With only two losses in their last 11 games, the Boston Bruins are one of the hottest clubs in the league. It was supposed to be a tough season for the Bruins, but they’ve found a good formula. They work with passion and play physically. Physical hockey isn’t the Canadiens favourite.
Montreal played an outstanding road game, but goaltending was an issue yet again as Boston scored twice in 15 seconds late in Saturday’s game to win 4-3.
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Otherwise, Saturday might have been Cole Caufield’s greatest display of shooting in a single game in his career. It was a hat-trick for Caufield. All three goals were immaculate.
Caufield can find the top corner as well as any player in the history of the game. His ability to find a hole that is no bigger than the puck seems impossible, but he keeps doing it over and over again.
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The first goal was a beautiful pass from Mike Matheson at the Boston blue line as he threaded it through three defenders to a streaking Caufield. On the breakaway, Caufield ripped it upstairs in a heartbeat.
The second tally, Caufield was in the corner on a power play. He received the pass just in front of the goal line. It was a nearly impossible angle, yet Caufield ripped a one-timer for his second of the night.
Still in the second period, as amazing as the first two goals had been, the third shot was somehow better. Again, Caufield was in the corner. He found a hole that didn’t even appear to be there. It was only on the camera angle from ice level that one could see the tiny hole that Caufield found.
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Hats rained down. In Boston.
Caufield has 29 goals on the season, eight of them in his last five games. Last season, Caufield finished with 37 goals. He is trying to become the first Canadiens player since Vincent Damphousse in 1994 to have a 40-goal season. He is on pace for 46 goals.
Caufield is also on pace for his first point-per game season. He has 53 points in 52 games.
Also, the leading American in the NHL in goals is Jason Robertson. He has 30. Robertson and Caufield are both not going to the Olympics, having not been chosen by Bill Guerin and his staff.
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Overall, it is difficult to find fault with the skaters work. Boston is a difficult building to play in, but the Canadiens weren’t intimidated. They carried the game. They were the better team.
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The Canadiens penalty kill is 26th in the league. Â In goals against, the Canadiens are 28th. Often this season, the big goals against statistic has been the fault of the goaltenders who are 26th in the league in save percentage.
The Bruins scored three power play goals. When they had the extra man, they had two minutes of solid zone time, and the Canadiens didn’t seem to have any solution at all.
The talent of the Canadiens is thrilling.  Montreal is third in the league in goals. They’re a fun team to watch. However, until they figure out how to keep the puck out of the net, they won’t be an upper echelon team to watch at the top of the standings. The 28th team in the league in goals against doesn’t ever win the cup.
The good news is that you can’t teach talent, but you can teach defence. These are young players still, so they don’t have the knowledge and experience to do this correctly on defence. It’s not unusual that this takes a while. It’s common for the youngest team in the league to not be strong defensively.
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However, you can’t look at inexperience as an excuse for the penalty kill. There are plenty of veterans on the PK. They should know better and they should do better. Technically, the best teams can be aggressive enough to shutdown zone entries and prohibit the attacking team from setting up. Somehow, the Canadiens can not successfully stay aggressive.
Goaltending, yet again, was also an issue. Samuel Montembeault was strong for most of the game, but then, in the third period, he let in a weak backhander as well as a slap shot from 40 feet. The analytics on the goals were very bad: a minus .85 and a minus .65. Not good goals to give up, and it cost the game. In save percentage terms, it was another .810. Overall, Montembeault has the third worst save percentage in the NHL among regulars.
Here’s the real question of the season from a negative point of view: Is the goaltending so bad because of the defence, or is the defence so bad because of the goaltending? The Canadiens are bottom five in the league in both categories.
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Optimism is ebbing around the Montreal Canadiens, but there are also reasons to know that this is an outstanding project. It’s still building, but not quite there yet.
When the rebuild is complete, the line-up will be without holes and the players will have completed the growth phase of their game. From 2021 to 2025, this has been a perfect profile at how to create a sustainably talented team for a decade. It’s a textbook rebuild.
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However, it’s not done. The players that have been acquired must finish their growth phase. Most of the team has growth to go in their games. Ivan Demidov is just starting to show what he can do. Demidov will be a 100-point player. Imagine how many more wins that will produce.
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Oliver Kapanen is a solid two-way centre in his rookie season. He will continue to gain intelligence as the years pass. This is a breakout season for Juraj Slafkovsky with no idea where it stops. Before Alex Newhook was injured, he was finding another level.
Some players have hit close to their top levels, such as Nick Suzuki, and Cole Caufield, but they have another eight to 10 years still to provide excellent hockey. Mike Matheson found a higher gear at 29, so expect Noah Dobson to also improve as he is only 26.
Lane Hutson is only in his second season and he keeps expanding his ceiling every month. Arber Xhekaj has strong games, but the odd stinker. It is likely that he gets more consistent. Zachary Bolduc is having a better month than his last month. Jacob Fowler looked strong in his first NHL attempt at 21.
Basically, almost the entire line-up is improving. So if it feels like it’s a 95-point team right now, but that’s frustrating, imagine what they can attain when the present proven players mature.
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Also, it’s wise to temper enthusiasm a bit this year with an eye to a thrilling future when considering the holes on the roster that need to be filled. It could be argued that the club still needs a second line centre. Michael Hage could fill that role when he arrives and then matures.
The club also needs a winger for the top-six to play with Suzuki and Caufield. Alexander Zharovsky is now projected to be a top-six forward after his stunning growth in the KHL this season.
Defensively, the truth is it’s still a bit muddled. The proven and reliable run only four deep. They’ll need to get a little stronger on the back end. It is hoped David Reinbacher will grow his game, and be a right side blue-liner that the club needs. Bryce Pickford of the Medicine Hat Tigers could also be that missing link. One more solid young defenceman is needed. Someone needs to be found on the right side to play with Hutson.
The roster is mostly in place. It simply needs to mature. Where the roster is not set, outstanding prospects are already in the pipeline. This may not be the year just yet for special results, but anyone can see the potential in the NHL, KHL, WHL, and NCAA, and on the team right now as each player learns from an outstanding head coach.
Fans can simply sit back and enjoy this continuing rebuild, with an eye to not getting too caught up in any disappointing night as if it means failure. That’s because the long-term growth is obvious — even in defeat.
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Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sports writer, brings you Call of the Wilde on globalnews.ca after each Canadiens game.
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