Watching the intensity and physicality of the Stanley Cup playoffs, do you think this version of the Canadiens roster is built for playoff hockey, or do they still need to get bigger and tougher to compete when they get there?<\/p>\n
Kyle Tilley, Barrie, Ont.<\/p>\n
I think the Canadiens need to get bigger and tougher to play against in order to go on a long run in the playoffs. Adding a big right-shot defenceman and another big power forward who can play in the top six would definitely help. I believe GM Kent Hughes will be looking to add those elements during the off-season.<\/p>\n
However, the Canadiens could be a tough opponent in the first round of the playoffs this season \u2014 especially if they continue to get the goaltending they have recently from Jakub Dobes.<\/p>\n
Dobes is starting to bring back memories of Jaroslav Halak, who had a 2.55 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage in the 2010 playoffs when the Canadiens went to the Eastern Conference final before running out of gas and losing to the Philadelphia Flyers in five games.<\/p>\n
In the Canadiens\u2019 last two games \u2014 a 5-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes and a 2-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets \u2014 Dobes has a 1.50 GAA and a .957 save percentage. In his last 19 games dating to Dec. 14, the rookie has a 14-3-2 record with a 2.56 GAA and a .907 save percentage. Dobes\u2019s season record is 24-8-4 with a 2.83 GAA and a .898 save percentage. His 24 wins match Carey Price\u2019s total as a rookie in 2007-08.<\/p>\n
I agree with what TSN director of scouting Craig Button had to say about the Canadiens after Thursday night\u2019s win over Columbus.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think they will be a tough out (in the playoffs),\u201d Button said. \u201cI think teams might be saying, \u2018Sacr\u00e9 bleu!\u2019 The experience of last year\u2019s playoffs (when the Canadiens lost in five games to the Washington Capitals in the first round) is going to serve them. It\u2019s going to serve them now; it\u2019s going to serve them come playoff time. They understand the intensity. They have so many players that went through that experience and they\u2019re going to be better because of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cA couple of weekends ago, they lost back-to-back at home to San Jose and Anaheim and: \u2018Oh, boy, geez, it\u2019s kind of unravelling for the Montreal Canadiens.\u2019 And then they reel off four out of five (wins), beat some really good teams,\u201d Button added. \u201cThey\u2019re a good team. Right now, there\u2019s every reason to believe that they\u2019ll get to 100 points and 100 points gets you in the playoffs \u2014 and I don\u2019t think there\u2019s any doubt that they believe in themselves. They got the goaltending sorted out; the offence is really good. There\u2019s always some things you\u2019d like to be a little better, but they\u2019re going to be a formidable opponent (in the playoffs) for any team they play.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Canadiens are more physical than they get credit for, ranking ninth in the NHL in hits this season.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what Aaron Portzline, who covers the Blue Jackets for The Athletic, wrote<\/a> after the Canadiens\u2019 victory over Columbus: \u201cBy the end of the game, Montreal was still finishing checks hard on the Blue Jackets, while the Blue Jackets were mostly curling away or pulling up away from hard contact.\u201d<\/p>\n What do some young players (Lane Hutson) and old (Brendan Gallagher) eat\/drink on game day to sustain their energy level while playing?<\/p>\n Gim Ming Wong<\/p>\n Much of what the players eat is prepared for them by team chefs, either at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard or at the Bell Centre. Chicken, pasta and salmon are usually on the menu. Early in his career, Gallagher would eat steak and pasta as a pre-game meal, but he switched to chicken because he was getting heartburn.<\/p>\n Proper hydration is a huge part of playing in the NHL, which is why you\u2019ll almost always see players carrying a water bottle (or two) with them away from the rink. When Dale Weise was playing for the Canadiens, he told me he would drink six or seven litres of water a day.<\/p>\n \u201cI think I have a water bottle with me the entire day,\u201d Hutson said. \u201cI probably drink five to six water bottles and then I\u2019m always sipping on a bottle. Especially on game days and when you\u2019re in back-to-backs, it\u2019s double that. It\u2019s pretty easy to just sip on water all day.\u201d<\/p>\n Why is Patrik Laine in the doghouse?<\/p>\n Stephane Martel<\/p>\n I don\u2019t believe Laine is in the doghouse. He just doesn\u2019t fit into the fast-paced style of play Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis has put in place.<\/p>\n The Canadiens rank third in the NHL in offence, scoring an average of 3.51 goals per game, and fourth in the NHL on the power play (24.8 per cent), so they don\u2019t need the offensive boost Laine might be able to provide. The Canadiens needed that offensive boost last season, when Laine scored eight goals in his first nine games \u2014 all on the power play \u2014 and finished the season with 20 goals, including 15 on the power play, in 52 games to go along with a minus-14 differential.<\/p>\n The Canadiens wouldn\u2019t have made the playoffs last season without Laine\u2019s offence, but their offence is just fine this season without him and he can be a defensive liability.<\/p>\n This has obviously been a difficult season for the 27-year-old Laine, who hasn\u2019t played a game since having surgery to repair a core muscle injury at the end of October. He can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and will be looking for a fresh start with a new team.<\/p>\n Will Patrick Laine play another game for the Habs, and what is the beef with between Martin St. Louis and Arber Xhekaj?<\/p>\n Stephen Greer<\/p>\n I don\u2019t think Laine will play another game for the Canadiens and I don\u2019t think there\u2019s a beef between St. Louis and Xhekaj.