stop a beach ball for an extended period. The Canadiens are working on getting Monty back to form, but if that doesn’t work out, there are big decisions to make in net.
Defense
HuGo made their own merit on defense in the summer when they traded for Noah Dobson. Then they extended Lane Hutson and re-signed Michael Matheson. The Habs have a Big Three once again.
It’s a controversial take, but the demerit for the Canadiens defense group is Kaiden Guhle. When healthy, Guhle is a top-four defender on any team. The healthy part is the demerit, and until he can demonstrate a sustained period of availability for the Habs, the top four will have a gap,
Forwards
In the forward group, the merit for Montreal is that two important draft picks are showing they will deliver. Juraj Slafkovsky is breaking out and on pace for a career year, and he’s doing it apart from the top line. Ivan Demidov is showing great chemistry with Slaf, and having an impressive rookie season with 35 points in 41 games.
All season, we have heard the demerit for the Habs was the hole at 2C. My thinking on this has shifted somewhat. For the perfect second line centreman, HuGo should pounce. But in the absence of that, Oliver Kapanen is adequate and Michael Hage is impressing at the World Juniors.
In my view, the present demerit is that Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield are missing Slaf on the top line, and if that hole can’t be filled from within, HuGo may need to go fill it via trade.
Special Teams
At 23.9%, the Montreal Canadiens have the eighth best power play in the NHL, and that is definitely a merit. As maddening as it may be sometimes, the wave mixing by Martin St. Louis may actually be the key ingredient as it prevents them from settling into predictability, a fatal flaw for years.
The penalty kill is where the demerit lies, with the Habs killing at 77.1%, which leaves them tied for 23rd place in the NHL. That number should be improved with the return of Guhle, but you already know what I think about that.
At the halfway mark, the Montreal Canadiens find themselves in very good position. It’s up to HuGo to manage both the players returning to action and the evolving market to strengthen the Habs going forward, and to get them playoff ready.
Hab At Her 