This is it for the Montreal Canadiens.
This is the six-game road trip that will decide their fate for the season. The Canadiens need to make a move up the standings against some of the best competition in the league in the next 10 days.
Game one of the trip was a loss in Columbus. Back-to-back games in Florida start the post-Christmas segment. The Panthers were a huge test and the Canadiens passed with an outstanding performance in front of a first-time goalie, Jakub Dobes, 4-0.
Wilde Horses
The Canadiens made a big change during the holidays. They finally indicated that they have lost complete confidence in Cayden Primeau, sending him to the minors where another team can pick up the 25-year-old, ending his time in the organization.
Primeau’s end in Montreal is not expected, though considering there isn’t a huge desire for an .836 goaltender. The next phase is he passes through the waiver wire untouched, then to Laval where he will try to find his game again.
For the big club, it’s time to learn what six-foot-five-inch Jakub Dobes can do at the top level.
Dobes was strong at Ohio State and then strong in Laval. In fact, it’s remarkable that the numbers at those two levels for Primeau and Dobes in college and in the AHL are almost identical.
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At the NHL level, Primeau had some highs, but if he suffered lows, they got in his head. The organization isn’t looking for .910 from Dobes, but they need .890 or they’ll have to look outside the organization for another goalie before Jacob Fowler arrives from Boston College in the coming years.
One game does not a scouting report make at the NHL level, but Dobes carried himself with a lot of confidence in his opener at the age of 23. In the first period, he attacked the shooters, and was engaged in battles for space in front of the net.
He got his first challenges shot-wise in the second period when the Panthers finally broke through a strong Canadiens defensive wall, and that’s when the trends started to be revealed. Right away, it was obvious one massive advantage was that Dobes can catch.
Catching doesn’t seem like a big thing, but it is massive because Dobes can then hold for a whistle. Primeau doesn’t catch and kill, and as a result, the anxiety continues to rise on the pressure that the Canadiens are facing.
Many times, Dobes purposefully held for a whistle, allowing the Canadiens to regroup. This young blue-line corps and hybrid system seem to break down the longer the play continues. Dobes desired to make only the first save with no interest in a third or fourth save because he wasn’t controlling the rebounds. That helps everyone.
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Beyond the net, it was a terrific contest for the Canadiens. Kirby Dach had his best day of the season. Alex Newhook had his best day of the season. Newhook had two helpers on Dach’s two goals. The first was a pass across the crease, and the second was freeing Dach on a breakaway.
It was a superb finish from Dach on the one-on-one as he went to the backhand and was able to lift it to the top half of the net perfectly. Dach doubled his goal total from two to four. It’s not much yet, but the target is improvement, and it’s coming.
Patrik Laine didn’t figure on the goals, but he was instrumental in their construction, especially on the first where he won the zone, and used his big body to cycle through the zone with possession before feeding it to the point.
Late second period, the Canadiens added a shorthanded marker as Jake Evans scored yet again. Evans with a goal in his fourth straight game, which is quite remarkable for a fourth-line player. The Evans line with Emil Heineman and Joel Armia was outstanding.
They might just be the best fourth line in the league. In fact, if the measurement is goals, then the line is the best with 23 goals. The Hurricanes are next with 18 goals, then the Senators with 17 from their respective fourth lines.
The Nick Suzuki line also did well with a Aleksander Barkov matchup. Caufield rang one off the cross-bar in the second period, and had a one-on-one look at Spencer Knight in the third that was snatched out of the air. Juraj Slafkovsky was strong as well heading to the net and causing havoc.
They were shut out until late when Slafkovsky protected the puck brilliantly on the left side, then waited for Caufield to blitz beyond the defender with his speed. Caufield took the perfect pass and lifted it in for his 18th of the season. Caufield on pace for 42 goals on the season.
Wilde Goats
It was a 33-save shutout for Dobes in his first NHL game over the defending Stanley Cup champions. Absolutely no goats in this win.
Wilde Cards
St. Petersburg SKA has put prospect Ivan Demidov back on the ice a respectable amount since the Canadiens management visit to Russia and it has made a significant difference.
Demidov had been getting five minutes of ice in some games and none in others for a month, but since GM Kent Hughes led a visit to Russia, in the five games following Demidov has seven points.
In his contest Friday, Demidov was on the first line accumulating 18 minutes and amassing three points. It’s amazing what a difference actually playing can make.
Suddenly, despite a disappointing overall 11-minute average this season, Demidov is, once again, having among the greatest draft plus one seasons in Russian history. Demidov has 27 points in 38 games.
The standard of excellence in the KHL is set by Matvei Michkov with 41 points in 49 games. It should be noted that Michkov averaged 17 minutes per game with four minutes of power play time. Demidov almost never gets power play minutes.
Demidov will have to get on a heater to pass Michkov in points-per-game. However, Demidov is still among the greatest draft plus one seasons ever.
Some other notables behind Michkov are Eeli Tolvanen who had 36 points in 49 games. Evgeny Kutznetsov has 32 points in 44 games, and Kirill Kaprizov has 27 points in 53 games. One can clearly see that excellent KHL numbers have translated into strong NHL careers.
It’s also interesting to include before the KHL, to the best numbers in the Russian Super League. The gold standard is Alexander Ovechkin who had 26 points in 37 games. This is identical to Demidov’s numbers at the 37-game mark. Evgeni Malkin had 32 points in 52 games in his draft plus one season.
It’s an interesting exercise to look at all of these greats and see Demidov among them. In fact, if Demidov’s head coach would have not sabotaged his season, Roman Rotenberg may have had the honour to coach the greatest draft plus one season in Russian history.
Alas, a man must stop thinking provincially before they have the opportunity to play a part in national history.
Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sports writer, brings you Call of the Wilde on globalnews.ca after each Canadiens game.
