Call of the Wilde: Caufield shines as Canadiens fall to Islanders in shootout

After 1 of the worst performances successful Martin St. Louis’ tenure connected Thursday nighttime against the Los Angeles Kings, the Montreal Canadiens looked to retrieve from that embarrassment connected Saturday against the New York Islanders.

Montreal has the worst analytics successful each of the NHL by a sizeable margin. They needed to tighten up, and they did forcing overtime. The Islanders won it successful a shootout that took 9 rounds to determine a winner. Oliver Kapanen and an implicit snipe by Emil Heineman were the extremity scorers successful the shootout for Montreal.

Despite the loss, a respectable crippled for the Canadiens overall. It’s a commencement aft the brutal contests that preceded it.

Wilde Horses

It was uplifting who deed the scoresheet for Montreal successful this one. Logan Mailloux scored his archetypal extremity successful the NHL. It was a beauty. Jake Evans saw Mailloux coming successful from the point. From the corner, Evans enactment a cleanable walk connected to Mailloux’s stick.

Mailloux ripped a drawback changeable into the acold country to necktie the contention astatine two. It was Mailloux’s archetypal crippled of the season. He was partnered with Lane Hutson astir of the night. It was a look astatine the aboriginal arsenic Mailloux looked comfy during the contest.

There was a astir antithetic displacement wherever the Christian Dvorak enactment was caught connected the crystal with the Mailloux-Hutson concern for 4 minutes wrong Montreal’s zone. Oliver Kapanen mislaid his stick, and things tin spell atrocious erstwhile that happens.

Through it all, the stamina that the defenders showed was remarkable. Though the Isles did lucifer a abbreviated way velocity skating squad doing circles astir the perimeter and really created nothing, 4 minutes is inactive a heck of a situation to beryllium connected the ice.

It was lone seconds aft the displacement was implicit that the brace could beryllium seen having a chuckle. Desperately searching for oxygen would person made much sense. They weren’t struggling for aerial astatine all. Mailloux volition person an NHL career. He has the goods. He is already dependable capable defensively, and volition get much comfy successful time.

The opening extremity was classical Cole Caufield. He took 1 changeable that was saved, past had a astir intolerable space astatine the broadside of the nett for the rebound. He really recovered the twine connected the acold broadside from conscionable successful beforehand of the extremity line. Not galore shooters tin thread that angle.

The tying extremity for the Canadiens with lone 2 minutes near was besides a Caufield special. He took the walk from Slafkovsky, past turned and fired from astir 30 feet. There was thing peculiar astir it, but to accidental extremity scorers cognize however to people goals. They consciousness erstwhile a changeable astatine an antithetic clip mightiness conscionable astonishment a goalie. That’s what happened to unit overtime.

Caufield has six goals connected the play successful six games. Caufield is trying to go the archetypal 40-goal scorer connected Montreal since Vincent Damphousse successful 1994. He is disconnected to an fantabulous start. Imagine if the enactment plays amended than they person what Caufield could do.

The league person successful goals this play is Nikita Kucherov who has seven.

Wilde Goats 

One of the astir concerning aspects of the nine this season, if not the astir concerning, is the play of the archetypal line. If determination was 1 fixed this season, it was thought it was the archetypal line. Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovsky could beryllium relied connected to play bully hockey. It felt arsenic if it was known that they would people goals, support well, and beryllium the instauration for the rebuild.

Last year, erstwhile they were brought unneurotic adjacent to the halfway people of the season, for galore weeks, they were a top-10 enactment successful the league successful changeable share. They played a batch of hockey successful the violative portion and had a 60 share. It was looking similar the Canadiens had a existent fig 1 line.

In the last 41 games of the season, the enactment had 53 goals. Pro-rated that is 106 goals and would person enactment the enactment successful the top-six successful the full league. Their changeable stock fell a spot past season, but they weren’t getting caved astatine all. Everyone believed that fig 1 enactment was successful the back, truthful clip to enactment connected the fig two.

