Poor Len analyzes Canadiens' first 6 games

Ed. here. Walt is still in Canada. I suspect he is indulging in Boneshaker IPA with our National Sports Editor, Poor Len Canayen, who has send these comments on the Montréal Canadiens season, thus far. 

Tank youse, Hed. Let's start with stats. Following last night's loss to the New York Rangers -- which the Habs deserved, by the way -- they have registered 4 wins and 2 losses, for 8 points and a .667 average.

That's good for second place in the Atlantic Division, behind the much improved Detroit Red Wings, who also have 8 points but have a game in hand. 

If la Sainte Flannelle can maintain the .667 average through the season, they should wind up with 109 point and a berth in the playoffs. 

But I did say "if".

The 2025-26 Canadiens are fast and super-exciting to watch, especially when Lane Hutson and Ivan Demidov. Yet, of the four games they won, they had to come from behind to win two in overtime. And the power play still hasn't hit top gear. Last night, Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki extended their point streaks to five games. Caufield sniped five goals in the first five games.

Noah Dobson scored his first goal in a Habs sweater and has fitted in nicely. After scoring three goals in each of the first three games, Zach Bolduc has gone a bit quiet but looks like a good acquisition. Kirby Dach appeared to have shaken off the rust, but is still injury-prone, missing last night's game with a lower-bodyinjury, as did Kaiden Guhle, who's going to be out for a month.

If the Habs are to sustain their early momentum, some tweaks must be made, not to the strategy of coach Martin St-Louis, but to the lineup. The power play has struggled. Too much passing and not enough presence4 in front of the enemy's net. How about putting Demidov on the right and dropping Juray Slavkovsky down to second, with Dach at centre and, say, Bolduc at left. 

Notice I didn't mention Patrik Laine? Apart from some time on the power play, he's been relegated to the fourth line, where, if he doesn't do much good, at least does little harm. Did anyone else note that while he sat out of last night's game (lower body injury, they said), Jonathan Marchessault was absent from the Nashville Predators lineup vs Winnipeg. Marchessault was showcased in Thursday night's game vs Montréal and I wonder if a trade for Laine is in the works. Marchessault would love to be at home in Québec and It would be a great deal for the Habs.

Then there's the goaltending conundrum. Les Glorieux have scored 21 goals in their first six games, but have allowed 18, a differential of +3. Problem: it wasn't backup goalie Jakub Dobes who allowed most of those. It was the supposed starter Samuel Montembeault. His GAA is 3.26 (sv% .857), compared with Dobes' 1.46 (.940), although the latter played in just two games. Monty's record is 2-2, while Dobes' is 2-0. Do I need to say more? [Please do. Ed.]

Hokay den, here's what dey shoujld do. Send Montembeault down to Laval for some reconditioning, and bring up hot prospect Jacob Fowler to play backup to Dobes for the next few games. See what happens.

[You seem to have a liking for goalies named "Jacob". Ed.] Yeah, well, remember Jake Allen? At the ripe old age of 35, he's still playing for the New Jersey Devils, and putting up respectable numbers. I rest my case. [I think there's still one in there that hasn't been opened. Ed.] Tank youse, Hed.

How are the Habs doing? Are they going to make the playoffs?

While we wait for the shoes -- the Trump tariffs -- to drop, let's talk hockey. 

Last night's game between the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers and our beloved Montréal Canadiens was a real thriller. With 10 seconds left on the clock, Habs captain Nick Suzuki scored to lift les Glorieux into a 2-2 tie. Then he did it again at 30 second of the OT, et les boyz ont remporté la victoire, 3 à 2. Olé, olé, olé!

At this point we'd turn this space over to Poor Len Canayen, our National Sports (as long ss it's hockey) Editor, but Len is on sabbatical or something like that, so we're taking the liberty of posting a mash-up of Global TV's Brian Wilde's "Call of the Wilde", which says everything that Len would have said, only better. [And with no run-on sentences. Ed.] Thanks, Brian!

With nine games to play and six at home, the Montréal Canadiens have the advantage for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The opportunity is in front of them, but they have to keep executing. 

Every night is Lane Hutson Night. The assault on the record book continues. He's a point-per-game player since the Four Nations break. Hutson notched an assist on the first goal for the Canadiens on a deflection from Josh Anderson. That line was a handful and the best on the night for Montreal. 

Hutson now has 57 assists in his rookie season. He has moved ahead of Chris Chelios for second in assists all-time for a rookie defender. He trails only Larry Murphy for assists for a rearguard rookie in the history of the National Hockey League. Murphy had 60 assists. Three in eight games for the tie. 

