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At the halfway point of Monday’s game between the Montreal Canadiens and Minnesota Wild, the shots on goal were 11-6. The first half of the contest was a yawner. The second half was competitive fire, with every inch of ice being a hard fight. The Canadiens took the Wild to overtime in their own building. That’s not an easy feat this season.
However, the Habs’ streak of not winning in Minnesota since 2011 continues, with the Wild taking a 4-3 victory in overtime.
Wilde Horses
Quinn Hughes versus Lane Hutson is a game within a game when the Wild and Canadiens meet. Hughes is regarded as one of the best defenders in hockey, while Hutson is regarded as too small to make it to the Olympics for the U.S. national team.
That’s the script for the man who picked the team, Bill Guerin, who was on the catwalk for the contest in St. Paul, Minn. What Guerin saw was, once again, both Hutson and Hughes making him look like a neophyte.
It’s not to say that Hughes isn’t good, but if Guerin watched that contest on Monday night and said Hughes is a better player, then he truly has blinders on. All the scoring moments for Montreal revolved around the talent of the two, who are always compared to each other.
On the first Canadiens goal, Hughes got walked by Brendan Gallagher for a late first-period tally. Gallagher did an inside-out move that left Hughes lunging and 100 per cent beaten. It was amateur hour for Hughes. Gallagher hasn’t beaten a defender that cleanly since before they put all those screws in his hand.
In the second period, Guerin had to watch Hutson make one of his world-class passes to help the Canadiens tie it up. Hutson moved down the left side after beating his check, then he found Ivan Demidov through the traffic on the other side of the ice for an easy one-timer.
Guerin is one of those players who used his big body to win pucks to create a great career for himself. He was the quintessential power forward. The only issue with that type of player is that they think it’s the only way that it gets done on the ice. They can’t see all of the moments when small and creative players can make magic happen.
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Kirby Dach is starting to win a spot on Montreal’s top line, even when Alexandre Texier returns from injury. Dach made a ton of excellent plays around the Minnesota net, and cycled well to keep pressure continuing. Early in the third, Nick Suzuki passed to a streaking Dach in front of the net. He tipped it in for his seventh of the season.
It’s easy to forget that Dach actually has a goal in every third game this campaign. It’s a small sample because he always gets injured, but, if that sample is extrapolated, 27 goals is an excellent season. The size of Dach on that line is starting to become a big plus.
In the net, head coach Martin St. Louis is going with the hot hand as Jakub Dobes got the start again. It was clear that Dobes was fighting the puck a little bit in this one, but he’s an impressive competitor.
When Dobes cried after the loss in New Jersey, there were questions about his mental strength, but he is plenty strong. Dobes allowed a soft goal in the first minute on the first shot against him, but he didn’t let it faze him. Dobes is a battler. He wasn’t feeling it, and he didn’t have a good night, but Dobes didn’t slump his shoulders. He kept attacking every shot he faced.
Wilde Goats
It was another outstanding night for the youngest team in the NHL, playing so well against one of the west’s best clubs. However, there is one moment that must be mentioned that led to the overtime loss.
In the extra five minutes, as a strategy, Phillip Danault is on the ice to win the faceoff. That’s it. He is not there to be the right choice in a speed game that he does not possess. It was an offensive zone faceoff, and Danault lost it. His job is to get to the bench. The Wild circled around three times in the aftermath of the faceoff.
Danault was right beside the bench without any threat to the Canadiens at all. He had many chances to leave the ice for a faster skater more designed for three-on-three hockey, but he refused to take his opportunity. His lack of foot speed caused a penalty. With Danault in the box, the Wild scored.
Frankly, it was selfish. He knows his role as he ages out in the NHL. He refused to accept it. He can’t possibly argue that he didn’t have a chance to get off the ice. He had three chances. The loss is on him.
Wilde Cards
The trading deadline for the Olympics is Wednesday afternoon.
No one knows who the untouchables are on the Canadiens at the trading deadline. There probably aren’t any, because any GM will take a deal if it’s lopsided enough.
However, logically speaking, an untouchable is a prospect who has such an enormous upside that a trade could prove embarrassing if the player reaches the expected ceiling that he has.
With that thinking in mind, the likely untouchables in Montreal are Michael Hage, Alexander Zharovsky and Jacob Fowler. All three have star upside, so to lose them would be to lose a 10-year asset at the top of the lineup. All other prospects, including David Reinbacher, are in the mix.
The popular rumour is Hage for the St. Louis Blues’ Robert Thomas. Thomas would be a great fit for the Canadiens’ roster. However, Hage has cost control for seven years, while Thomas already costs more than $8 million per season in year three of an eight-year deal.
This is a huge consideration in the cap world. Hage is 19 and Thomas is 26. GM Kent Hughes wants this rebuild to be a product of foundational choices that last a decade. There is no dramatic need to push this rebuild forward, which would sacrifice the longer future.
The leadership has never once spoken of a philosophy of buying in heavily for a short time and sacrificing the long term. If they do it now, it would be against the grain they have preached.
They also already acquired Phillip Danault at centre for a nice price. They have a full complement of centres.
The more likely acquisition is a right-shot defender or a first-line winger. They would like the right-side defender for the third pair. They’d like for him to have size, and they don’t expect to pay a king’s ransom for him.
The winger for the first line would have to be the perfect fit. Dach is showing sparks in his game, and Alex Newhook is already skating well on his own in Brossard at the practice facility. Texier has also played well with Cole Caufield and Suzuki. They already have three options, and they likely believe that one of the options will work on the first line.
The bottom line here is look for a big, strong, reliable third-pair right-side defender as the add-on at this or the next trading deadline. Anything more is unexpected. Expect this deadline to be fairly quiet for Montreal. They’re happy with the team, and they’re patient to add to it nicely next year.
Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sports writer, brings you Call of the Wilde on globalnews.ca after each Canadiens game.
