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In Hainsight: Laval to the Rescue

January 27, 2023, 5:34 PM ET [212 Comments]
Karine Hains
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Follow me @KarineHains for all updates about the Montreal Canadiens and women's hockey

Blue just isn’t the Canadiens’ color it seems, once again, Martin St-Louis’ men were unable to collect the W when wearing their retro reverse jersey, losing 4-3 to the Wings in overtime. The Canadiens now have a 1-9-2 record when wearing retro reverse jersey, even for one who doesn’t believe in curses, this is starting to look pretty bad. The Habs now have 2 games remaining in powder blue, January 31st against Ottawa and February 11th against the Islanders, and chances are, the players won’t be disappointed to put them away.



Unlike most of their games in blue though, the Canadiens weren’t destroyed by the Wings last night, they put on a strong fight and kept this interesting until the very end. Detroit might have dominated in the shots column, testing Jake Allen 42 times but they still needed extra-time to come out on top. In his return to action, the veteran netminder did well with 38 stops and a .905 save percentage.

With Cole Caufield out of commission and Nick Suzuki struggling mightily to find the back of the net these days, all 3 of the Canadiens’ goals came from members of the “Laval line”. Michael Pezzetta, Alex Belzile and Rafael Harvey-Pinard all stepped up, with the latter being deservedly named the first start of the game, thanks to a pair of goals and an assist. These weren’t ugly goals either, both were snipes in the top corners of the net, one of which came while the Habs were shorthanded. Harvey-Pinard really is grabbing this opportunity with both hands. He’s got good speed, good hands, sacrifices for the team (blocked 3 shots and landed 4 hits) and his work ethic is exemplary, RHP really does remind me of a young Brendan Gallagher.



The other goal came from Michael Pezzetta who has often been criticized by fans this year, they called him useless and unworthy of playing on the NHL, but lo and behold, when he is playing with linemates who are happy to be there and not has been pouting because they are on the 4th line, Pezzetta can shine. Turns out that you’ll get more secondary scoring by icing a 4th line made up of hard-working players than you will by trying to showcase overpaid underachievers.
I know, Martin St-Louis and Kent Hughes are stuck with certain players, Mike Hoffman was inherited from the previous regime and Dadonov was the price to pay to get rid of Shea Weber’s contract and it makes sense to showcase them in the hope that someone will bite. If it’s not the case by trade deadline though, the focus should shift solely on development, and they should be cast aside so that players who matter can show what they are made of.

Meanwhile, Kirby Dach carried on his strong play, he got the primary assist on Harvey-Pinard’s shorthanded goal, played over 22 minutes and even dropped the gloves. It’s impossible to deny how much he’s improved since the start of the season, he’s more involved in every facet of the game and looks more confident by the minute. He’s slowly but surely coming up the team’s points ranking, his 32 points putting him 3rd behind Caufiled at 36 (who he’ll soon overtake) and Suzuki at 38.



The Canadiens lost more than the game last night though, Joel Edmundson left the game early in the 1st and it’s been confirmed that he’s now day-to-day with an upper body injury. Christian Dvorak also momentarily left the game, but eventually returned. He is amongst those not taking part in practice this morning though, getting some treatments just like Nick Suzuki and Kirby Dach. It’s also worth noting that Sean Monahan is once again absent after practicing non-contact earlier this week, it’s the second practice in a row he misses, and the Canadiens have yet to give an update on his status.

This morning, Cole Caufield spoke to the media about his shoulder injury and said that he separated his shoulder against Dallas before Christmas and then again against Nashville, popping it back twice. After consulting with Dr. Peter Millet of the Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colorado, a decision was taken to shut him down for the season. The sniper confirmed that things would have been different had the team been battling for a playoffs spot, but considering the circumstances of both the team and where Caufield is at in his career, this was the right decision. As reported earlier, Caufield is suffering from the same injury that sent Josh Anderson under the knife and he’s been talking about it with him and with Zach Werenski who were both operated on by Dr. Millet. The operation will take place on Wednesday and in the meantime, the Habs are doing a good job of protecting Caufield from himself, both his skates and sticks have been taken away from the locker-room.

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