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Gurianov and Guhle Shine in Canadiens Late Rally Over Sharks

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1 year ago

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Canadiens forward Rem Pitlick on a breakaway

The Canadiens landed in California on Tuesday to face the San Jose Sharks, the first of four games on their annual West Coast trip.

Both teams are hoping to land a good player at the 2023 Entry Draft, setting up a classic battle between two tank battalions.

Powered by a great performance by Jake Allen, the Canadiens won the battle 3-1 although given how close both teams are in the standings, you could argue the Sharks won the lottery war.

Barron’s Blunder

The Canadiens started the game on the wrong foot, handing the Sharks an early 1-0 lead after an awful giveaway by rookie Justin Barron.

Barron had pass outlets, and despite the pressure from the Sharks forecheckers, had time to make a better decision.

But despite the bad play, it’s important to remember that at this point in the season, Barron’s smart plays outweigh his bad plays by a rather wide margin.

He’s a crucial player for the Canadiens, in more ways than one.

Not only is he a right-handed defenceman, but he also has power play quarterback potential, and he’s one of the few defencemen in the roster that makes a significant impact in transition.

His mistake on Tuesday night was blatant, and we will see more mistakes along those lines as he develops into a regular NHL defenceman. They’re par for the course when it comes to a puck-moving defenceman, especially during their rookie campaign.

As long as Barron and the coaching staff do not dwell on the blunders, but rather, learn from them, they’ll be an important part of the learning experience in the NHL.

Something In The Water

Josh Anderson is playing like a man possessed in the last few weeks.

He’s an intense presence on almost every one of his shifts, is creating high-danger scoring chances for his teammates, and has done a great job clearing the crease whenever an opposing player gets too close to a Canadiens goaltender.

It remains to be seen if a team offers enough to the Canadiens to convince them to trade Anderson at the deadline, but if teams are judging his value based on his play since January, they’re certainly licking their chops at the possibility of having a player of his ilk on their roster in the playoffs.

Gurianov’s Game

Newcomer Denis Gurianov was placed on the first line alongside Mike Hoffman and Nick Suzuki, giving him a fairly decent situation in which to make his Canadiens debut.

He was somewhat tentative at first, preferring to keep to the outside of high-danger scoring areas, however, he ended up with an impressive six shots on net and he came quite close to scoring on a one-timer that was beautifully set up by Kaiden Guhle midway in the second period.

 

His defensive prowess was also on display a few times during the game, most notably when he stole the puck from Karlsson on two occasions.

Given his 6’3 frame, you want to see him drive to the net à la Anderson as often as possible. His first game was a great start to his extended audition with the Canadiens.

With the speedy Gurianov on the ice, the Canadiens controlled 50 percent of the shots in a game in which they were outshot by a fairly wide margin.

If he keeps this up, Kent Hughes will have an easy decision on his hands this summer.

Welcome Back Kaiden

Guhle did not waste any time getting back into the thick of things. He scored a crucial game-tying goal in the third period, but more importantly, he was a game-changing presence on most shifts.

His timing was impeccable, as was his defensive positioning.

We all know Guhle’s underlying numbers took a massive hit earlier in the season, but now that he’s no longer playing with questionable defensive partners and is not facing the opposing team’s best players on every single shift, he has an opportunity to shine.

Guhle’s goal set the table for the Canadiens’ comeback.

Rem Pitlick made what can only be described as a risky, yet creative pass while on a breakaway, doing a masterful job selling the shot while setting up Jesse Ylonen for an easy goal and a brutal backcheck by Erik Karlsson.

 

The Canadiens are back in action on Thursday, facing Philip Danault and the Kings in Los Angeles. The puck drop is scheduled for 10:30 PM ET.

All statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via NaturalStatTrick

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