Some interesting things happened during the Canadian’s most recent trip to Massachusetts, California and Ohio, from a long-term development perspective. Here are five observations.
It’s not just his four points in five games, five in his last seven games if we go a little further. There is the way of playing. As if everything had come together at once. The main improvement for this 19-year-old: his efficiency along the boards in recovery and puck protection.
We feel much more confident and involved, both in the defensive zone and on the offensive. His speed, his strength, his aggressiveness, at 6 feet 3 inches and 230 pounds, allow his line partner Cole Caufield to obtain a little more space. We must not underestimate the role of Christian Dvorak, self-effacing but stabilizing.
Slafkovsky played a career-high 19:44 in San Jose. He was used for less than 15 minutes only once, in Anaheim (14:31). What if the bet to keep him in Montreal at 18 to correct his flaws had been the right one?
Against the Blue Jackets on Wednesday, Martin St-Louis brought together his two youngest defenders, Kaiden Guhle, 21, and Justin Barron, 22 since November 15, and gave them the trickiest tasks against the opposition’s best elements. The group’s best offensive defenseman, Mike Matheson, found himself with Gustav Lindström and had easier matchups, while contributing to the attack with two other assists.
Guhle played 24:51, almost two minutes more than Matheson. Barron is progressing astonishingly. In his first game of the season, after several encounters in the press box, he played just over 11 minutes. He played more than 25 in San Jose and is now rarely employed for less than 20 minutes. We risk seeing these two partners from the World Junior Championship for the Canadian team often together in the future. Barron is cementing his place in the top 4.
Casually, Alex Newhook has obtained six points, including four goals, in his last six games, after having collected seven in his first fourteen games in Montreal. He made the smooth transition from center to wing and complements Nick Suzuki well. This is a powerful skater, without being the fastest. Newhook’s speed serves Suzuki well.
Brendan Gallagher finds himself somewhat on this trio by default. His hard work is exemplary, but his lack of mobility constitutes a handicap. He has also obtained only one assist in his last eight games, with a record of -8.
With the return of Kirby Dach next year, we can easily identify the other four members of the two offensive trios, with Suzuki, Caufield, Slafkovsky and Newhook. We’ll have to find another one…
Three Edmonton Oilers recruiters, including a goalie specialist, attended the Canadiens’ game in Columbus on Wednesday, it is said. As luck would have it, Samuel Montembeault was there automatically.
Montembeault, 27, played another strong match. He has allowed just nine goals in his last four starts, and more than two goals just once in four attempts. His record now stands at 5-3-1, with a 2.73 GAA and a .910 save percentage. His goals against average and save rate rank 16th in the NHL among goaltenders who have played at least ten games.
Unless he is excessively greedy in his contract negotiations, or the Oilers make an offer that is impossible to refuse, why not try to keep him?
Obtained from the Canucks at the dawn of training camp, Tanner Pearson was relegated to the fourth line on Wednesday. He played barely ten minutes. It’s getting tough for Pearson, two assists in his last 17 games, after having five points in his first five games.
Sean Monahan made a nice play on the game-winning goal Wednesday, even though he didn’t get a point. But he has been shut out in his last seven games. He hadn’t played less than 17 minutes in his first ten games, but hadn’t crossed that mark in four of the last five games.
Brendan Gallagher is doing his best. But we ask too much of him for his abilities within the first trio. In defense, Johnathan Kovacevic is suspected of playing injured. The journey was difficult for him and here he is in the third pair with Jayden Struble.
The Ottawa Senators had the perfect opportunity to fire their coach D. J. Smith, after a second consecutive defeat, Monday, 5-0 at the hands of the Panthers, and three days off. A new coach could thus have benefited from three days of training to establish his vision and his system.
But new owner Michael Andlauer and president Steve Staios have chosen to keep the status quo. And we can understand them. Ottawa is still looking for a general manager and it would be ill-advised to impose a new coach on its new manager.
However, time is already running out if we want to save the season. The Senators are 29th overall in points, but 25th in win rate, with an 8-9 record. They are nine points behind the Lightning and the last place giving access to the playoffs, however with six more games to play. But you have to earn them.
Smith is 128-148-32 since joining the Senators. He joined a club in reconstruction, but expectations have been higher for two years, without him being able to make this club win.
