After one of the most successful Christmas road trips this century, the Montreal Canadiens returned home in the mix for a playoff spot. The Canadiens beat the last four Stanley Cup champions Colorado, Vegas, Tampa Bay and Florida in attaining a 4-2 record on the six-game trip.
They had to make sure that they kept the momentum going at home hosting the Vancouver Canucks, and they did in a thriller winning 5-4 in overtime.
Wilde Horses
The Canadiens started extremely well with Kaiden Guhle and Jayden Struble laying out punishing hits. Before the game was two minutes old, Cole Caufield counted his 22nd goal of the season with a wrist shot from the high slot. That’s goals in four straight games for Caufield. He is now pro-rated for 45 on the season.
The Canucks then put three straight on the board. Two months ago, if the Canadiens allowed two in 20 seconds to trail 3-1, they wouldn’t have had any pushback, but these days, they kept on believing.
The fourth line put in good work down low to tee up Kaiden Guhle for his third goal of the season for 3-2, then Kirby Dach continued his strong play with his fourth goal in the last six games to tie it.
Right after, the Canadiens strong fight continued with Lane Hutson banking one in purposely off of the defender in front of the net. Hutson now has 30 points on the season to take the lead in the points race among rookies. This was Hutson’s best game of the season. He is the third favourite for the Calder Trophy as the world continues to underestimate Hutson which seems to fuel him.
This excellent contest went to overtime where the Canadiens won it on a perfect power play set-up. Hutson opened up all the space for Suzuki to have a free look. Suzuki made no mistake with a perfect shot. Suzuki had a three point night. He has 41 points in 40 games. The Canadiens win again 5-4.
Wilde Goats
The Canadiens are over .500 for the first time since the third game of the season. They are also tied for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. It was said last month that Montreal needed to go 7-4 in every 11 game segment to close the season. In the first segment, they were 7-4. In the second segment, they are 4-1 already.
Full marks to this resilient group that continues to surprise. In this absolute dandy, there is no goat.
Wilde Cards
At the halfway point of the season, it is time for the Wilde Awards. It’s not a conventional look at the season with awards like best forward (Nick Suzuki) or best defenceman (Lane Hutson), but a slightly more creative look at the ‘best of’ on the team after 40 games.
Get breaking National news
Most Underrated Player – Around the league, he gets almost no respect whatsoever, but all he does is compete against the very best and win. During the recent road trip, Suzuki faced Alex Barkov, Brayden Point, Jack Eichel, and Nathan MacKinnnon, and beat them all. Four of the best centres in hockey scored zero goals in four games. Suzuki’s line was on for only one even-strength goal against in those four games. Suzuki is one of the best two-way centres in hockey, and he didn’t even get a sniff for the Four Nations Tournament.
Best General Manager Move– Alexandre Carrier for Justin Barron has changed the stability of the entire club. Barron is struggling in Nashville while Carrier has filled a right side hole in Montreal perfectly. Carrier being stable and strong has allowed Kaiden Guhle to play the left side where he is clearly better. Carrier’s arrival has also allowed David Savard to move to the third pairing where he is enjoying fewer minutes and easier match-ups.
Best Head Coaching Move – Martin St. Louis believing that he did not have to move from the hybrid system. His continuing to teach the most difficult concepts has sent a clear message to his players that he believes in them. If he simplified all of his concepts, it would have said that they were inadequate and did not have the qualities that he believed that they had. It’s sent a message of patience as well; that however long it takes, it will get done properly. They have picked the system up. They are rotating on the fly nicely. They have tightened their defence tremendously.
Most Surprising Player – A very difficult one with so many surprises to the upside, but the answer is Jakub Dobes. He has only played two contests, but a .982 save percentage is phenomenal. His comportment is unbelievable. He has a swagger that is equaled only by his quality of saves. The difference between Dobes and Primeau at .836 is a surprise that absolutely no one could have predicted before the season began. The goaltending situation turning in this manner is an absolutely shocker.
Player Who Deserves More– The third highest goal scoring rookie in the NHL merits more at this point. Emil Heineman deserves a chance up the roster with this performance. With Juraj Slafkovsky struggling, Heineman could be tried on the first line. He could have also been tried on the second line with Patrik Laine out with the flu. He also could be given more power play time. Heineman plays a strong 200-foot game, so he is not going to hurt the club if he got a chance. He’s earned it.
Most Improved Player – At the age of 28, Jake Evans is having the season of his life. Evans is shooting 30 per cent when he was lucky to get 10 per cent in other seasons. He has 10 goals already when 13 is his career high. He has likely moved from a two-year contract offer of $2 million per season, to a four-year contract with a yearly salary of $4 million. Evans is centring the best fourth line in all of the NHL with almost a double-digit lead in goals over the next best fourth line.
Most Exciting Player –With respect to Laine who had them all out of their seats throwing caps for his hat trick against Buffalo, every single night other than that one, the answer is Lane Hutson. He is thrilling to watch. His ability to possess the puck seemingly at his will against the world’s best hockey players in his rookie season is amazing. He is only 20. Hutson sells tickets. Not since Alex Kovalev have the Canadiens had such a joy to watch on their roster.
Best Prospect Overall– Not only is he the best prospect for the Canadiens, he is, according to ESPN, the best prospect not in the NHL. Ivan Demidov is closing in on the best KHL draft-plus-one in the history of the league while playing only 11 minutes per night. Years from now everyone will be saying the same sentence – “How did Demidov fall to fifth overall?”
Best Prospect In Laval– With so many excellent prospects to choose from like Logan Mailloux, Adam Engstrom, and Joshua Roy, the player who will be the best pro is Owen Beck. Beck is the second leading scorer on the club, but the leader in plus/minus at plus-10. He is a centre with a responsible game handling the defensive aspects with great intelligence. Beck will be the next Rocket to be a regular member of the Canadiens.
There is a lot of hope in these awards as there should be. This is a hopeful time. The rebuild is in its 36th month since Kent Hughes started as GM, and already we can see the seeds of growth and maturity. They are already flirting with playoff hopes. This is phenomenal considering the talent that is still on its way to continue to improve the roster.
Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sports writer, brings you Call of the Wilde on globalnews.ca after each Canadiens game.