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After beating the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, the Canadiens had a tall task on their hands last night taking on the league leading Bruins. When it was announced on Saturday morning that Cole Caufield’s season was over, it really felt like the Canadiens were on a highway to hell, but somehow, the team managed to pick itself up and keep fighting.
Martin St-Louis had said that Caufield would be missed, not only because of the goals he scored, but because of the energy he brings and it seems his message was heard loud and clear. Josh Anderson looks like a man who’s been thunderstruck of late, he didn’t score last night but he did in the 3 previous games and he’s everywhere dishing out hits, taking shots and just doing a wonderful job of showcasing everything he can bring to a team.
If Anderson didn’t find the back of the net last night, Kirby Dach did and he did it twice. Since he’s been taken off the top line and entrusted with the role of 2nd center, Dach has shown that he is indeed a natural center. His zone entries are very well controlled and even though he’s not producing at the pace you’d like a 2nd pivot to produce, that will come in time, it’s a long way to the top, but Dach really has the potential. His 10 goals on the season are his personal best so far, just like his 31 points. Sure, faceoffs are not yet his forte, but taking faceoff is a craft you can work on and there’s no doubt he’ll improve. Still, last night, he did win 8 of his 13 duels.
Speaking of face-offs, Nick Suzuki also had a great night at the dot, winning 56.5% of his draws (13 out of 23) including going 8-0 against face-off wizard Patrice Bergeron in the first period. Unfortunately, he lost a crucial one which allowed the Bruins to get the game-winning goal late in the 3rd period, but you can’t win them all against such a big gun.
What really stood out last night though was the fact that Samuel Montembeault is handling his heavy workload like a pro, playing in an 8th game in a row, the netminder shows no signs of slowing down. He managed to stop 25 of the 28 shots he faced, many of which were dangerous. When he was claimed off waivers last season, it was a bit of a shot in the dark, forced by the Canadiens’ precarious position in net in light of the Carey Price news, but the 26-year-old is showing himself to be worthy of the team’s confidence.
Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not saying Samuel Montembeault is the Canadiens’ goaltender of the future, that would be a premature statement, what I am saying though is that right now, he’s just what they need to lose in the right manner. Whether you want the Canadiens to win or if you are on “Team tank”, the fact of the matter is that the Habs are likely to lose more games than they’ll win as the season goes on and Montembeault keeping them in the games is just what the doctor ordered. If the Habs lost games like they did in December, this young team would feel like it’s hearing hells bells every night, instead, with that kind of performance, they are hearing a supportive crowd cheer them on until the very end.
Sure, it would be reassuring to have a bona fide number 1 goalie right now, but this is a rebuild and you don’t have to build from the net out. The Canadiens did that once and ended up with a team who couldn’t score because it relied so much on its goaltender. Now, the Montreal brass shoot to thrill and the fans are appreciative of that fact. In the end, the Canadiens held their own against the powerful Bruins for over 57 minutes before the perfection line won the game and that’s all that matters.
Last night was the Hockey Talks night at the Bell Centre, a night in which the Canadiens’ players wrote supportive messages on their green-taped sticks to encourage conversations around mental health. Those sticks, Jake Allen’s custom-made mask and other items are currently up for auction and the takings will be given to Jeunesse j’écoute (a Canada wide helpline for young people who provides help in both French and English 24 hours a day and 7 days a week). Today is also Bell let’s talk day, a day which aims to raise awareness and start discussions about mental health. Whatever your feelings about Bell are, there should be no beating around the bush, today is a day where you should take the time to look around and check and your loved ones, see how they are doing just like you should every day really, but too often, we forget to do so. Mental health is important, and I’m grateful for that yearly reminder.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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