Achi news desk-
The Florida Panthers moved into the Bell Center with an almost must-win scenario in front of them. They want to grab first in the Atlantic Division, but trail the Boston Bruins by two points. They needed to beat the Montreal Canadiens.
However, the Canadiens are no longer playing as a bottom five team. They continued their solid run by dominating the Panthers 5-3.
Wild Horses
Secondary scoring has been the Canadiens’ Achilles heel this season. However, two players have shone. Joel Armia has had his best regular season for the Canadiens since he joined the club. In the first period, it was Armia who stood in front of the net to tap in a rebound.
That’s 14 goals on the season for Aremia who started the season in Laval. It is a credit to Aremia and Martin St. Louis that this season has gone so well for the Finn. It would have been so easy to react badly to the downturn, hang the head down low, and sleepwalk through the season. Armia worked hard instead. St. Louis found a way to motivate him – to find that core pride that every player has in them.
The other player who has saved results from the first line is Alex Newhook. He has also shown excellent determination from his own fight, with Newhook suffering a serious injury that ruled him out for 33 games. Newhook was the catalyst for the Canadiens’ first goal as he won the zone, and dragged two players with him leading to an Armia rebound.
Newhook hasn’t been a favorite so far, which is unusual. Most of the time when a player has great skating speed, it excites the fans, but the faithful have been very cautious. Newhook will be a strong player for the Canadiens for many years. He has just started.
On the first line, as usual, Nick Suzuki shone brightly. In the second period, Suzuki pounced on an errant pass and slotted home 15 feet for his 31st goal of the season. Moments later, it was Suzuki in front of the net on the power play, as he challenged Mike Matheson’s shot.
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It’s not a breakout season for Suzuki, but it’s as close as one can get without using the word. His career best was 66 points. He is now 71. He won’t reach the point-per-game total, but maybe he could hit 80. That’s an outstanding total on a one-line hockey team.
In the third period, the top line connected again. Juraj Slafkovsky started with a deft two-foot pass at the blue line to free up Cole Caufield. He quickly went around the net after beating the defender wide, then wrapped it around for the count. It’s been a tough year for Caufield, but 21 isn’t a terrible year. It is simply not what he expects, nor what he can achieve.
Wilde goats
The Canadiens refuse to go quiet at the end of the season. Their strength of schedule in the last quarter of the campaign was the toughest in the entire league, but they have not lost a single game to .500.
Montreal took on one of the best teams in the league on Tuesday night and demolished them. The club has holes, but there are also reasons to be optimistic. They refuse to be a pushover.
No goats when you handle the Florida Panthers.
Wilde cards
The reason why the Canadiens are languishing near the bottom of the standings can be summed up in one concept – secondary scoring. No team in the entire NHL has fewer goals from lines two, three and four. Montreal holds its own on the first line, and on defense in goals. However, in secondary scoring, even the San Jose Sharks have more goals.
The main target next season is to change that scenario. Montreal has 22 one-goal losses this season. They have eight more games in which they have allowed an empty net goal. That’s 30 games they were close, but couldn’t get another goal to gain another point in the standings.
The arrival of a much improved second line seems certain next season with the expectation that Kirby Dach will be alongside Alex Newhook and Joshua Roy. Dach only played one full game this year. Newhook was injured for almost half the season. Roy will be strong with some roster stability next year.
The next challenge will be a much better third and fourth line in scoring. This season, only Joel Armia provided anything from the back of the roster. Josh Anderson must recover from a difficult season. A healthy Christian Dvorak would also help.
However, new blood is needed, and fast. The best hope for more goals from Owen Beck. He has been an absolute creature of a player since being traded to the Saginaw Spirit from a low talent team in Peterborough. Beck finished the year in Saginaw with 51 points in 32 games – an outstanding pace.
He has also shined in the playoffs as Saginaw jumped out to a three-to-none lead in games against Owen Sound. Beck has six points in the first three games. He also wins playoff games, and is a savvy two-way center. Not many juniors graduate with a good idea of ​​how to play well on both ends.
Beck will fight for a spot in the next training camp. He may not win that spot right away with Dvorak and Jake Evans also still under contract, but eventually Beck will need to be that type of third line center who can shut down the other team’s best and do a little of insult too.
That’s the start of a better hockey team. The goal is 285 goals. The Canadiens, once again, are going to finish with about 232. That’s simply not good enough.
The first line came of age in 2024. The prediction is that the second line will come of age in 2025. The third and fourth lines, finally, follow suit in 2026 with the arrival of a capable Beck, and some of the first four lines – round draft picks Montreal has in the next two drafts.
It’s a process. Sometimes it must seem like a slow process to fans, but the process continues, and in an effective and systematic way. General Manager Kent Hughes knows what he’s doing. When the time is right, looking for goals, he will also add free agent signings, and trade a surplus of defenders for more scoring.
Patience. This was a good season of development. It continues.
Brian Wilde, a Montreal sports writer, brings you Call of the Wilde on globalnews.ca after every Canadiens game.
