On Tuesday night the Montreal Canadiens were in Washington to confront the Capitals. It was their fifth game in seven nights, and despite being up 2-0 to start the third period, the result was a 3-2 overtime loss.
Here’s what caught my eye.
It was a load management game for Kaiden Guhle.
The decision not to start him in back-to-backs was probably a good one with the type of injury he had and his injury history. It might have been wise to let that information out earlier rather than have fans learn it at the pre-game and wonder if he’s been re-injured.
Before yesterday, Guhle had played in 176 of a possible 292 games since he entered the league. That’s 40% of games lost to injury. They say the best ability is availability, and count me among the skeptics where Guhle is concerned.
I know pundits were saying how much the Canadiens were missing Guhle while he was away. That feels to me like your three-week high school boyfriend telling you how much he misses you after the breakup. How much can you miss someone who’s not consistently been around?
The Habs need Guhle’s skill set, that we can agree on. I’m just not sure Guhle can deliver. Hughes needs me to be wrong, or to find that skill set elsewhere.
Josh Anderson made himself useful in his return.
He’s become a solid penalty killer, and he looked like his old self on his short-handed goal. Using his speed, driving toward the let and firing the shot. Playoff Anderson is even better, so let’s hope he stays healthy.
Sam Montembeault is settling in.
It was another good game for the struggling starter. He kept them in it late in the game to hold the loser point, and almost got them through the overtime. When your goalie stops 39 of 42 shots, he’s probably not responsible for the loss. It was clever to send him to Washington ahead of the team.
The schedule eases for a few weeks, and the Habs desperately need it.
Hab At Her 