Poor Len Canayen reviews the Canadiens' season to date

We haven't heard from our National Sports (As Long As It's Hockey) Editor since the beginning of the NHL season, so it's high time for Poor Len Canayen to address the current state of the CH (Montréal Canadiens) nation. Over to you, Len...

Tank  youse, Hed. First the standings and stats. We are now almost half-way into the 2024-5 season -- 37 games played -- and les Glorieux are in 6th place in the Eastern Division, with 17 wins, 17 losses, and 3 overtime losses, good for 37 points and a points percentage of .500.

That's not good enough to make the playoffs, but after a poor start in October and November, last month was encouraging. Les Boys are on a 3-game win streak, and have won an amazing 5 out of their last 6. New Year's Eve's 3-2 comeback win over the Golden Knights warmed the cockles of my heart. [If they're still too warm, try rubbing them with ice. Ed.]

To what or whom should we attribute the change in the Canadiens' fortunes? Let's see... 

Goal - Cayden Primeau had his chance to provie that he was a reliable backup to Sam Montembeault. Turned out he wasn't, so Primeau is now back in the AHL, where he belongs. Knowing that his position as the starter is safe seems to have increased Monty's confidence and he has been playing well of late.

 

Montembault doesn't have the reflexes and style of Carey Price, and still needs to make sure that he has hold of the puck when he stops it, but overall he is much improved. Jakub Dobes, called up from Laval to replace Primeau, pitched a shut-out in his first game against the Florida Panthers, and looks like a good bet for the future.

Defence - Coach Martin St. Louis tried a number of players and combinations to build a solid defence, but nothing worked, and there was talk of replacing veteran D-man David Savard, which IMHO would have been a mistake. Right-handed defencemen are hard to find. Instead. Finally they traded accident-prone Justin Barron to Nashville for another veteran, Alexandre Carrier, whose play has brought stability to the blue line.

The big news of this season, though, is rookie Lane Hutson, whose ability to skate and stick-handle made him an instant favourite of fans of the bleu-blanc-rouge. He has scored only two goals but has an incredible 24 assists. The big things about this little guy, though, is that opponents just can't take the puck away from him. Yes, he still makes rookie mistakes, and he needs to put on some weight, but the -9 beside his name isn't solely his fault.

The blossoming of Hutson may have miffed Mike Matheson, one of my personal favourites, but he should be relieved not to have to shoulder the defence burden all by himself. Two younger players, Arber Xhekaj and Kaiden Guhle, can also relax a bit and concentrate on improving their positionaql play. They'll be OK, and if not, then Jayden Struble will be happy to come down from the press box and bring his brawn with him.

Forwards - In the first two months of the season, scoring was not as big a problem for le CH as was defence. However, there was a problem with the offence, in that it was unbalanced. The team had one (only) scoring line, composed of Cole Caufield, Captain Nick Suzuki, and whoever was out there with them. The other nine forwards mostly ragged the puck until it was the Suzuki line's turn again.

That has changed. Patrik Laine, acquied from Columbus, had the bad luck to have his leg broken in his first regular season game with the Habs. The limb has mended now, and he has scored 8 goals in 13 games. It would be nice to see him score 5-on-5, but Laine has definitely earned his place. Good on yer, Patrik!

With Laine in the line-up [geddit? Ed.], Juraj Slafovsky is back on the top line, where his inability to put the puck in the net isn't as noticeable. Old pros Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson, with a big tip of the toque to Anderson, who has finally figured out that his strength is not as a scorer but as a defensive forward, à la Bob Gainey. Well, maybe not quite, but he has certainly moved to the "asset" side of the ledger.

Another veteran who has risen to the challenge is Joel Armia, who, with Anderson, is doing a great job on the PK. Even more surprsing is Jake Evans, who has become a star on the PK, with 3 shorties, to which he's added 7 even-strength goals, for a total of 10, tied with Gallagher as the Habs' third-highest goal producer.

Then we have Emil Heineman, who didn't do much until recently, mostly because he languishes on the 4th line and doesn't get a lot of ice time. But this month he's played hard, determined to move up the roster, and has 9 goals to show for it.

