Tank youse, Hed. I'm very happy to talk about the new look Canadiens. The players GM Marc Bergevin added to the roster over the summer are fitting in nicely, to the point where, in last night's 5-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers, I couldn't see a single "weak link". Not one!
Goalie Carey Price put on a clinic, as he is wont to do when facing star players like the Oilers' Connor McDavid. He will be helped, this year, by having a reliable backup, Jake Allen, acquired from the St. Louis Blues during the off-season. I expect to see Allen carrying a bigger share of the workload than his predecessors, giving Price a chance to rest. Perhaps we'll see Allen in the rematch against the Oilers tomorrow night.
Price will also be helped by having a bigger and better defence corps in front of him. The Habs' top four defencemen -- Captain Shea Weber, Ben Chiarot, Jeff Petry and new hire Joel Edmundson -- average 6' 3.5", and can all shoot as well as hit. Petry had two goals last night. The third pairing is Brett Kulak and rookie Alexander Romanov. Romanov got lots of minutes in his first game against the Leafs on Wednesday, and showed no "stage fright" whatever, then or last night. He's a keeper!
New additions to the forward lines are Josh Anderson and Tyler Toffoli, both of them experienced and talented. And strong and tenacious. Anderson, in particular, looked impressive against both Toronto and Edmonton. If he can avoid reinjuring his shoulder, he should be good for 20 goals.
The usual suspects -- holdovers from last season -- all did well, particularly Tomas "Tuna" Tatar, who potted two last night. Young Jake Evans, who I had on the "possible trade" list in my yearend review, seems to be maturing and gaining self-confidence, and may find himself a regular centering the third or fourth line. Paul Byron is still incredibly fast, and made a really nice play last night to set up Tatar's second goal.
I can't find enough good things to say about this year's edition of la Sainte Flannelle. But for a couple of questionable penalties, they should have won Wednesday's game against Toronto, and last night's victory over Edmonton was entirely convincing. Right now they're 1 for 2, with 3 points out of a possible 4. I won't start planning a Stanley Cup parade just yet, but I do predict they will finish 1st or 2nd in the NHL's Northern/Canadian division. Lifetime pct .975.
Chatter around the old hot stove...
* The NHL, (((Gary Bettman))) Prop., sold the naming rights for the four divisions in the realigned league. Large corporations have paid small fortunes so the NHL will refer to the Eastern Division (for example) as "MassMutual East". The rest of us will snicker behind our hands and just call them Central, East, West, and... errr... Northern.
* Actually, real hockey fans north of the World's Longest Undefended Border (TM) will refer to the Northern Division as the "Canadian Division", which is what it is, since all the Canadian teams play in that group. Is it possible that the Canadian team owners could work up the courage to secede from the now misnamed "National" Hockey League entirely? Canuck fans hope so!
* Speaking of Canada... Hockey Night in Canada, seen on Saturdays, has got so "woke" that it should be renamed "Hokey Night in Canada". Last night's telecast started with a tribute to Willie O'Ree, the first black Black player in the NHL. They now have a token black (but not too black) guy on the intermission panel, and a Sikh (who appears without his turban) doing commentary from Edmonton. No women last night, but I expect when games originate in Montréal we'll see Cassie Campbell, who at least knows what she's talking about. Remember: Get woke, go broke!
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