After three days without a game for the first time since Jan. 14, the Montreal Canadiens finally had a chance to bring some energy and rested bodies to the Bell Centre for their affair against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night.
While Montreal had more jump, they couldn’t handle the west’s best club, losing 4-1 to Winnipeg.
Wilde Horses
It was an interesting change of defensive pairings by Head Coach Martin St. Louis for this contest, after he decided that Mike Matheson was too uncomfortable on his wrong side. Matheson was moved back to his more natural left side and was partnered with Alexandre Carrier.
That broke up the excellent partnership of Carrier and Kaiden Guhle. The shock was that Guhle stayed on his preferred left side, and the player who had to beat a lifetime of instincts moving to the off-side was, shockingly, the rookie with 50 NHL games Lane Hutson.
The confidence that the organization has in Hutson is astounding. It’s difficult to not think of previous regimes, and how they would have handled with care a small rookie making his way into the NHL.
Hutson would have probably had 10 minutes per game, with no power play time, and no 3-on-3 overtime either under Michel Therrien. With this regime, he’s given the toughest assignment possible in his rookie season.
Hutson didn’t only have to play his first game on the wrong side, he also had to do it against one the best clubs in the league. Hutson didn’t get a point on the Canadiens’ first goal, but he was instrumental in the final result.
Hutson saw that the Jets were doing a line change and he passed it quickly up ice about 120 feet to the Jets blue line. That’s where the outstanding Nick Suzuki line took over. It was Cole Caufield to Suzuki. From behind the net, he quickly fed Juraj Slafkovsky, who one-timed it home.
This top line is playing with so much chemistry. All three have a strong awareness where the other will be at all times. It is difficult to defend when the puck is moving that quickly.
Hutson finished the game with the top Expected Goals share for Montreal. His first game on the wrong side, Hutson was the Canadiens’ best defender by that valuable metric. There wasn’t much to like in that contest, but if Hutson could handle that difficult assignment, it would be massive for the team’s fortunes.
Wilde Goats
Consternation and complaint is everywhere around Mike Matheson recently. It’s not difficult to understand the issue. Matheson is a second-pair defender being asked to defend against the top players in the league. Matheson is playing out of his role.
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This is the basic “success vs. failure” explanation for all players. When third-liners have to play against second-liners, they fail. Fourth-liners who shouldn’t be in the NHL fail. When second-pair defenders have to face the world’s best, naturally, they are overmatched.
Everyone comfortable with the assignment is what makes a terrific team. An example is everyone loves Jake Evans right now. However, give him Aleksander Barkov and Connor McDavid as the assignment and let’s see how it goes. As a fourth-liner, Evans is as good as it gets in the entire league.
For Matheson, offensively he can do it all. He is a first-pair blue liner offensively, but in his own zone, he needs to be facing a second tier of forwards. Take the first goal when Kyle Connor and the first line scored for Winnipeg. Matheson was overmatched on his man and it was 1-1. The same pairing was on for the second goal against as well.
The point is Matheson has a lot to give, but he needs to be in the role that he can handle well.
Who then are the top-pairing defenders on the Canadiens? The truth is defensively that they probably don’t have two capable blue liners. That only Kaiden Guhle can handle the assignment against the world’s best players isn’t just Matheson’s issue; it’s the organization’s issue to solve.
Any team that has eyes on the Stanley Cup has to have a first pair that can handle the best line on the other club. Oddly, it is fair to say that the Canadiens have four top-four, but they don’t have two top-two — not in all three zones.
There is plenty of prospect strength in the organization. When they drafted David Reinbacher, they hoped that he would be that right side top-pairing defender. After a serious injury, Reinbacher is now practicing with the club in a non-contact jersey.
Reinbacher’s recovery is ahead of schedule. He should be in Laval before February is completed. His ceiling will start to come into view next season. Montreal is trusting that they drafted well when they made him the first defender taken in the 2023 draft.
If who will be the top pairing right-side player were the only concerning topic, that would be acceptable. However, the Canadiens most likely suffered a very upsetting injury. Guhle suffered a non-contact right leg injury. He was holding his knee after he fell. He could not put any weight on the leg as he left the ice.
When the head coach got word of how bad the injury was minutes later, Martin St. Louis could not hide his disappointment. This could be a significant moment. The Canadiens will have an update likely on Wednesday or Thursday.
Wilde Cards
This isn’t an ordinary trading deadline. Usually, there is 35 days of hockey remaining as January ends, but this year, with the two-week break for the Four Nations event, there isn’t actually a lot of hockey left. In truth, from a hockey point of view, it is already Feb. 15.
What that means is each team has to make a decision soon how they are going to approach the trading deadline. The Canadiens are right on the cusp of contender or pretender, so any chance for insight from management creates a lot of interest.
Jeff Gorton, VP Of Hockey Operations, was on The Sick Podcast recently where he indicated a game plan for the trading deadline that is exciting. Gorton said, “We definitely have a plan, and we are not gonna deviate from that plan that makes us successful for a long time.”
With that thought, we learn that the organization is committed to the long-term benefits of stockpiling: “You’re not gonna see us deviate from not trading away young players, so if anyone is looking for that, they are looking for the wrong thing.”
They have traded away one young player in Justin Barron, so it is more a concept than a 100-per cent hard-and-fast rule. Sometimes an opportunity to acquire a player can improve the squad so significantly, the trade has to be made. It is a safe bet to say, as well, that management felt that there wasn’t much ceiling left in Barron’s game.
This doesn’t address if the squad believes it is time to get stronger, because the fan base is clearly hungry for a playoff spot.
Gorton was surprisingly forthright in his response: “If there is an opportunity to help these guys, they deserve it. We want every game they play to be the biggest game of the year, and they’re doing it, so if we can help them along, we’re gonna look to do that”.
If we put all of these quotes together, it sounds more like they are ready to acquire a veteran to the roster while giving up only a draft pick as high as a second- or third-rounder. It doesn’t sound like a blockbuster where they give up a first-round pick.
The final thought from Gorton indicates how quickly the trade window opens up this season: “We will see what happens with their play leading up to the Four Nations break.”
The Canadiens are off from Feb. 9 to Feb. 22. General managers are treating the break as kind of a soft deadline. Expect more action than usual before Feb. 10. Gorton is indicating that is the target to assess the Canadiens plans.
The next two weeks in the NHL could be quite entertaining.
Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sports writer, brings you Call of the Wilde on globalnews.ca after each Canadiens game.
