The Montreal Canadiens closed out February with a Saturday night home game against the Washington Capitals. The Montreal crowd was treated to a rush of offense in a 6-2 win for the Canadiens.
Here’s what I noticed.
Suzuki and Caufield keep leading this growing group.
Mr. Saturday Night, Cole Caufield, did exactly what we expected and showed up big on a Saturday night in Montreal. His early goal set the tone, and he could have had more than two against the Capitals. Alongside him, Nick Suzuki has looked great since returning from the Olympics. Earlier this season it seemed obvious that Suzuki looked to be playing through injury, but he seems just fine heading deep into the season.
The rumour mill has GM Kent Hughes scouring the market for a forward to play with their top duo. I can see that angle, but I’m not sure it’s the perfect one.
In the long term plan, I still like Juraj Slafkovsky on that top line. His line with Ivan Demidov and Oliver Kapanen has cooled off considerably in recent games. HuGo has to be considering whether a new mix on that second line – perhaps to add a little more experience – is preferable.
The Canadiens need another right shot defenseman.
The mix on D is still not quite right. Neither Arber Xhekaj nor Jayden Struble has truly earned the coach’s trust. Last night Lane Hutson saw time on the penalty kill over Struble. The rotation we’ve seen all season is not just about keeping guys fresh.
I also remember how Alexandre Carrier was abused last season in the playoffs and that makes the third pair is iffy to enter the postseason.
My call would be to keep Hutson and Noah Dobson together, but I also liked Dobson with Mike Matheson earlier in the year. I don’t love Hutson with Kaiden Guhle and I don’t like either of Matheson or Guhle playing on the right side.
I was relieved to hear this week that the Habs were kicking tires on Ristolainen. I’m not that interested in this specific player – the Habs already have one defender who misses too many games to injury – but at least it confirms that HuGo knows they are weak in that area.
The coach needs to pick a lane in net.
Sam Montembeault started the first game back from the Olympics. He looked shaky at times and the Habs lost in overtime. Jakub Dobes got the start against Washington and won.
There seems to be a reluctance to give Dobes the net, so it’s not shocking that insiders are asking if the Canadiens should be targeting a netminder before the deadline. I don’t love the idea of HuGo spending valuable assets on a goalie when Jacob Fowler is coming, but I also know the coach doesn’t seem committed to the goalie delivering the best starts.
Five sleeps to the trade deadline, and the Montreal Canadiens are kicking tires. The roster may see some tweaks soon.
Hab At Her 