The Montreal Canadiens were dead last in the entire National Hockey League in November. With a win over the Detroit Red Wings at the Bell Centre Tuesday night, they would have a 96-per cent chance of making the playoffs.
However, for the Red Wings, this contest was their season. Montreal’s task was to match their desperation. For two periods, they did not. In the third, three went unanswered for Montreal to win 4-1.
Wilde Horses
For the first two periods, Samuel Montembeault was the only reason that the contest was close. The shots on goal over the first 40 minutes were 33-12 for Detroit. Montembeault was a massive 1.91 Goals Saved Above Expected for the first two periods. The game should have not been close.
After Montembeault kept Montreal in it, the Canadiens tied it late in the second period thanks to the finishing ability of Cole Caufield. He fought hard for space in the slot to slide home his 37th goal of the season. It’s the second best goal total this century for Montreal, behind only Max Pacioretty’s 39 goals in 2014.
In the third period, Lane Hutson had a shift that perhaps only Lane Hutson can have in this league at the moment. He had three Red Wings doing 360s trying to figure out where he was going to go next. The 20 seconds with the puck on a string ended with a pass to Josh Anderson wide open to give Montreal the lead. He’s a special player.
The Canadiens took the lead on a fortunate moment. Albert Johansson lost his helmet and was attempting to pick it up, which left Josh Anderson all alone in front. Uncontested, he tapped home a pass from Christian Dvorak.
Montreal defended staunchly after that, protecting Montembeault much better in the third. Kaiden Guhle had a monster game laying out hits, blocking shots, and making strong decisions.
The Canadiens wrapped it up with two empty-net goals. Brendan Gallagher and Nick Suzuki both potted late markers.
Wilde Goats
The season was on the line for the Red Wings. The Canadiens have the playoff spot that they want. They knew that a loss was essentially the end of their season. They played with that desperation on their minds.
Montreal did not match it. Montembeault is the reason that this segment is empty. He stole the game. His goals saved above expected was 2.91. Montembeault was a game-changer. The win might be a playoff clincher. A different hero every night for the Canadiens.
Wilde Cards
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It’s an April shocker from the Canadiens. The best prospect not in the NHL today is no longer Ivan Demidov. He is now in the NHL as a member of the Canadiens after signing a three-year entry-level contract that begins immediately. Demidov is on his way to Montreal.
Demidov just concluded the greatest draft-plus-one season in the history of the KHL with SKA Saint Petersburg with 19 goals and 30 assists in 65 games. He eclipsed the mark set by Matvei Michkov the year before. Demidov was taken fifth overall in the draft last year in what is being described as a huge steal. Scouts say that he will be a star, if not a superstar.
SKA could have kept Demidov until May 31st when his contract expired, but owner Roman Rotenberg wanted him to have an opportunity to play in the NHL as soon as this year.
GM Kent Hughes and Rotenberg agreed to a concession that if Demidov does not make the NHL next season, he will return to Russia. He will not head to the Laval Rocket for development next year.
This is an easy concession for Hughes, as no one expects that Demidov will struggle so mightily that he does not make the Canadiens out of camp. All things are possible, though, so this is a smart move by Rotenberg to negotiate this caveat.
For the Canadiens, they get help right away on their roster. Expect Demidov to get some practices in, then slot beside Patrik Laine and Alex Newhook on the club’s second line. The second line has been a minefield all season long. That has a chance to now change.
When everyone is healthy, this would move Emil Heineman back to the fourth line, Oliver Kapanen to the press box, and Michael Pezzetta and Joshua Roy to Laval.
The Demidov news certainly moved the Tyler Thorpe news to the back burner.
After Thorpe had a surprisingly strong training camp for a fifth round draft pick, the Canadiens management team was attentive to whether he could follow that up with a strong season in the Western Hockey League. He did.
It’s early to suggest that Thorpe is a steal at this point, but the results are good so far, so Hughes is pursuing it at the next level to see if Thorpe can keep progressing.
Thorpe put up strong numbers at Vancouver with the Giants with 27 goals and 25 assists in 68 games. He also has a big-bodied profile that often succeeds at the NHL level even more than a junior level. The NHL game becomes more about puck battles, and strong work in tight spaces. Thorpe excels in this area. He is 6-foot-5, 210 lbs.
Thorpe signed an entry-level deal with the Canadiens Tuesday morning that kicks in next season. He is reporting to Laval where he will play the rest of this season on an AHL professional tryout. It’s an outstanding opportunity for Thorpe, and one that likely wasn’t in the cards this quickly, if he didn’t have such a great camp looking not out of place against professionals.
Thorpe is only 19 years of age, so this is a fairly significant step already, and there is a chance that he is overmatched at the American Hockey League level this early in his development.
Credit to the Canadiens, though, as they continue to find diamonds late in the draft. It’s highly unlikely that a fifth rounder makes the league usually. There is often only a single player to have a career in the league each draft from the fifth round. The hit rate is only five percent from that round.
David Reinbacher was back on the ice after taking off two weeks for his knee. No details at all from the Canadiens what the knee is suffering from, or if it is suffering at all. It could just be an abundance of caution, or it could be a setback. No word yet when he will play next for the Laval Rocket.
Also noteworthy is Jacob Fowler will practice for the first time with the Rocket Wednesday after signing his entry-level deal last week. Cayden Primeau has been stellar in net since being demoted, so an interesting battle is shaping up in net as the Rocket try to capture first place in the entire league down the stretch, then go on a long playoff run.
It says a lot about the rebuild that the parent team is close to making the playoffs while the minor-league team is the best in all of hockey. Now the goal is to parlay all this organizational depth into a second-line centre.
Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sports writer, brings you Call of the Wilde on globalnews.ca after each Canadiens game.
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