It hasn't been an easy start to the season for the Canadiens. Unfortunately for the Habs, it feels as though the storylines from last year have continued. After the Habs set the record last season for man-games-lost (because of injury), everyone hoped that after a long offseason to recover, the team would start the season healthy and well-rested. Three games into the season, those hopes have already been dashed. Newly acquired defenseman Mike Matheson is out for eight weeks with an abdominal injury, and Joel Edmundson has still not recovered from the back injury he sustained last season. Paul Byron and Joel Armia are both predicted to return in early November from their respective injuries, but without a training camp performance, their spots in the lineup are muddled to say the least. Jake Allen will not play tonight as he is expecting the birth of his third child.
The lineup management so far this year has been confusing. Mike Hoffman and Evgeni Dadonov have severely underperformed, yet Rem Pitlick finds himself sitting on the sidelines after the first two games. After giving Pitlick serious ice-time in preseason, fans assumed coach St Louis was a fan of Rem, but apparently, he did not earn his roster spot. Jonathan Drouin found himself on the outside looking in for the first games of the season, even though his performance in training camp was better than both Hoffman and Dadonov. He is the player replacing Pitlick. Juraj Slafkovsky has been underused five-on-five and has been kept away from the special team lineups. To me, it is apparent that management is not confident that he can play heavy minutes for 82-games. I think that his under-usage is a sign that they plan on keeping him in the lineup long-term.
There have been a few positive notes to the beginning of this season. Cole Caufield is the goal scorer we've been waiting for! I would like to thank the 14 teams who passed on this goal scoring machine. The kid is absolutely NASTY! His awareness away from the puck is elite, and his release is among the best in the league. Caufield is a lock for 35 goals, and I believe he'll hit 40 this season. His chemistry with Suzuki has improved since last year, and his defensive play has improved significantly. Kirby Dach is another player who has looked great on the ice. He looks fast and skilled with an above-average IQ. He has been playing with Monahan, who has been taking the faceoffs. Monahan has shown that he can still be the player he was. He could be a second-liner on a contending team. This duo is fantastic because Dach can focus on playing his position without worrying about his faceoffs.
The Habs play the Pitsburg Penguins tonight in Montreal. It will be Jeff Petry's first time back in the building, so a tribute should be expected. I expect the Penguins to play hard. They want to start the season 3-0, and they will want to beat the Canadiens simply because they should. I expect big things from Drouin as he plays on the second line with Kirby Dach and Sean Monahan. With quality linemates, I expect to see some offence. The Habs need to start scoring goals ASAP. After being shut out by the Red Wings, fans need to start seeing some goals to keep the team entertaining. This team is full of young offensive talent, so goal-scoring should come.
Go Habs Go
The Beer League Benchwarmer,
Will Shoukri
