The Montreal Canadiens are on pace for a 102-point season, but after back-to back losses on the weekend, it almost felt like it was slipping away.

They needed a result against the Boston Bruins at the Bell Centre, and they got it in thrilling fashion with a 3-2 overtime win.

Wilde Horses 

Cole Caufield has done it. Thirty-two years of the Canadiens not having a 40-goal scorer is finally over. Vincent Damphousse’s run as the last man to do it will be quoted no more. Caufield got number 40 in as dramatic fashion as is possible.

It was the last seconds of overtime. Lane Hutson, Nick Suzuki, and Caufield had been on, it seemed, for the entire five minutes. They gave it one last try before a shootout. Hutson won the zone. He and Suzuki were working the high slot.

At the same time, Caufield slid across the crease and parked behind the coverage. He got lost there, until Suzuki found him. It was a tap-in for number 40.

The Canadiens have a true first line. They score at a clip that rivals any line in the entire league. Suzuki has been reunited with Juraj Slafkovsky and Caufield for seven games. The line has a remarkable 13 goals. For a line, this pace is unheard of.

The number one line in the entire league in any given season will finish with about 120 goals. That’s 40-40-40 for the three members. It’s an easy number to see as remarkable. Since Slafkovsky returned, the line is running a clip of 140 goals.

It’s highly unlikely that they can continue a pace as sparkling as that, but they can, at least, make the 100-goal mark. In the first period, the Canadiens were down one and needed a goal badly, and the three came through yet again.

Caufield and Slafkovsky set up Suzuki for his 24th goal of the season. He made a tremendous move in front of the net on Jeremy Swayman. However, the Canadiens need another line to help out, and recently it’s been a struggle.

They needed the Phillip Danault line to contribute and in the second period, they did. Hutson was the primary architect as he was weaving all around the offensive zone before floating one to the net that Josh Anderson deflected.

There were other strong performances: Jake Evans was around the puck a lot. Alexandre Texier is strong on the puck and doesn’t get enough credit for his all-around play. Anderson did a lot more than just score one of the goals.

None of the good vibes of the night happen without the play of Jakub Dobes. He was sensational. The Goals Saved Above Expected was tremendous with a plus 2.85. The Bruins could have won it easily, if not for his work to keep it close.

Wilde Goats

There are a lot of deep statistics in the NHL. For fans who aren’t into analytics, some of the new numbers must seem like calculus. However, for all who love the game, there are some statistics that have been vital since the beginning of the game.

Two of those old reliables are ‘goals against’ and ‘penalty killing success’. They say more than any Corsi or Fenwick could. They speak simply. They say it all.

As wonderful as the Canadiens are on offence, the defensive numbers say that they have significant issues, and they have had them long enough that they shouldn’t expect different outcomes next season unless changes are made.

The Canadiens are 24th in the league in goals against. The Canadiens are 28th in penalty killing success. Top-calibre teams are always strong in these two categories. Teams that go far in the playoffs are always strong at killing penalties.

Penalty killing is naturally about manpower on the ice, but it’s also about attitude. The Canadiens are passive in their pursuit, and find themselves in a box structure defending far more than is seen around the league. They allow offence too easily.

Improving the penalty kill isn’t about collapsing into a box in practice and letting attacking players pass it around, playing keepaway. Improving the penalty kill is about demanding players change their mindset and attack at every single opportunity.

It’s a mindset, and the Canadiens don’t have it. They don’t pursue the puck. They don’t take away time and space. They hope that they can seize the rebound first.

Defence overall is also talent and mindset. The greatest offensive team of this generation, the Edmonton Oilers, needed one goal in game seven of the Stanley Cup finals to tie it late. In the last five minutes, they didn’t even get a single chance. They couldn’t even get in the zone to establish possession against the Florida Panthers. That’s defence.

On the Bruins’ second goal, Jayden Struble was passive, and then Hutson and Oliver Kapanen took the same man allowing Pavel Zacha to score. Kapanen and Hutson are intelligent defensive players. Why is simple coverage breaking down so often?

The Canadiens need to make changes to their coaching staff next season. Head Coach Martin St. Louis needs help with 24th in goals against and 28th in penalty kill. He can’t be responsible for all aspects of the team.

They can’t run it back like this next season. The same issues will persist.

Wilde Cards

Kirby Dach is the unluckiest or most brittle player in all of sports. He gets back into the lineup after suffering a significant injury, and then nearly immediately suffers another significant injury.

Dach was hit on Sunday night by Jeffrey Viel of the Anaheim Ducks. He fell hard on his left side, and couldn’t hold his stick as he made his way back to the bench. On Tuesday, the Canadiens announced that he is gone for two to four weeks.

That’s a wide-open window for recovery; it’s not usually a timeline with so much doubt. At its worst —and with Dach, assume that — he will be out for the rest of the regular season. However, should the Canadiens make the playoffs, Dach will be available for that.

Dach already missed 31 games this season with a broken foot. It’s a shame again for Dach as the moment he starts to get his rhythm back, he gets injured.

Dach’s injury ends the controversy centred around Brendan Gallagher’s inclusion in the lineup over Alexandre Texier. Texier draws in with Zachary Bolduc and Jake Evans while Gallagher assumes his regular spot with Phillip Danault and Josh Anderson.

One of the strengths of the Canadiens this season has been their depth. They would really need the injury bug to strike to feel undermanned as they still have Joe Veleno and Patrik Laine under-worked in Montreal, and a very capable Samuel Blais is in Laval.

—

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