Finally, Kirby Dach, Christian Dvorak, and Alex Newhook, all of whom YVT would be glad to see traded for a bag of pucks or whatever GM Kent Hughes could get. Except... this month Dach sudde4nly started scoring. Perhaps it's playing with Laine that did it? Newhook has been getting some looks on the power play, and it must be said that he does try hard. 

Dvorak has hands of stone and never seems ready when someone passes the puck to him. But he is one of the Habs' top two at the faceoff dot (Evans is the other), and is a tough guy to play against. The last mention in this review goes to resident tough guy Michael Pezzetta, who hasn't been seen on the ice since... I can't remember. The Canadiens have been lucky, so far, in not having any serious injuries, except for Laine. When the time comes, as it will, Pezzetta will be there.

Prognosis: It would be nice to predict a 4th-place finish for la Sainte Flannelle, but I just can't. If Ottawa folds (as I predict), the Habs will finish 5th in the Atlantic. Playoffs next year. Lifetime pct .987.

UPDATED: Poor Len Canayen not so worried about Habs now

Our sports editor, Poor Len Canayen, craves space to re-evaluate yesterday's piece, in which he expressed doubt as to the future of Canada's team, the Montréal Canadiens. Have at it, Len.

Pass the crow, please. After receiving an e-mail from a Habs fan asking why I was so negative about the Habs' prospects, and after watching last night's thrilling (after the first period) 4-1 win over the Pittsburg Penguins, I must give kudos do the dozen solid and stout-hearted performers who have carried the Habs through a difficult stretch, from which they now seem to be recovering nicely. [What have I told you about run-on sentences? Ed.]

Let's start with the defence corps. While reiterating the need for one or two more reliable D-men, I can express nothing but admiration for:
Captain Shea Weber: 1 goal (a wraparound, or in French un tourniquet) and 1 assist, 4 hits. Jeff Petry: 1 assist, 8 (count `em, 8!) hits. Ben Chiarot: no points but another 8 hits. Chiarot was picked up this summer from the Winnipeg Jets (well done, Marc Bergevin) and has proved a valuable addition to the team.

These three "older men" have been playing upwards of 20 minutes every game, and as much as 29 or 30 in a couple of recent games. My only question is how long they can keep up that pace and still have something left for the playoffs. Helping out and deserving of mention is rookie Cale Fleury, still growing but not afraid to throw his weight around, with 4 hits last night and smart play in his zone. He's a keeper!

Up front, les Glorieux have a solid first line:
Tomas "Tuna" Tatar: 1 goal and 1 assist last night, and has learned to stay out of the penalty box. Brendan Gallagher: the small-but-mighty sparkplug of the team, also 1 + 1, so that's half the scoring right there. Phillip Danault: one of the most under-rated centres in the NHL, IMHO, got a well-deserved assist on the Tatar goal.

Other forwards who contribute consistently are:
Joel Armia: 1+1 last night, playing the best hockey of his career. Arturi Lehkonen: 1 assist, and developing into the key man on the penalty kill. I take back the unkind words I wrote last year. Nick Suzuki: Rookie-of-the-year, on this team at least. Beautiful stick-handler and play-maker. Another great trade by Bergevin. Nate Thompson: the old pro at centre, increasingly trusted by coach Claude Julien on important face-offs, and does more than his share as a support player.  Nick Cousins: Had my doubts early on, but was impressed with his effort and tenacity in the last two games.

So the Habs have a good core, 4 good defencemen, 8 good forwards. That's 2/3 of a starting lineup. And yes, there's still Carey Price. Allowed just one goal last night -- a 2-on-1 rush following a defensive miscue -- and just one the night before. Is the all-star Price back? Hope so!

Summary: Last night's whole-team effort in a road game against a tough team was great to see... Warmed the cockles of this old man's heart. In fact they got so warm I had to rub them with ice! Keep up the good work, guys, and you'll make the post-season for sure!

UPDATE ADDED 12/12/19: Les Glorieux ont remporté la victoire hier soir! The Habs beat Ottawa 3-2 in OT. Goals by Cousins, Tatar, and Chiarot had the overtime winner! Rookie goalie Cayden Primeau stopped 35 of 37 shots, for a save pct of .946, and got the first star. Not an oil painting, but a sign that Canada's team's recovery for the recent slump is real indeed.