Heading into Canadiens’ training camp it seemed pretty obvious what the top two forward lines would be.
It made no sense to break up the No. 1 line of Nick Suzuki between Juraj Slafkovsky and Cole Caufield after they led the team offensively last season. It also made sense to put Kirby Dach at centre between Patrik Laine and Alex Newhook.
Those two lines were, indeed, put together by head coach Martin St. Louis for the first scrimmage of training camp on Thursday in Brossard. The question was what would the two other potential lines to start the regular season look like?
We got the answer to that Friday when the Canadiens scrimmaged for the second straight day with Team 3 taking to the ice for the first time after Teams 1 and 2 played Thursday with the top two lines on the ice.
For Friday’s scrimmage, Jake Evans was at centre between Brendan Gallagher and Joel Armia, while Christian Dvorak was between Joshua Roy and Josh Anderson for Team 3. Armia, Gallagher, Anderson and Roy all scored for Team 3 — as did Laurent Dauphin and Xavier Simoneau — in a 6-3 win over Team 2, which got goals from William Trudeau, Jared Davidson and Filip Mesar.
Team 3 will be back in action for Saturday’s scrimmage against Team 1 at 11:15 a.m. at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard.
Dach, Laine and Newhook were all held off the scoresheet for Team 2 on Friday.
It’s not surprising Dach and Laine looked a little rusty. Dach suffered a season-ending knee injury that required surgery in the second game last season on Nov. 14. Laine hasn’t played an NHL game since Dec. 14 when he suffered a broken left clavicle that required surgery and then entered the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program in January while dealing with mental-health issues.
St. Louis said after Friday’s scrimmage he has to be patient with Dach and Laine, noting how hard it is to come back in the NHL after missing significant time with an injury. He added with more repetitions in training camp and in preseason games they will improve individually and so will the line.
“Obviously, Laine’s got a great shot and Dacher is very good at transporting the puck and winning pucks back,” St. Louis said when asked why he thinks that line can work. “Newy brings a lot of speed that can push teams back, create space underneath, quick to loose pucks. Dacher, Laine — big boys.
“All this said, I feel like they have great elements to complement each other,” St. Louis added. “Now it’s to get in more reps as they missed a lot of time. Just to jump right back in it at this level, I got to be patient a little bit. But I feel they have great elements to complement each other.”
Newhook had 15-19-34 totals last season — his first with the Canadiens after being acquired from the Colorado Avalanche — while being limited to 55 games because of a high ankle sprain. He’s excited about playing with Laine and Dach.
“Two guys that have a lot of skill, a lot of space,” Newhook said. “Big guys. I think they both do it all, so try to complement them as best I can and fit into that spot to be an effective line.”
Newhook added it’s like a fresh start this season for both Laine and Dach.
“Dacher was out all year and Laine’s looking to come in and be a different player and a different guy in this environment,” Newhook said. “It’s exciting. Everyone’s motivated here. I think everyone on the line has a bit of a chip on their shoulder and we want to prove something to ourselves, the team and the league. I think that’s a pretty dangerous thing to have when you have three guys feeling that way.”
Evans, Gallagher and Armia looked really good together in Friday’s scrimmage and Gallagher was flying around the ice.
“They were really good today,” St. Louis said about that line. “A lot of purpose in their game. I liked their game. They played the game. They supported one another.
Evans, Gallagher and Armia are all right-hand shots, something St. Louis doesn’t really like to have on the same line.
“But sometimes they work so well together that you live with it,” St. Louis said. “We’ll see where that takes us, but I really liked what they did today.”
Gallagher was playing on his off-wing Friday.
“I always liked playing the off-wing myself,” St. Louis said about his Hall of Fame playing career as a left-hand shot. “I feel Gally on the off-wing can expose the puck less on breakouts, he can shield more.”
As for the other line, it looks like St. Louis will give Roy every chance to be on the opening-night roster — and with good reason. The No. 1 overall pick at the 2019 QMJHL Draft looked very good in Friday’s scrimmage, showing a hockey sense beyond his 21 years of age. He rarely makes a bad decision with the puck.
“I just think he’s always ready for what’s next,” St. Louis said about Roy, who fell to the fifth round of the 2021 NHL Draft (150th overall) after a slow start in junior. “He’s a very intelligent player, but not just with the puck. Without the puck he’s very smart. He plays well off the puck. So he’s always ready for what’s next. He doesn’t kill the play. He’s playing the game. If it’s time to chip a puck to speed, he’ll do that. You can see he’s got poise to buy a little time and hit the guy who’s going to be free. He lets the play evolve.”
Chipping the puck to speed could work very well with the speedy Anderson as a linemate. Roy assisted on Anderson’s goal Friday.
St. Louis likes to say there’s a difference between someone who plays hockey and a hockey player and the coach believes Roy is quickly becoming the latter.
“I feel he’s showing a great sign of that,” St. Louis said. “When I saw him last year I felt, you know what, he’s a hockey player. He’s still very young, but he’s definitely going in that direction.”