Call of the Wilde: Canadiens blank Predators for 2nd-straight win

A five game home stand for the Montreal Canadiens is the club’s biggest chance for to get back into the playoff picture, and out of the basement. If they can put a run together, they can start to dream big.

So far, it’s going well. It is two-for-two with wins over the New York Islanders Tuesday and Thursday night over the Nashville Predators 3-0

Wilde Horses 

One of the strongest games of the season for the Canadiens. They were in control in chances, shots, and goals. The biggest positive is the power play that looks strong with the two recent changes on the first unit.

Lane Hutson is a better power play specialist than Mike Matheson. His vision is causing havoc for the opposition. He actually isn’t even weaving like he can as much, but just using his vision to find his options.

One new option has made a giant difference as well. The danger of a Patrik Laine shot has opened space for Cole Caufield. The movement of the power play with quick passing is leading to a high level of chance creation.

The second unit is rather weak, but that’s a trade-off you take. The first unit takes the first 1:20 and they connected with it.

Laine may have some aspects of his game that are a bit rusty, but the shot is the same. For the second straight contest, he absolutely ripped a shot into the top corner on the power play on a pass from Hutson.

For Hutson, that is a point in his fifth-straight game. Hutson has 17 points on the season. He is behind only Matvei Michkov among all rookies.

The opening goal for Montreal was also on special teams. Jake Evans with a gorgeous play that showed how much confidence he has as he approaches his unrestricted free agency. Evans had a two-on-one and rather than force a pass across, he delayed in his stride, changed the angle of his shot and fired it home short-side. It was a goal scorer’s goal.

There were a lot of players who looked skillful. Caufield and Nick Suzuki looked downright angry that they were not chosen for the Four Nations event in February. Both were flying in a game Montreal dominated.

Depending how much water you want to put in the glass, Juraj Slafkovsky either had an amazing night or a brutal one. Amazing because he should have scored three goals. Brutal because he didn’t score any. Here it’s half-full because if a player is creating chances, eventually he is creating goals.

Christian Dvorak was actually around the puck a lot. Josh Anderson looks like a different player this year proving, once again, that the season after a major injury like knee reconstruction, achilles tendon tear, or a high-ankle sprain is usually a difficult season.

Defensively, Jayden Struble was laying out players with body checks, and playing one of his most sound games of the year. Arber Xhekaj was so good that you barely noticed him. Xhekaj and David Savard created one of Savard’s best games of the season.

Wilde Goats 

Samuel Montembeault got a shutout. He stopped 29 shots. No one was a goat as the home stand is going well with the Washington Capitals in town on Saturday night.

Wilde Cards

“I play against the best players in the world every night, so I think I could show what I could do.”

– Habs captain Nick Suzuki on not being chosen for the Four Nations. 

This quote says so much more than what is on the surface. Suzuki seems to be talking exclusively about the Four Nations event, but he is actually talking about the biggest issue on the Montreal Canadiens.

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Suzuki is accidentally talking about roster construction in Montreal, and how just a bit more strength could change so much. Imagine a world where Suzuki isn’t always drawing the other club’s top players.

Suzuki has had no relief whatsoever since Philip Danault left after the Stanley Cup finals appearance in 2021. Suzuki, if he didn’t have to defend so much against the McDavids, Matthews, and Crosbys of the hockey world could do so much more.

If the Canadiens could build a true top-six, then you can add 10 points to Suzuki’s point total and 20 points to the team’s total in the standings.

The Canadiens had the 31st ranked second line last year out of 32 teams and this season is as bad. A world where a second line centre can win the middle and take some heat off of Suzuki changes the entire club’s balance.

Slotting players where they belong in match-ups means so much. Just one game with Laine Tuesday had a knockoff effect everywhere. The third and fourth lines against the New York Islanders had 85 per cent of the shot share. They dominated because they found those weaker opponents easy to contend with.

Kirby Dach is last in plus-minus in the entire league at minus 21. The reason is simple. He’s matched-up incorrectly. He cannot, at this moment coming out of injury, handle his match-ups. He takes the second line down with him.

Suzuki with the hardest match-ups in hockey is by some miracle at even in plus-minus. This is a stunner. Suzuki is an underestimated stud. The Canadiens have one of the worst goal differentials in the NHL, yet Suzuki isn’t even a minus.

There are not a lot of holes in the Canadiens roster, but just one hole at the wrong spot has changed everything. A second top-six centre, correctly slotted, moves the needle positively throughout the line-up.

A world where the Canadiens have a second line not ranked 31st but top-ten makes Suzuki’s line also a top-ten because of shared difficult match-ups.

Laine’s arrival has moved the needle. ESPN’s best prospect not in the NHL Ivan Demidov’s arrival will move the needle. Add a star centre and the needle moves like an earthquake through the entire team.