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Canadiens Wrap

Habs Wrap: Canadiens Top Line, Slafkovsky TOI, Carey Price

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6 months ago

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MONTREAL — Habs fans know all too well there’s never a dull moment when it comes to the Montreal Canadiens, but it’s not always possible to keep up to date with every story.

That’s why we will recap the most exciting and relevant NHL news stories that you may have missed throughout the week every Sunday.

 

  • ICYMI: Both Filip Mesar and Owen Beck have found their groove in the OHL after a relatively slow start. It’s encouraging news, given that the Montreal Canadiens are counting upon prospects like Beck and Mesar to eventually make an impact in the NHL. Here are some of their recent highlights. [Canadiens Prospects Find Rhythm In OHL After Slow Start]
  • The Habs lost 6-2 to the St-Louis Blues on Saturday night, but there were a few silver linings, including the play of 19-year-old Juraj Slafkovsky. He scored a powerplay, and he looked pretty good alongside Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield on the top line.[Slafkovsky Provides Spark for Canadiens In Loss To St-Louis]
  • The Boston University Terriers are off to a terrible start to their season, especially when we consider they were ranked as the top team in the NCAA coming into the year. However, Habs super prospect Lane Hutson continues to produce dominant performances, including his hat-trick outing against the North Dakota Fighting Hawks on Saturday night. [Canadiens Prospect Lane Hutson’s Dominant Night]
  • Habs head coach Martin St-Louis was happy with Slafkovsky’s performance, not to mention the work done by two of his younger, yet more talented players: Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.

  • Slafkovsky played well, but we should not ignore the results from Jordan Harris, who, admittedly, has not performed as well as he did last season. A strong outing on Saturday night will hopefully bolster his confidence heading into future matchups.

  • There’s no doubt that Montreal Canadiens forward Sean Monahan deserves the praise he’s received to start the season. The veteran plays a crucial role in the lineup, and he’s produced some fantastic numbers. However, we also can’t ignore how well Brendan Gallagher has been playing. The veteran seems to have found the fountain of youth, and that bodes well for the Habs this season. It’s also encouraging to see a longtime member of the team enjoy a solid season after a rather disappointing 2022-23 campaign. [Brendan Gallagher’s Surprising Start To The Season]
  • Head coach Martin St-Louis is a big fan of what Monahan brings to the ice. “He’s a complete player. He plays a 200-foot game. He starts plays, he can play everywhere, kill penalties, and play on the powerplay. When he’s on the ice, I’m not worried about opposing players. He’s fun to have on your bench. He’s a good leader, sets a good example.”

  • St-Lous also had some interesting things to say about 19-year-old forward Juraj Slafkovsky’s development, and how the team is approaching the situation.

  • Don’t look now, but Lane Hutson has won the Hockey East Player Of The Week award. Hutson scored his first hat trick on Saturday night against the North Dakota Fighting Sioux.  If you still think using plus/minus, an archaic statistic with no value, is important, you may want to ignore Huton’s latest accolade. And you may want to update your hockey knowledge with information that wasn’t rendered meaningless sometime in the mid-80s, but that’s a whole other matter.[Canadiens Prospect Lane Hutson’s Dominant Night]

  • Unsurprisingly, goaltender Jake Allen won the Molson Cup for October. Allen finished the month with a .930 save percentage, which ranks among the top 10 in the league.

  • The Montreal Canadiens needed overtime to beat the Detroit Red Wings, not to mention yet another overtime goal by sniper Cole Caufield. Cayden Primeau earned his first win in a long time and Mike Matheson played well, but unfortunately, Juraj Slafkovsky ended up being benched in the third period. [Caufield Scores, Slafkovsky Benched In Win Vs. Detroit]
  • It was Caufield’s seventh career overtime goal the regular season, which tied an NHL record.

  • Defenceman Mike Monahan scored the game’s first goal and assisted on the game-tying goal. It was his best game all season, not just from a production standpoint. He was strong in all three zones.

  • According to Elliotte Friedman, the Habs and the Edmonton Oilers discussed “the possibility of Jake Allen” to solve Edmonton’s goaltending woes, but he doesn’t think a deal will materialize anytime soon. [32 Thoughts]
  • Nick Suzuki, Jake Evans, and Brendan Gallagher visited former teammate Jeff Petry.

  • Former head therapist Dr. David Mulder revealed that Carey Price’s more serious knee injury was discovered while they operated on the goaltender for his injured meniscus. It turns out there was no cartilage left on his femur, which makes his performance in the 2021-22 playoffs even more impressive. [Canadiens: Carey Price Knee Injury More Serious Than Anticipated]
  • The Montreal Canadiens still have three goaltenders on their roster, but the trade offers have not been forthcoming. It will be a challenge for general manager Kent Hughes to trade one of his goaltenders for a reasonably healthy return. The Habs and the Edmonton Oilers briefly discussed a possible Jake Allen trade, but nothing official materialized. [The Habs’ Goaltending Situation In 2023-24]
  • Several members of the 1992-93 Stanley Cup Champion Montreal Canadiens were at the Bell Centre for a gala celebrating the 30th anniversary of the last time a Canadian team won a Stanley Cup.

  • Former Habs defenceman and Norris Trophy Winner P.K. Subban is a big fan of current Habs sniper Cole Caufield.

 

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