Call of the Wilde: Montreal Canadiens hold off Columbus, take down Blue Jackets 2-1 – Montreal | Globalnews.ca
It’s the home stretch with the Montreal Canadiens on pace for 102-points, but not even close to secure for a playoff spot. The Columbus Blue Jackets came to town showing why they are one of the hottest teams in the league under Rick Bowness.
The Blue Jackets had control for two periods, but the Canadiens found a way to win 2-1.
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A player in a scoring slump has to find some way to stay strong in his game. He has to make a difference, even if he can’t find the back of the net. If he stays 0-0 in his match-ups at the end of the night, or has a positive shot share, a head coach will have a long leash to keep him in the lineup, even without scoring.
Finishing the night at even usually doesn’t excite the player much, though. Emotionally, he doesn’t feel in the game. The solution is to get physical. That has been the impetus for better for Zachary Bolduc the last two weeks.
He has been extremely effective on the forecheck. As F1, he has been crushing defencemen every single dump-in. Not once has he allowed the defender to get his first touch without taking the pain of Bolduc’s big frame. Somehow out of that, confidence grows.
Each game Bolduc was getting better. He has developed chemistry as well with his linemates who have found him reliable. With Jake Evans and Josh Anderson against the Blue Jackets, they were the best line on the night for Montreal.
So when the goal came — the goal that broke a 31-game drought — it wasn’t all that unexpected. Evans made a gorgeous pass through traffic, cross-ice, and Bolduc ripped it home beautifully. Next shift, he was the first forechecker, and he nailed another defender.
Joe Veleno picked up the theme of the moment, laying out a huge hit on the forecheck as well. Sometimes, the way back into a hockey game that’s going poorly is hit first, score later. That’s how the Canadiens solved a riddle that looked unsolvable for two periods.
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Talent wins, but talent doesn’t always have an easy pathway. Sometimes the tide turns in the desire to be more physical, to punish your opponent first, then the goal comes. That’s how the Canadiens turned a game around that they were second best for 40 minutes.
It also helps to have the hottest goalie in the NHL in the last three weeks. Fresh off a Goals Saved Above Expected of 2.41 on Tuesday night, Jakub Dobes gave another stellar performance with a 2.31 GSAE. He’s been a phenomenal goalie. There isn’t another word for it. Simply phenomenal.
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The Canadiens have had difficulty with a strong forecheck this week. They’ve been running around in their zone trying to handle an aggressive cycle, and not being all that successful at it. They’ve relied on goaltending to stay in games.
The preference, of course, is to not need amazing goaltending to win. The Hurricanes had 16 shots in the first period on Tuesday night; the Blue Jackets had 13 shots in the first on Thursday night. It’s too much defending, and it’s not the formula for success.
It hasn’t been an issue for much of the season, and it’s a mystery why it’s suddenly hitting so hard. The Canadiens have won a lot of games this season, and the goalie hasn’t been the story for most of the year, except when he was bad.
Mike Matheson and Noah Dobson are getting hemmed in a lot. Lane Hutson is on his wrong side with a ‘tweener in Jayden Struble. The only pair that is performing above average recently is Alexandre Carrier with a revitalized Kaiden Guhle.
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The courage of this Canadiens front office to admit they have an issue with a veteran is noteworthy. Usually, the general manager doesn’t like his bad contract exposed, so the head coach has to keep dressing a player clearly struggling. It’s been a pattern in sports for ages.
Through history, the best example in Montreal is likely Scott Gomez. General Manager Bob Gainey didn’t catch that Gomez was absolutely falling apart in New York City and traded for him anyway. He gave up a defender who is still enjoying a sparkling 17-year career in the NHL in Ryan McDonagh.
Gomez was lost in Montreal. He went 60 games without a goal. He went a full calendar year from one February to another between goals. Every single match they went back to Gomez in the same role as if he were a star. They couldn’t admit they messed up the trade. He didn’t even get his ice time reduced. He played three seasons for the Canadiens, and not one of them was good.
This year, the maturity in the front office is obvious. The desire to ice the best team possible isn’t being sacrificed for ego. If an important contract isn’t performing, he’s not playing.
It has taken courage to sideline Samuel Montembeault. The organization thought he was the best man for the job this year, having played 62 games last season. They could have still been choosing Montembeault stubbornly, like Gomez in another era, and the results would have been catastrophic for their playoff chances.
Jakub Dobes has logged a .926 save percentage the last three weeks, which is the best in the entire NHL. If they didn’t acknowledge Dobes had to take over, they’d be outside of the playoffs looking in by now.
To a lesser extent, it’s taken conviction to not ice Patrik Laine. He deserves a shot to show what he can do with two good knees. However, they won’t do it. They think he upsets the balance and weakens the team. They’re sticking to their convictions.
This is an organizationally courageous decision. That’s $8 million sitting, eating popcorn. That makes a general manager look bad for acquiring him, but they are only focused on wins.
You might think wins is an obvious bottom line. It’s not. Teams will play the aging also-ran on a fat contract over a young player almost every single time.
Not now. Not in Montreal. This is a regime that doesn’t need change.
Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sports writer, brings you Call of the Wilde on globalnews.ca after each Canadiens game.
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