Hutson's 62 points overall is also top-ten in the history of the game for rookie defenders. He could conceivably rise to third overall at his present pace. It must be stressed again that the entire top-15 list is from an era where the average goal total in a contest was 11 or 12; not six or seven goals.

The best this century before Hutson was Quinn Hughes with 53 points on 45 assists. Hutson has obliterated the best numbers in the last 25 years of rookies on the blue line. Hutson is remarkable. They might just scout differently. this kid is so special. 

Smaller players with world-class vision and creativity might not be treated like they will never make the major leagues. What doesn't get enough attention as he makes his meteoric rise to the upper echelon in the history of the game is he is improving tremendously in his own zone as well. 

The Canadiens are in the mix for a playoff spot, and Hutson is, without a doubt, the single biggest change to this roster from last season. Nick Suzuki is having his best campaign. Cole Caufield has had a strong season. Juraj Slafkovsky has had an excellent second half. The Dvorak line is giving the opposition fits these days. Brendan Gallagher is playing the best hockey he has played in years, and Christian Dvorak's best moments as a Canadiens player are right now.

The fourth line had their remarkable run when they were best in the league in goals at one point for a fourth line. On defence, Jayden Struble has improved. Kaiden Guhle is improving still. Alexandre Carrier was a great addition via trade. 

However, all of those reason pale in comparison to the difference Hutson has made to this team in five months. He is just getting started. There are times that it is apparent that he will be even better than this when he sees how much he can actually fool the opposition. They have seen what he can do. They have adapted to him as well as they can. He still is playing chess to their checkers.The rebuild is going just fine, Montréal! 

Montréal Canadiens' October surprise!

WWW's National Sports (As Long As It's Hockey) Editor, Poor Len Canayen, does a bit of gloating.

Tank youse, Hed. It was a wonderful night au Centre Bell for fans of the Bleu, Blanc et Rouge, as the Canadiens started the 2024-25 season by shutting out the Toronto Maple Leafs 1-0. It was the first time the Laffs had lost a 1-0 season opener since 1957, when they were edged by the Blackhawks at Chicago Stadium.

Here's what may be the best hockey action picture of the year [Already? Ed.], as Juraj Slafkovsky shows off his Slavic heritage in front of Leafs' surprise starter, Anthony Stolarz, while Habs captain Nick Suzuki keeps his eye on the puck. 

Slafkovsky and Kirby "Doc" Dach assisted on the Canadiens' winning (and only) goal, scored by the inevitable Cole Caufield on a perfectly executied tic-tac-toe power play at 7:48 of the first period. It was Caufield's 150th career point in his 206th game, making him the fastest Canadien to reach that mark since Saku Koivu in 1997-98.

Goalie Sam "Monty" Montembeault looked as if his third season with the Habs might be the breakout year in which he becomes recognized as a worthy successor to Carey Price. He became the seventh Canadiens goaltender to post a shutout in a season-opening game. Jacques Plante was the only other to do it against the Maple Leafs -- twice, on 6/10/55 and 5/10/60. 

Midway through the second period, Montembeault flashed the leather with a glove save on a one-timer from the slot by Maple Leafs sniper Auston Matthews, who, along with former Hab Max Pacioretty, was booed every time he was on the ice. Monty's 47th save of the night was on another Matthews chance from the slot in the dying seconds of a great game.

So far, my prediction for this season semble pas trop pire, eh!

Are the Habs for real? Poor Len Canayen's mid-season report

Memo to WWW National Sports (as long as it's hockey) Editor. Len, you scum-sucking son of a motherless goat, you've got exectly ten hours to get your copy in before tonight's Habs-Oilers matchup. It's a new year and I'll be damned if you're going to draw any salary for sitting on your derrière. Vas-y!

Hokay, Hed! (Hey, you're not going to post dat, are you?) Here's my report on the Montréal Canadiens, to the half-way point in their NHL season. Thursday night's loss to the lowly San Jose Sharks. 

Final score 3-2, and that pretty much sums up the Habs season so far. Lots of one-goal games, and so many games won or lost in overtime or a shootout that I've lost count of them. 

That said, les Glorieux have won their share of those games. They rarely get blown out of the rink, and have 6 wins in overtime or a shootout. Could be worse. They've been playing roughly .500 hockey, currently .488, which is good for 6th place in the NHL's Atlantic division.  

