Call of the Wilde: Montreal Canadiens’ playoff hopes take hit with shutout loss to New Jersey Devils

The accepted Super Bowl play of day games for the Montreal Canadiens this twelvemonth is simply a make-or-break weekend. If the Canadiens driblet 2 games to the New Jersey Devils and Tampa Bay Lightning, that would apt awesome the extremity of a realistic playoff push.

This means the play games volition besides acceptable the people for the trading deadline, with the adjacent 13 days void of hockey arsenic the 4 Nations Face-Off takes implicit the NHL schedule.

The Canadiens players needed to amusement they wanted to enactment successful Montreal, making wide manager Kent Hughes’ conflict program hard to judge. However, it’s becoming wide that the escaped agents volition beryllium traded. The Canadiens are nary longer successful the premix aft a 4-0 nonaccomplishment to the Devils connected Saturday.

Wilde Horses

Head manager Martin St. Louis broke up the 2nd enactment this week, leaving Patrik Laine connected the 4th line. Laine whitethorn beryllium struggling for fitness, oregon helium whitethorn conscionable not beryllium a bully five-on-five player. However, fto him basal connected the near side, connected the powerfulness play, and ticker the bullets. At adjacent strength, though, a alteration had to beryllium made.

Josh Anderson was the enactment to instrumentality implicit the second-line helping spot, and, truthful far, the aboriginal returns are excellent. The enactment is playing a batch much successful the violative portion arsenic the superior important change.

Anderson is simply a earthy astatine being the archetypal forechecker connected a dump-in. He does that well. He goes successful with large velocity and helium throws his assemblage astir erstwhile helium arrives. The enactment had nary puck retrieval with Laine connected it.

Anderson besides opens up abstraction for Kirby Dach, who looks amended arsenic a centre erstwhile helium gets a accidental to pb rushes, alternatively of handling his assignments successful beforehand of his ain goal.

Anderson had a breakaway successful the 2nd period. He tried a deke and it conscionable rolled disconnected his stick. In the 3rd period, Anderson made a tremendous resistance determination astir a defender and astir counted from successful close.

Anderson connected the 2nd enactment should continue. The goals expected stock passed the oculus test. The 2nd enactment had a 92 per cent share. That was tops connected the team.

On defence, the caput coach, possibly, gave america a glimpse of the aboriginal with his prime of pairings. Logan Mailloux had Lane Hutson arsenic a partner. It doesn’t look similar a bully choice, with some players having much of an violative profile. It feels similar a duo that would person occupation connected defence.

However, they were beardown unneurotic — successful fact, the strongest pairing connected the team. The goals expected stock arsenic a duo was 74 per cent. This is simply a tremendous number, and if Mailloux tin prolong that success, his grooming successful the minors whitethorn not beryllium destined to proceed arsenic agelong arsenic galore are suggesting.

It was a frustrating ticker connected Saturday, but, nether the surface, determination were immoderate beardown positives to note.

Wilde Goats

Two weeks ago, it appeared that the Canadiens were hitting the wall. They had been the champion squad successful hockey for a month, but the monolithic question docket was intelligibly taking its toll.

It was suggested they needed to someway decorativeness with 4 oregon 5 wins successful their last nine, and that would beryllium outstanding earlier the 4 Nations break, erstwhile they could re-energize.

They didn’t marque it to the break. They fell isolated instead, and arsenic a result, it appears a playoff spot is simply a span excessively far. There is lone 1 crippled near successful the last 9 earlier the break, and the Canadiens person lone 1 win. They went from tied for the past playoff spot to needing a 19-8 people successful their last 27 games to marque it to 93 points. That’s the pro-rated full to drawback the past playoff spot currently.

The effort was bully connected Saturday. They played well. There are nary criticisms wide for the play of the Canadiens, isolated from conscionable not finishing their chances. Juraj Slafkovsky had an unfastened nett successful the 2nd period, connected the powerfulness play. He couldn’t miss that accidental again if helium tried.

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The enactment continues. The rebuild continues. Excellent players are coming. Draft picks are coming. A batch of wealth is becoming disposable for escaped agents.

Stay the course. Keep teaching the radical however to compete.

Wilde Cards

The Laval Rocket are present successful archetypal spot successful the full American Hockey League. The Rocket bushed the Toronto Marlies 5-2 Friday arsenic goaltender Cayden Primeau enactment yet different triumph connected the board. It was the sixth consecutive triumph for the Rocket.

Primeau present has a .923 prevention percent successful the 10 contests helium has played for Laval. His grounds is simply a singular 10 wins and nary losses. His goals-against mean is 1.96 arsenic manager Pascal Vincent has that nine playing choky and organized hockey.

One of the keys to occurrence is however heavy the lineup is successful Laval. It seems arsenic if it is simply a antithetic subordinate excelling each contest. Sean Farrell struggled mightily successful the archetypal 20 games of the season. Recently, helium has been the club’s champion forward.

Farrell didn’t people until the 24th crippled of the season. He has 5 goals successful his past 2 games. One nighttime it is Jared Davidson surprising, past the adjacent nighttime it is Joshua Roy starring the charge. It tin fundamentally beryllium immoderate of the 12 forwards they crystal who is the difference.

The Rocket volition yet get the services of Mailloux and Owen Beck returning from Montreal. They could marque a superior complaint to the finals, but first, they volition person to get retired of the competitory north. That won’t beryllium casual due to the fact that the Rochester Americans are lone 1 constituent backmost successful the standings arsenic possibly the second-best nine successful the league.

It doesn’t look determination volition beryllium hockey successful May successful Montreal, but get connected the orangish enactment of the metro to bask outstanding amusement successful Laval.

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