This season, 5-on-5, the Suzuki enactment is getting demolished. Certainly, they bash look the different club’s champion players, but that didn’t look to substance past year. This season, the enactment has a Goals Expected stock of lone 38 per cent. They’re 1 of the worst lines successful the league successful this captious stat.

Too overmuch hockey is being played successful their ain zone, and they simply indispensable fig retired what has gone incorrect since the opening 2 months that they were unneurotic past year.

It’s each adding up to losses due to the fact that of excessively galore goals against. It’s a young hockey team. There is overmuch to teach, and it needs to start. They bash not look similar a structured club. Montreal is the worst Goals Expected nine successful the league by a wide margin. They are overmuch excessively talented for this.

The Canadiens Goals Expected stock is 38 per cent. At 31st successful the league is the Philadelphia Flyers astatine 42 per cent. The Carolina Hurricanes pb the league with a 67 per cent Goals Expected share.

The Canadiens tin trust connected Samuel Montembeault to bargain lone truthful galore games. Eventually, they person to beryllium the amended squad spending much of the crippled successful the attacking zone.

Wilde Cards 

Something feels close successful Laval. It’s been years since the Rocket played up to their expectations. It’s felt for a agelong clip similar the prospects were talented capable to beryllium 1 of the precocious echelon teams, but they’ve languished each play warring to gain a playoff spot.

Enter Pascal Vincent arsenic the caller caput coach, and it is paying dividends immediately. It is not conscionable that the Rocket person 3 wins successful their archetypal 4 games, it is however they are going astir it. Game 4 connected Saturday day astatine Place Bell, the Syracuse Crunch managed lone 23 shots arsenic the Rocket won 1-0 with Connor Hughes getting the shutout. Owen Beck scored the lone goal.

The Crunch were looking for a extremity for the last 2 periods to equalize. Often that leads to lopsided crystal due to the fact that of quality nature, but Laval was truthful solid, they allowed small successful their ain zone. Watching the Rocket Saturday, the champion connection to picture them was organized. They played with structure.

Vincent has been coaching since 1995. He has had stints arsenic an adjunct successful Winnipeg and arsenic a caput manager for the Columbus Blue Jackets. He has besides coached Team Canada astatine the World under-18s. The antheral knows coaching and you tin spot however cleanly helium has the Rocket playing.

He besides a sizeable magnitude of endowment successful his line-up, but truthful did different Laval clubs who underachieved. At the apical of the scoring database is Filip Mesar. He has not excelled successful North America yet aft looking truthful comfy earlier successful a pro league successful Europe.

Mesar asissted connected the crippled victor connected Saturday for his 5th constituent successful 4 games. Logan Mailloux is 2nd successful points with 4 successful lone 2 games played. Alex Barré-Boulet besides has 4 points successful 2 games. Joshua Roy has 3 points successful 3 games. Adam Engstrom besides looks beardown truthful far.

What a masterful signing by GM Kent Hughes to get Barré-Boulet. He was signed to a one-way woody meaning helium gets NHL wealth successful the AHL. That’s masterful due to the fact that Hughes knew helium had to nonstop the seasoned done the waiver wire. No 1 was going to prime him up knowing that they had to wage NHL wealth to play successful the minors.

Hughes knew that this Quebec calved subordinate would ignite the instrumentality basal successful Laval. Hughes besides knew the winger has been a massively palmy subordinate astatine the AHL level. Barré-Boulet has been fundamentally a point-per-game subordinate successful the American Hockey League since 2019, including successful 2023 wherever helium had 69 points successful 58 games. Extremely savvy determination from Hughes.

It’s early, but this feels similar it’s going to beryllium a amended play for Laval. They’re tied for archetypal truthful far. The lone trouble could beryllium if the roster gets raided due to the fact that of injuries successful Montreal. Nothing tin beryllium done astir that. Let’s anticipation it doesn’t hap yet again.

Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sports writer, brings you Call of the Wilde on globalnews.ca aft each Canadiens game.