That means -- and this is the "pleasant surprise" part -- that they're not likely to finish in a good position in the draft lottery. Indeed, with a bit of luck, they might get a wildcard position in the playoffs. That's nothing to sneeze at. The 2020-21 Habs finished 16th overall, just barely getting into the playoffs, but made it through to the Stanley Cup finals, which they lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

That les Glorieux still have a chance at this point in the season is due to good coaching from Martin St. Louis, and a much improved team effort, and that without Tanner Pearson, Alex Newhook, Christian Dvorak and Kirby Dach, who played in only 2 games before being laid low by a season-ending injury.

Let's look at who's still on the roster, whoès helping and who's not. This year's team is remarkable in that a lot of scoring is being done by defencemen. For my money, the Canadiens' MVP is D-man Mike Matheson. If Montréal didn't already have a good captain, they should give the "C" to Matheson. The guy's a horse! He's one of the NHL’s leaders in time on ice and his willingness to lead the rush -- it's a pleasure to watch him skate -- makes him the ideal for a team coached by St. Louis.

At the other end of the spectrum is Johnathan Kovacevic, one of half a dozen youngsters who've played in front of Habs goalies this year. "The K-man" is a solid stay-at-home defenceman, who may think he needs a passport to enter the opposing teams' zone. He has scored 5 goals, including the most bizarre goal of the year, into an empty net when eveeryone (except him) thought there had been a stoppage in play. However, Kovacevic is +6, which is a decent +/- stat. The coach doesn't seem to like him, but I do!

I'm not saying Coach is wrong. The Canadiens lead the league in goals by defencemen but they rank a lowly 28th in offence, which means guys up front haven’t been pulling their weight. 

Captain Nick Suzuki leads the team in scoring for a third consecutive season, with Cole Caufield, for whom fans had great hopes, in third place. The aforementioned Mike Matheson has one more point than Caufield.

Caufield's goal production is off, and I think it's because the little guy is playing like a little guy. (Wee Brendan Gallagher, on the other hand, always plays like a giant!) Perhaps Caufield is dealing with the effects of the shoulder injury that sidelined him for the second half of last season. He shys away from the "dirty" areas -- the slot and the blue paint -- and opposing teams have figured that out.

Another forward I like (and wish he could do better) is big Josh Anderson. Talk about slow starts! It wasn't until December that Anderson scored his first goal, not counting an empty-netter. Then he had 5 points in 5 games and now he's gone dry again. It's not that he doesn't try. Bulling his way into the offensive zone he's nearly unstoppable. But when he gets there... hands of stone. Keep trying, Josh!

At present, sophomore Juraj Slafkovsky plays on the right of Caufield and Suzuki. He too had a slow start, but has learned to use his size and skill and looks to me like a keeper. The absence of Kirby Dach, Alex Newhook, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard and Christian Dvorak makes it easier for defences to concentrate on the top line and the lack of depth filters through the other lines, affecting players like Sean Monahan and Jake Evans.

Monahan and Evans are both good at the dot. Props to Evans who is getting a lot more ice time this year, faut de mieux. Monahan is one of the Habs' top goal-scorers and the most consistent faceoff man despite not having much support on the wing. 

Getting back to defence, the Canadiens may have a blessing in disguise, in the form of half a dozen D-men aged under 25, in their first or second years in the NHL. One of them that Coach St. Louis likes is Justin Barron, because he likes jumping into the rush -- too much so, IMHO. He needs to learn to play defence!

A pleasant suprise this year has been the emergence of rookie Jayden Struble on defence. His solid two-way play is the reason why Arber Xhekaj is stuck in Laval, in spite of being a fan favourite for his scrappy physical game. Like Barron, Xhekaj should play defence first, fight later.

Now to another problem that is good to have... maybe. La Sainte Flannelle is the only NHL team playing three -- count `em, three -- goaltenders, more or less in rotation. None of Jake Allen, Samuel Montembeault, or Cayden Primeau has had more than two starts in a row. The save percentages are, respectively, 900, .907 and .905. Those are pretty good numbers, considering that they face an average of over 33 shots per game, the highest in the NHL, which says something about the Habs' defence.

As we approach the trade deadline, it's clear that one of the three will have to go, and there are plenty of teams sniffing around. The question for GM Kent Hughes is what he can get in return for (most likely) Jake Allen. There are gaps to fill on both offence and defence. 

If the team was still in rebuilding mode, he could settle for draft picks and "future considerations". But now that the surprising Canadiens are in danger of making the playoffs (!), fans will be hoping for someone who can make a significant impact right now. As Walt would say, stay tuned!