After losing to the New York Rangers, the Habs bounced back with wins against the Sabres and the Flames. Dobeš had the net for both games following Montbembeault's tough outing vs the Rangers. Here are my takeaways from the last two wins.
Dobeš
He's playing really well and is rewarding St-Louis for entrusting him with two straight starts. Like I mentioned before, I love how he moves in his net, and his play exuded confidence. Montembeault is getting the net tonight, but I'd really like the Habs to move to a tandem goalie structure going forward.
Demidov
Wow, he has two primary assists in the last two games, and they were beauties. The one last night vs the Flames he showed his patience and outstanding vision when he linked up with Matheson for the game winning goal. A really exciting player to watch.
Suzuki
I love his game. He's truly blossomed into a complete two way player and leads the team with 11 points, 10 of them assists. Team Canada is no doubt watching following his snub at Fourt Nations. He's become a true leader and fantastic captain.
Lane Hutson
He started the year a little jittery, but he's found his game, and man it looks good. He's skating well and protecting the puck tremendously. With 6 points in 8 games, he seems to be back on track to his pace from last year.
Injuries and Callups
With Dach and Laine out with injury, St-Louis gave the chance for Beck, Veleno and Roy to get some game action. Beck played two games before being sent down and I did not think he played poorly but he did not stand out either. I would have liked to see more from Beck but Roy does deserve a chance to show what he can do.
Roy only played 8 minutes vs the Flames which is not really enough to rate a performance but again I did not find it good or bad. He would need more ice time to give a good evaluation but with so much high end offensive talent on the team, it's tough to find minutes for him.
Veleno on the other hand has played good reliable hockey and appears to have gained St-Louis's trust the most out of the three. He just seems more confident as Veleno is more accustomed to the style and speed of the NHL, having played in 309 NHL games.
Guhle
The Habs can't seem to catch a break as Guhle has a lower body injury and will be out 4-6 weeks. It's really unfortunate as he really seemed to be coming into his own to begin the year. This is a little concerning as Guhle has been injured often so far in his young career and I'm hoping it's not going to be a trend.
The Habs are back in action tonight vs the Oilers. I hope Monty can have a good bounce back performance and quiet some of the noise!