No matter how hot a club is, there will be games where it does not come together. The Montreal Canadiens were outstanding in the first 30 minutes against Toronto, but imploded in the second half of the contest allowing seven straight goals.
The Canadiens had to have a bounce-back game against the New York Rangers Sunday night to keep the momentum positive, and they did with perhaps the gutsiest win of their season. They came back four times to win in overtime 5-4.
Wilde Horses
Juraj Slafkovsky has discovered that he is a large human being. For too much of his first three seasons, Slafkovsky has led with his stick, and refused to engage physically. Perhaps it was because of how many concussions he suffered being unaware of the traffic around him.
Recently, Slafkovsky has begun throwing his body around, and getting involved in the physical aspect. It was likely the primary reason that he was drafted first overall. He was seen as a player who could impose his will on a game with his size. He was seen as a player who would drive to the net, park in front of the net, crush people in the corners, then use all of that engagement to pass to his mates, or shoot himself.
Mostly, except for the second half of his second season, it has not worked out that way. However, the beauty of learning lessons at age 18 and 19 is that at 20 when you improve, a long highway is still in front of you.
In the first period, Slafkovsky was in front of the net with two minutes remaining fighting for the puck. He was immovable. He might have scored if Rangers goalie Jonathan Quick didn’t have his stick after losing his own. Slafkovsky got whacked and pushed in a massive scrum, but he would not relent.
In the second period, Slafkovsky was the first forechecker and he absolutely crushed the Rangers defender Will Borgen behind the net. The next shift for Borgen he gave the puck away to Nick Suzuki for a breakaway goal. Those two events are related.
In the third period, Slafkovsky got his reward for all of the physical work. He drove to the net hard on a Cole Caufield shot. It redirected right to him and he slid it home while taking a huge hit that crashed him into the cross bar. It must have hurt, but he was all smiles on the tying goal.
This is exactly what the Canadiens must have from Slafkovsky, especially on a line with two players who do not bring a physical presence in Suzuki and Caufield. Slafkovsky must do the physical work to be effective.
Often the pathway to more points and better play begins with engagement. If a player is not engaged, there’s no chance that he can change the game. Start with heading to the dirty areas to get physical, and end with touches and the play evolving near you.
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The Canadiens looked destined for a loss midway through the second period when a fight roused the crowd and the players. Arber Xhekaj and Matt Rempe got into a heavyweight tilt. Rempe is the biggest fighter in the league. He’s only in the league to fight.
Rempe started punching when Xhekaj wasn’t even aware that a fight was on. Xhekaj recovered, switched to his left hand that Rempe was not ready for, and he started delivering shots that rocked Rempe to the ice. Rempe recovered and they kept slugging.
Xhekaj shies away from no one. He proved that he is equal in any fight in this league. While that may seem like that isn’t important, intimidation is a part of hockey as long as they allow fighting in hockey. Might as well be on the right side of this rule in the book.
The Canadiens got a power play out of the fight because Rempe was correctly ruled the instigator. Montreal scored with that two minutes of five-on-four as Christian Dvorak counted his fourth goal of the season.
Lane Hutson picked up an assist in the contest for a point in his eighth straight game. It’s a remarkable achievement for Hutson. He has 12 points in his last eight games. His lead atop the rookie scoring race is five points over Matvei Michkov.
The game went to overtime. It was one of the most exciting extra-sessions in a long time. It was without a whistle. Jakub Dobes made two unbelievable saves to keep the Canadiens in it. Montreal also had its chances.
Finally, it was Kaiden Guhle taking it down the left side finding Patrik Laine to win it. The Bell Centre crowd exploded for one of their new favourites. Laine has played only 18 games in Montreal. He already has 12 goals.
Wilde Goats
Attention to detail falls part when there is fatigue. This game had Canadiens fatigue all over it, but somehow, they found a way to keep fighting.
No question there were mistakes. The club that allowed 20 goals in their last 10 games before Toronto Saturday night, allowed 11 goals in their last two games. It gets loose when a club is tired. However, there can’t be criticism when a club fights back four times to earn a thrilling overtime win.
No goats for this effort.
Wilde Cards
It is still up in the air whether the Canadiens will be buyers or sellers at the deadline. The case for buyers is the one made here with the culture of winning now more vital than more stockpiling of picks. The Canadiens have to win games, though, to earn that buying opportunity. They must be in the playoff picture.
If Montreal is a buyer, it brings us to a tantalizing proposition when they take advantage of some of the selling teams, of which the Pittsburgh Penguins could be one. What tremendous excitement this particular acquisition would bring: The Montreal Canadiens acquire Sidney Crosby at the trading deadline.
Crosby is 37 years of age with three seasons remaining on his manageable contract. His Penguins team is aging out with a terrible pipeline of prospects. His childhood favourite was the Canadiens.
While Crosby doesn’t fit into the long end of the Montreal rebuild curve, he is the perfect player on the short end. The Canadiens need a viable centre. Crosby is still playing complete hockey at an advanced age showing no signs of slowing down. His experience up the middle, and in winning championships would be massive to youngsters in Montreal learning how to win.
For GM Kent Hughes, there is no reason to not fight for Crosby. The club is playing like they are ready for him. The biggest obstacle for Hughes is when GM Kyle Dubas finally understands that his club is cooked, he will have about 20 suitors for his star.
Hughes has to win the Crosby Sweepstakes. The price tag will be high, but not as high as when he was younger. At 37, one can command only so much.
Early speculation would be that three first-tier assets would be required with another second-tier asset. It’s more likely to be two top-tier and two second-tier, but how many clubs have four assets they can trade away.
Almost none, but Montreal can. They have a large stockpile of prospects and draft picks.
Imagine then that it requires four assets to get Crosby. Straight away, that is the Canadiens two first-round picks in the upcoming draft. This works for Hughes only if those two first-rounders remain in the mid to late teens. The likelihood that a player becomes a star when picking in the top-ten is too high to give away that pick. However, a pick in the late teens is very seldomly a game-changing asset.
Two more second-tier assets must be added to make the trade palatable to Dubas and the fan base he answers to. Hughes could allow Dubas to pick two prospects without allowing David Reinbacher, Ivan Demidov, Jacob Fowler, and Michael Hage to be in that pool of choices. That would mean losing an Owen Beck and Logan Mailloux, but something must be offered to gain Crosby.
Crosby for four assets. That’s the deal. That’s the end of the Canadiens rebuild and the start of the next generation for the Penguins. It is win-win for both clubs.
There is so much excitement on the horizon for Canadiens fans, and it could start very soon if Montreal continues to play strong hockey, and is in the playoff hunt March 7th.
That excitement could include Sidney Crosby putting on a Canadiens sweater for the first time since he was a little boy in Nova Scotia with big dreams.
