It’s a long road back into the playoff picture. The math is abysmal.
However, if the road is to be taken, it started with the Detroit Red Wings this weekend in a home-and-home.
The Montreal Canadiens need nothing less than a sweep starting with a win in Detroit, and they got it with perhaps their most organized win of the season coming back in the third period to win 4-3.
Wilde Horses
It was one of the most exciting games of the season. Both clubs knew the value of the points, and it felt like a playoff game. The work rate was high for both teams. Every puck was fought for like it was a playoff game.
The Canadiens look like a much better hockey game recently. They have enjoyed the solidifying of the lineup brought on by the Laine effect. His arrival has stabilized all of the lines, but especially the second one. Kirby Dach seems to be growing in confidence as his work rate is much higher, and his ability to keep physically battling is improving.
The opening goal was Emil Heineman’s. He’s putting together a strong rookie season with his seventh goal. Anytime a rookie getting almost no power play time can put up in the range of 15 to 20 goals, that is an excellent first season.
It was Jake Evans who scored the goal of the game. Shorthanded, he stole the puck at centre ice and then went in on a breakaway making a outstanding deke for the tally.
Samuel Montembeault let in two goals in the first period, and that might seem like it was a struggle based on that, but he was strong in a wide-open and wildly entertaining opening frame.
It’s becoming clear that the Canadiens are figuring it out. It’s just a better presentation through and through. They have so much more puck support than earlier this season. The defensive scheme is starting to get instinctive.
No predictions on the results because the game can be unfair, but this group is becoming a hockey team. Down 3-2, they fought back to tie it up as Arber Xhekaj scored from 25 feet on a wrist shot.
Xhekaj is quietly becoming a dependable defender in the best pro league in the world. Not bad for a player never drafted. Xhekaj is going about his business. He isn’t looking for fights. He isn’t trying to join the rush too often. He’s simply working hard and smart in a defence-first manner.
Three minutes later, the Canadiens kept going. On the power play, the unstoppable Patrik Laine did it again. He has seven goals in eight games since returning from injury, and they are all on the power play, and they all look exactly the same.
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He received a soft and sweet pass from Lane Hutson, and he absolutely ripped it into the net. The goalie tried to set up, but before you set up, you must actually see what you are setting up for. That’s the biggest challenge for the net minders on a Laine shot. They are moving laterally across the net. They try to find the puck as they do, but it’s already been fired for a goal.
The Canadiens had a tremendous comeback effort, scoring the final two goals, then actually puck-pursuing in the final minute to hold the lead. Puck pursuit in the offensive zone hasn’t been seen since 2021 from the Canadiens with a late lead. Joel Armia wasted 20 seconds in the last minute killing the play in the Detroit zone.
The final minute saw the newest player, Alexandre Carrier, getting ice time. That’s a huge addition as well. Head Coach Martin St. Louis sure didn’t want to rely on Justin Barron in the last minute. Carrier is already gaining the coach’s confidence.
Wilde Goats
It was 2-2 in the third until an unfortunate error by Lane Hutson. He simply tried a clearing pass that did not clear. It hit a Red Wing on the way out, and just like that, the game turned. Games turn that quickly at the NHL level. It won’t be the last big error by Hutson.
Every player has to learn that it’s the recovery that is key, because the entire sport is errors. Some of them are glaring. Some are more costly. This one was both. It’s important to get back on the ice to try to get it back. And if not this game, then onward to the next game.
That is what a winner does. He works harder, and smarter, and he is hungry to get it back. That’s exactly what Hutson did as he actually poured it on, refusing to relinquish the puck at times, then setting up Laine for the 4-3 goal.
Wilde Cards
In month 35 of the rebuild, the Canadiens have given up on their first prospect. While it is difficult to admit that a prospect didn’t pan out, it’s smarter to take a small loss than a complete one.
As soon as a GM is absolutely certain that a top prospect will not become a top-4 defender or top-6 forward, there is no fear in removing that hope for the future for a more stable present.
Justin Barron is never going to be a top of the roster defender. While he is 23 — and theoretically speaking, prospects should get to 25 before their final assessment — it is, in practice, a viable decision to put a ‘best before’ date on Barron a bit early.
Barron is what he is, and no one in Montreal expects an upside surprise. His stock is more likely to drop in the next two years than rise, though the Nashville Predators aren’t evaluating it like that. They see hope. They see a player who will find more offence and steady himself on defence. They don’t see a player without the grit to grind it out at the NHL level.
The Canadiens likely have that assessment of Barron because in replying to why they liked Alexandre Carrier, they answered that it’s his tenacity and experience. That is exactly what Barron wasn’t giving them and what they felt they needed to improve.
There’s a growing feeling in a rebuild philosophy that the failed ones lack insulation for young players. That good rebuilds will have a locker room and on-ice culture of experience to help with maturity. This theory has merit.
Experienced players often say that they learned how to win. It follows then that someone has to teach them. That is why management likes the deal. They get a veteran defender who will change the experience-youth balance.
And let’s not forget, either — they got someone will almost certainly play better.
Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sports writer, brings you Call of the Wilde on globalnews.ca after each Canadiens game.
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