Call of the Wilde: Laine scores in debut as Canadiens beat Islanders in OT – Montreal | Globalnews.ca

The last chance for the Montreal Canadiens to go on a run to save the season. If they can’t put something together during a five-game home stand, they are not likely to rise up the standings this year.

The New York Islanders visited the Bell Centre with Montreal needing a result. They got it when Nick Suzuki scored on his own rebound in overtime 2-1.

Wilde Horses 

The contest marked the return of Patrik Laine to hockey for the first time in 355 days, and the debut for him as a Canadiens forward in game 25 of the season. By the end of the first period, Laine’s presence gave a hint to what a proper top-six looks like for the first time in ages in Montreal.

Laine changed the second line from getting completely overwhelmed on a nightly basis to competitive. Laine immediately made Juraj Slafkovsky look like a much better player.

A great top-six is not necessarily six great hockey players, but two sets of three who when they play together compete at the highest level. The second line’s ability to compete was lifted by a massive margin with Laine alongside Kirby Dach and Slafkovsky.

Laine’s booming shot was immediately also a tool for the power play. Not because he immediately got it away effectively, but that the penalty killers knew they had to contend with two marksmen. Immediately, Cole Caufield had more space as the PK couldn’t just key on him for shots.

That also gave Lane Hutson, who finally got the reigns on the first power play unit, two options to outlet, if he saw Caufield or Laine could shoot. Hutson could also find Nick Suzuki moving into space, or just fire it on goal where Slafkovsky was being a big body.

The power play for the first time in ages had all the elements required to be outstanding. In the first period, the five had great zone time and ample opportunity to score. In the second period, the power play connected.

You couldn’t script it better as Laine ripped a shot into the top corner. The Bell Centre leapt to its feet. The Canadiens bench leapt too. Laine punched the air in jubilation. Talent changes outcomes.

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Laine also lifted the first line of the Canadiens. Hard for many to understand how Laine could possibly help a line he is not on, but that’s how it works. If the second line is good, the first line isn’t keyed on so much. Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki will enjoy not always seeing the other club’s best defenders every game.

On the down side, it’s easy to see that the top-six isn’t quite there yet. It felt like Dach wasn’t quite at the same level as Laine and Slafkovsky on the second line, and Alex Newhook wasn’t quite in the same talent realm as Caufield and Suzuki.

This is why a top-six is all six working together. This is why Ivan Demidov was an absolutely vital pick for the Canadiens last summer. ESPN called him the best prospect not in the NHL. Demidov replacing Newhook after Demidov gets NHL-acclimated would be a huge piece, and make the Canadiens a significantly better team.

That leaves the centre on line two. Dach remains the top option. He was drafted third, and he still has not played three complete seasons in the NHL because of injuries. Michael Hage may be an option eventually. Other options include the 2025 top draft pick likely to be in the top-ten, a signing of a free agent, or a trade of prospects the Canadiens have for an established centre.

It was one game only, but it gave us a teasing image of what a top-six looks and feels like. It feels like eventual success. One strong player can sure make it all look quite different.

On to the third line where it has to be mentioned that Josh Anderson is playing some of the best hockey that he has played in Montreal. His first period work, throwing off a check and then feeding Kaiden Guhle for the best chance of the first period, was outstanding.

Two seasons ago, Canadiens Head Coach Martin St. Louis said to Anderson and Brendan Gallagher that they had the ability to rewrite their careers by changing the way they play the game. He helped them with those changes. Both are among the best forwards on the team this season.

Wilde Goats 

While three lines looked good offensively, defensively there were so many moments that the club doesn’t have enough organization in their defensive zone. There are often so many attackers who don’t seem to have a man on them.

Also, the club doesn’t have enough respect for the blue line. They don’t work hard enough to clear it, but sometimes stickhandle fancifully instead. The result is they have to defend on far too many occasions for far too long.

On one shift, Newhook had two chances to clear the puck, but just didn’t respect the importance of it enough. He failed on his non-committed attempts and 40 more seconds of defending resulted. That’s often bad math over 60 minutes.

The tying goal Dach had a chance to clear and simply did not enough respect for the importance of that attempt.

Overall, though, in this contest, Samuel Montembeault beat the math stopping 30 of 31 shots to key the win.

Wilde Cards

The Four Nations tournament is a welcome event this February instead of the All-Star Game. The contests will be played in Boston and Montreal. The four nations are Canada, United States, Finland, and Sweden. It’s a round-robin event with the top-two clubs playing a one game final.

The Canadiens are in 31st place in the league, so there isn’t high expectation that there will be many who make the team. All four clubs will make their selections known on Wednesday.

The most likely Canadiens player in the tournament will be Cole Caufield. He is second in goals in the entire National Hockey League, so an omission would seem unfair, but because of his size, he may be passed over. There is rumour that he did not make the club.

There is also a rumour floating that Sam Montembeault was selected by Team Canada. Our nation is not strong in goal unlike the days of Carey Price, Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy. Montembeault has to beat out Stuart Skinner, Jordan Binnington, and Adin Hill. That isn’t exactly a who’s who in Canadian history.

Nick Suzuki also has a chance to make it for Canada. He is scoring at a point-per-game pace and is known for solid two-way play at centre. Centre is usually a position that depth is needed. His competition is so strong though with Canada’s best position at forward.

The Canadiens have an outside shot as well that two players from Finland may be chosen for the squad. Joel Armia would make it for his defensive play, while Laine would make it for offence. The issue for Armia this isn’t the type of event looking for defence. The issue for Laine is he has played one game in 355 days, and that was on Tuesday night.

That makes five different Canadiens players with a shot, but it is expected that only Montembeault will get an invite.

Finland and Sweden will announce their rosters at 2 p. m. Wednesday. The United States and Canada at 6:30 p. m.