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Montreal Canadiens

Five Surprising Montreal Canadiens Statistics in 2022-23

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1 year ago

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Montreal Canadiens Suzuki

130 – The Montreal Canadiens have over 440 man-games lost this season, which has led to 36 different players donning the Habs sweater, which is fewer than the previous season (46). Head coach Martin St-Louis has been forced to use over 130 different line combinations while dealing with the endless stream of injuries.

 

43 – Much has been made of Jake Allen and Samuel Montembeault’s excellent play this season, and while both players certainly deserve praise, it’s Montembeault leading the charge. Allen ranks 43rd in the league at 5v5 in terms of goals saved above expected (1.8), which equates to just 0.3 games won above replacement. Simply put, Allen has not ‘ruined the tank’ as many have assumed. Montembeault, on the other hand, ranks 15th in the NHL with 9.3 goals saved above expected at 5v5, saving almost 96 percent of the unblocked shots sent his way. If you want to blame someone for playing well above expectations and stealing a few points in the standings, which is a rather ridiculous sentiment given he’s a professional athlete Montembeault is your man.

3.02 – While the injuries certainly left St-Louis with a dearth of talent in his lineup, the players arriving from the Laval Rocket did a great job making an immediate impact upon their call-up to the NHL. Alex Belzile leads all Canadiens players with 3.02 points per 60 at 5v5. He’s followed by Chris Tierney (2.56), Cole Caufield (2.28), Rafael Harvey-Pinard (1.93), and Jesse Ylonen (1.92). Of course, sample size comes into play, but for the most part, the Canadiens have relied on players who were not originally deemed good enough to earn a roster spot at training camp to drive their offence in the new year.

MUST READ: Rafael Harvey-Pinard is more than just a good story for the Canadiens.

1 – Just one player has managed to stay healthy for all 65 Habs games this season: Nick Suzuki. The captain is yet to miss a single game in his NHL career, and now has the fourth-longest ironman streak in the NHL, with 274 games played without interruption.

9 – Overall, the team has struggled, but there have been notable improvements over overtime. The Canadiens have needed extra time on 15 occasions this season and have emerged with a win nine separate times. This is a significant contrast in their results last year, where they only earned six wins in 17 attempts. The key? Nick Suzuki. The Habs have won four of the six games which necessitated shootouts, powered by Suzuki’s borderline perfect shootout efficiency of 83%

All statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via NaturalStatTrick and MoneyPuck.

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