The Montreal Canadiens had what was billed as a battle for first place against the Detroit Red Wings in January. The Canadiens were dominated at the Bell Centre, losing 4-0.

Since then, both clubs have settled lower in the standings, yet both are still having outstanding seasons.

The Canadiens looked for revenge in Detroit, but they allowed a late goal to fall again to the Red Wings 3-1.

Wilde Horses 

It’s time that ‘load management’ comes to the National Hockey League. It’s a concept almost overused in the NBA, but in the NHL there is a reluctance to allow a player rest.

This makes no sense. Hockey may be the most gruelling sport of all: an 82-game schedule with physical punishment doled out on a regular basis.

There’s no shame in Brendan Gallagher needing a rest. He’s an aging player. The way to get the most out of Gallagher in the playoffs is to rest him right now for Alexandre Texier or Joe Veleno.

Recently, we have seen both Veleno and Texier back in the lineup and immediately improving the Canadiens. Texier and Veleno may not be better than Gallagher and Josh Anderson, but when the aging vets are tired or injured, the younger players are better options.

Veleno played his first game in 42 days in Detroit and he brought tremendous energy. Veleno is an excellent penalty killer. He is active. He has determination. He commits his entire body in an attempt to block shots. Veleno brought hunger to the contest.

The line with Veleno on it was sensational. With Phillip Danault and Gallagher joining Veleno, the line had 10 shots for and zero against on the night for a 100 per cent Corsi. Remarkable.

Texier brought the same intensity when he got back into the lineup. Texier remains strong. Though the goals haven’t come, he brings strong 200-foot play. Load management if the Canadiens were bringing in terrible players from the press box would be a terrible idea, but there are high-quality players waiting to play.

It was another defensive contest between these two clubs. Juraj Slafkovsky finally broke the deadlock of zeroes late in the second period with a power play marker. It was another goal for the big three as Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki provided the helpers.

Slafkovsky has 25 goals this season, and the line has 14 goals in eight games since being reunited.

Wilde Goats

The Canadiens are not getting enough from their second line. A second line is responsible for goal scoring, but since it became Alex Newhook, Ivan Demidov and Oliver Kapanen eight games ago, the line has only three goals.

What’s worse than that goal total is that they are spending far too much time in their own zone. The Corsi share in their eight games together is only 41 per cent. They are getting caved in.

Kapanen is a fine 200-foot player with a good brain for the game, but he is not a player who creates transitions. He is not a puck carrier. When the second line was successful, it was during a time when Slafkovsky was carrying it up ice well and creating fast transitions into the offensive zone.

Newhook and Demidov are wingers. They do not transition well, though they both should be fairly good at it with their puck skills and speed on their skates. The second line is desperate for a player who can transition effectively from defence to offence.

Kapanen may not be a centre, or he is a centre who needs easier match-ups. There is presently too much defending. With Slafkovsky looking so comfortable with Suzuki and Caufield, the organization is in the hunt for a second line centre who can ignite the success of his wingers.

Demidov is simply not getting the puck enough in the offensive zone with Kapanen as his centre. Demidov barely gets five-on-five touches all night, and is forced to wait for a power play to exhibit any offensive skills at all.

A defending Demidov is not a good Demidov. Right now, that’s most of his night: chasing the puck in the defensive zone for 45 seconds. It’s three talented players, but three players who do not mesh well together to get the most out of each other.

It was the second line that was on the ice for the tying goal. The actual goal was a lucky bounce off a forward standing in front of the net, but the shot only came because the line was far too passive in defending. Newhook stood passively in front of Patrick Kane allowing him to get the puck to the net.

The goal itself was unlucky, but hockey is chaos, and luck is created by playing the game in the attacking zone. That’s not a place that the second line is getting to. Every once in a while they have an offensive rush, but they simply don’t ever get a cycle going.

The game was lost with a stunning gaffe from Mike Matheson with only three minutes remaining. Matheson had it in his own zone facing no pressure, but then the puck rolled on him, and then he fell down. Alex Debrincat moved in all alone to count the winner.

Wilde Cards

It’s not expected that both an organization’s prospect club and top club are strong at the same time. Either the prospects have graduated for NHL strength, or they haven’t for AHL strength. The Canadiens have both rolling.

The Laval Rocket became the third team to qualify for the playoffs with a 5-1 win over Wilkes-Barre Scranton Wednesday night. It was an impressive win as the Penguins are one of the top teams in the league, and they were crushed by the Rocket.

Adam Engstrom was back in the lineup after a month-long absence. His presence was felt immediately forming a first pair with David Reinbacher that dominated.

Much like Juraj Slafkovsky branched out, and stopped deferring when taken off a line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, the same thing happened when Reinbacher was forced to be the leader on defence without Engstrom.

Reinbacher has levelled up significantly with almost a point-per-game pace in his last eight with seven points. Reinbacher is also a plus-eight in his last eight. Reinbacher has started to get massive ice time with over 28 minutes in one contest as Head Coach Pascal Vincent has found a new favourite.

The ice time is significant. The reason is that it shows that the player can still mentally perform at a top-level without losing his concentration in decision making. Fatigue physically translates into fatigue mentally. Not many players can handle a massive amount of ice without their play degrading.

This is a significant development for Reinbacher and the Canadiens. It seems like he can handle anything at the AHL level.

Another prospect that’s on fire is Florian Xhekaj. The organization has high hopes that he can find another level to become a fourth line winger with toughness in the NHL. The Canadiens lack players with grit. Making their opponent play hard and punishing minutes is important, especially in the playoffs. Xhekaj has four goals in his last five games.

The only organizational issue for the playoffs is goaltending. With Jacob Fowler in Montreal, the Rocket absolutely must have Kaapo Kahkonen stay healthy and strong. His save percentage is .902, but the new backup, Hunter Jones, is only .844 in three appearances.

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