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Canadiens Analysis

Canadiens Run New Lines At Practice Following Frustrating Loss

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10 months ago

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montreal canadiens practice

Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St-Louis decided to mix things up following the team’s embarrassing 8-2 loss at the hands of the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night.

The one-sided scoreline was unflattering to the effort provided by the Habs, and the biggest issue in the loss was the poor play of Samuel Montembeault, and to a lesser extent Cayden Primeau, however, in the grand scheme of things, the defensive lapses and lack of offensive chemistry have given way to a chaotic situation in which the majority of the team is struggling to find its rhythm in all three zones.

Defensive Changes

The Habs announced defenceman Logan Mailloux was re-assigned to the AHL, and will join the Laval Rocket in short order. Statistically speaking, it’s the right move, as Kaiden Guhle will provide the team with a better option in the defensive zone. It was clear that Mailloux was a little overwhelmed at times, par for the course when we consider he’s a rookie, but we shouldn’t overlook his ability to get his shots through traffic.

Mailloux leads all defencemen this season with 5.6 shots per 60 at 5v5, and for a team that struggles to create shooting opportunities, that’s certainly a plus. To give you a frame of reference, forward Nick Suzuki has generated 5.7 shots per 60. In other words, Mailloux does a good job helping his team at one of the most crucial aspects of winning any game: taking shots. Unfortunately, when he’s on the ice, the opposition also takes a lot of shots as well, which mitigates a lot of his impact.

I’d also venture to suggest the team’s hybrid defensive system is not helping young defencemen such as Mailloux, or Lane Hutson. It’s very similar to the system put in place by Dominique Ducharme a few years ago, and unsurprisingly, history is repeating itself. Dropping from zone to man-to-man on the fly can work on paper, but it requires perfect execution, and a single mistake derails the entire setup.

Montreal Canadiens Forward Lines

Top Line: Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Emil Heineman

St-Louis opted to give one a spot on the first line to Emil Heineman, who has quietly put together solid underlying numbers to start the season. Beyond his ability to score goals, which is rumoured to be important in hockey games, when he’s on the ice, the Canadiens do a pretty good job controlling the momentum. At it stands, Heineman has done the best job of any forward on the team when it comes to his shot share, which is above 50 percent. Every other forward on the team is lagging behind him, with many sitting below 40 percent shot share. Of course, playing on the top line is very different from playing on the fourth line, as it will lead to Heineman playing against much better opponents, but the bump in his quality of linemates is more significant from a statistical standpoint.

Emil Heineman doesn’t have the same scoring touch as Cole Caufield, who currently leads the NHL in goals, but I’d venture as far as saying his shot is almost as good as Caufield’s, and that his release may even be faster, but he has not gotten as many opportunities to put it to good use for the Canadiens.


Second Line: Juraj Slafkovsky – Kirby Dach – Oliver Kapanen

Removing Dach from the top line was inevitable, but it should be noted they produced very good underlying numbers together. Unfortunately, it’s quite clear neither Oliver Kapanen nor Alex Newhook can fill in for Dach at centre, which points to a clear lack of depth down the middle of the ice. Regardless, this is an interesting combination as you have a fair amount of size, skill, and intelligence at play.

That being said, despite Kapanen receiving much more praise than his rookie counterpart, Heineman, the numbers suggest it should be the other way around. Again, playing as a rookie is always difficult in the NHL, especially if you’re used in a fourth-line role, as they both were earlier in the year, but it’s starting to become apparent that Kapanen needs a little more time before he can make a significant positive impact in the NHL. Using him on the second line should give the team the complete picture, especially now that he’s not tasked with the defensive responsibilities that come with playing as a centre, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he finishes the year in Sweden, with Timra IK. Joshua Roy is a much better option up front, both when it comes to his offensive and defensive value.

Third Line: Alex Newhook – Christian Dvorak – Joel Armia

Fourth Line: Josh Anderson – Jake Evans – Brendan Gallagher

The bottom six features one line that has shown solid chemistry this season, and one full of players who haven’t managed to carve out a role on the team.

Full marks to Jake Evans, Brendan Gallagher, and yes, Josh Anderson. They’re working hard to help the team win, and though there’s limited talent at play, they provide an honest effort every night, which is important for a team that has a tendency to fade down the stretch.

As for Alex Newhook, Christian Dvorak, and Joel Armia, they’ll have to prove they can help the team win in some manner if they’re to be included in the plans moving forwards. During 5v5 play, Newhook has one goal, Armia has two assists, while Dvorak has been held off the scoresheet all season long. That’s almost 11 million dollars, or nearly 13 percent of the salary cap spent on three players who get outshot, outchanced, and outscored on a regular basis.

As much as the changes to the top six were warranted, as long as the Canadiens feature one line that is a black hole of both possession and salary cap expenditures, the team will continue to struggle when it comes to controlling the most important aspects of most games.

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