GOTTA SEE IT: Kirby Dach Does It All, Even Drop The Gloves

Kirby Dach has done it all for the Montreal Canadiens as of late, but one thing he hasn’t done this season is fight; until now.

In Thursday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings, tempers flared between Kirby Dach and Andrew Copp, as the two players got into a heated exchange during the first period.

That frustration boiled over into the opening faceoff of the second period and it didn’t take long for the two imposing centres to drop the gloves and duke it out.

Primarily viewed as a skilled forward, Canadiens fans got their first look at what happens when Kirby Dach gets angry on the ice, as he went to town against Copp and got multiple solid haymakers on target.

Unfortunately for the Canadiens, it came at a terrible time, as Montreal already had Christian Dvorak missing from the bench at the time, but then also lost Dach for 5 minutes.

Kirby Dach just dropped Andrew Copp after the opening faceoff in the second period. 👀 pic.twitter.com/mEqlMPKH1b

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 27, 2023

After a dip in performance during the month of December saw him register just 6 points in 15 games, Dach has come back in full force in January with 8 points through nine games.

His 31 points through 48 games put him on pace to score roughly 53 points this season, but, given the increased role in the face of all these injuries, he may surpass that number.

On top of his offensive spike. Dach’s overall work as a centre since being moved back to centre on January 14th has been notable.

He’s playing important minutes against the opposition’s top lines, while also sporting a 52% faceoff efficiency, and this against some clubs that are loaded at centre like the Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, Winnipeg Jets and the Boston Bruins.

He’s seen his minutes rapidly increase in conjunction with his level of play, playing just short of 24 minutes on Tuesday night against the Bruins in what was his most complete performance of the season.

In the absence of Cole Caufield, Dach has stepped up in a big way for the Montreal Canadiens to provide more offence and take control of games as of late; a sign that he may indeed have another level or two to reach before reaching his true potential.