The Canadiens head into Toronto with momentum and a clear checklist.
Montreal is coming off a 5-4 overtime win against the Utah Mammoth on Saturday night, and the trip to face the Maple Leafs offers a chance to keep things rolling. The Canadiens have won six of their last seven, while Toronto has dropped three of its last four, setting up a meeting between two teams moving in different directions.
A few Montreal players deserve a close look in this one, starting with Kirby Dach. Nick Suzuki was not the only Canadien to return against Utah, as Dach also came back after missing the previous two games. He wasted no time making an impact, finishing with a goal and an assist in what was easily his best game of the season.
That return also adds another layer to Montreal’s forward mix. Owen Beck was the odd man out after Dach rejoined the lineup, and the squeeze is only going to get tighter once Ivan Demidov is available again. For Dach, the message is simple: keep producing, or the lineup picture gets complicated fast.
Juraj Slafkovsky is another player to keep an eye on. His start to the season was quiet, but the last stretch has looked much more like the player Montreal wants to see. He has three points in his last two games and 10 assists over his last 11, and his line with Suzuki and Cole Caufield was a major reason the Canadiens got past Utah.
Even so, the finish still needs work. Slafkovsky has only two goals on the season and has gone seven straight games without scoring. Against a Maple Leafs team that ranks seventh in goals per game at 3.65, Montreal may need him to turn chances into actual damage.
The biggest pressure point may come on the back end, where Alexandre Carrier and Kaiden Guhle will be under the microscope, especially on the penalty kill. Montreal has allowed at least one power-play goal in three straight games, and Utah cashed in on three of five power-play chances.
That is not the kind of trend you want to carry into a matchup with Toronto, which owns the NHL’s sixth-best power play at 28.8%. The Canadiens need to stay out of the box, but if they do get sent to the kill, Carrier and Guhle have to be sharper than they were against Utah.
Special teams can swing games like this, and Montreal knows it. If the Canadiens end up short-handed, those two defensemen will be right in the middle of the test.
In Other News...
Canadiens Took Control Of Toronto Then Had To Survive A Scare
Montreal looked in command for most of the night against Toronto, skating out to a 3-0 lead and getting a big offensive push from Alex Newhook, who scored twice in the win. For a team that has been trying to stack points and keep building momentum, it was the kind of start that suggested a tidy road victory was there to be had.
Instead, the third period turned into a test of nerve. The Maple Leafs scored twice to make things uncomfortable, but the Canadiens answered with a power-play goal to regain control and then survived a double-minor penalty to close out the 4-2 victory, a finish that was far less routine than the early lead had promised. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Suddenly Face A Risky Goalie Decision
The Canadiens goaltending picture has become a little murkier at just the wrong time. Samuel Montembeault is on injured reserve and nearing the end of his contract, while Jacob Fowlers recent play has given Montreal another name to weigh in the mix. For Kent Hughes, that means the position is no longer just about getting through the moment, but about deciding how much stability he wants to preserve for the stretch ahead.
Chicagos move with Arvid Soderblom adds another layer to the equation because it can shift the market around Montreals options. The Canadiens have already drawn trade interest in Montembeault, and any change in the available goalie pool could affect how aggressively they move, or whether they hold off and let the situation develop a little longer. [Read more 🡒]
Jake Evans Just Reignited A Canadiens Rumor Fans Can't Ignore
Jake Evans managed to stir up a familiar kind of Canadiens chatter this week when he said any player would want to play in Montreal, a comment that immediately sent fans back to the same place they always seem to land when a big-name center becomes available. The idea of Dylan Larkin in a Canadiens sweater has been floating around the edges of the rumor mill for a while, and Evans remark only gave it fresh oxygen as Montreal continues its strong start and keeps looking like a team worth thinking about in bigger-picture terms.
The problem, as always, is that the fit is not nearly as simple as the fantasy. Larkin has asked for a trade, Detroits situation keeps inviting speculation, and the possibility of a multi-team deal is the kind of thing that naturally gets discussed when a player of his stature is involved. But Montreal remains the tricky part of the equation, and until that changes, the Canadiens can enjoy the buzz without assuming it means much more than another round of offseason-style intrigue in the middle of the season. [Read more 🡒]