<\/p>\n Laine remains on injured reserve even though he has been practising with his teammates for more than two months in a full-contact sweater. It would be difficult to put him in the lineup now during a playoff race when he hasn\u2019t played a game since Oct. 16.<\/p>\n Xhekaj and Jayden Struble have been battling each other for the sixth defence spot all season. Xhekaj has played 55 games, seven more than Struble, but has been a healthy scratch for the last five games and seven of the last eight.<\/p>\n Struble has obviously moved ahead of Xhekaj at this point on the depth chart and St. Louis has more trust in Struble defensively as well as his ability to handle more minutes while having Hutson as his partner.<\/p>\n Will Jayden Struble and\/or Arber Xhekaj still be with the Habs after July 1? Has Arber\u2019s development not been what the coaching staff and management expected?<\/p>\n Chris Walker<\/p>\n I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if Struble and Xhekaj were both traded during the off-season with David Reinbacher and Adam Engstrom both looking to make the jump to the NHL from the AHL\u2019s Laval Rocket. Hughes could also be looking to add a veteran, right-shot defenceman during the off-season.<\/p>\n Struble has one more season left on his contract with a US$1.4 million salary-cap hit, while Xhekaj can become a restricted free agent on July 1.<\/p>\n Xhekaj wasn\u2019t selected at the OHL Priority Selection draft or at the NHL Draft, so the fact he has played 220 games in the NHL is beyond what was expected of him when the Canadiens signed him as a free agent. Struble was selected by the Canadiens in the second round (46th overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n I still believe Xhekaj, 25, can be a solid third-pairing NHL defenceman with his size, mobility and toughness. At this point, it looks like his best chance of doing that would be with another team.<\/p>\n What do you think the probability is that we\u2019ll see David Reinbacher or Michael Hage play for the Canadiens this spring? And if they\u2019re on the roster \u2014 and play \u2014 who will go to the press box?<\/p>\n Scott Hinckley, Port Saint Lucie, Fla.<\/p>\n I think it\u2019s more likely we see Hage than Reinbacher if the 19-year-old centre decides to turn pro after his sophomore season at the University of Michigan comes to an end.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not sure if Canadiens management wants to throw Reinbacher into the heat of an NHL playoff race and might prefer to give him a long look at training camp next season to see if he\u2019s ready to join the team. Giving Hage a few games in the NHL would burn off the first year of his NHL entry-level contract \u2014 which he\u2019d obviously like \u2014 and give Canadiens management a good idea of where he stands in his development.<\/p>\n If the Canadiens could clinch a playoff spot with a few games remaining on the schedule, it would make the decisions on whether to play Reinbacher and Hage easier. Reinbacher would replace Struble (or Xhekaj) on the roster and Hage would probably replace Alexandre Texier.<\/p>\n Cole Caufield is almost never on the ice when the opposing team has an empty net. Is that a mistake? Should Martin St. Louis put him out more in those situations?<\/p>\n Mitch Lafon<\/p>\n When the opposition pulls its goalie, it\u2019s just like a power play with a six-on-five advantage. St. Louis prefers to use his penalty-killers in those situations, which makes sense. Caufield has been on the ice for only 24 seconds all season in short-handed situations.<\/p>\n Caufield ranks second in the NHL with 44 goals and none of them were empty-netters. The Colorado Avalanche\u2019s Nathan MacKinnon leads the NHL with 48 goals, including five empty-netters. MacKinnon has only 1:55 of ice time short-handed this season. Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar obviously looks at things differently than St. Louis when the other team pulls its goalie and he gives MacKinnon a chance to add to his goal total.<\/p>\n At the end of the day, the object is to win the game and St. Louis believes having his penalty-killers on the ice in six-on-five situations gives his team the best chance to do that.<\/p>\n Jake Evans leads the Canadiens this season with four empty-net goals.<\/p>\n Without their first line, would the Canadiens have won any games?<\/p>\n John Zaverdinos<\/p>\n It would be hard for any team in the NHL to win games without their first line producing.<\/p>\n Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky have combined to score 96 of the Canadiens\u2019 249 goals, which works out to 39 per cent. Tampa Bay\u2019s No. 1 line of Anthony Cirelli, Brandon Hagel and Nikita Kucherov has combined for 93 of the Lightning\u2019s 256 goals, which works out to 36 per cent.<\/p>\n The Canadiens have five players with 50 points this season \u2014 Suzuki (24-62-86), Caufield (44-32-76), Hutson (11-59-70), Slafkovsky (28-35-63) and Ivan Demidov (15-39-54). Through Thursday\u2019s games, only one team had more 50-point players \u2014 the Vegas Golden Knights with six.<\/p>\n How is Samuel Montembeault\u2019s morale these days? He looked very happy after Jakub Dobes\u2019s win over the Hurricanes. Three goalies can\u2019t last.<\/p>\n ForeverHabs on X \u2014 @24BlueWhiteRed<\/p>\n Montembeault won\u2019t be happy about not playing, but he also understands the situation.<\/p>\n When Montembeault first joined the Canadiens, he was trying to take the No. 1 goalie job from Jake Allen. Montembeault has spoken often about how much Allen was a mentor to him and helped in his development.<\/p>\n Montembeault is trying to pay it back with Dobes and Jacob Fowler.<\/p>\n \u201cMonty and Doby are some of my closest friends on the team,\u201d Fowler said recently. \u201cI think a lot of people don\u2019t really know how close we really are \u2014 even (goalie coach Marco Marciano) as well. We all have such good relationships with each other, and no matter who\u2019s in the net, everybody wants that save at the end. Everybody wants this team to win and I think we\u2019re all rooting for the guy whoever\u2019s in the net at whatever moment.\u201d<\/p>\n This late in the season, the three-goalie situation isn\u2019t a problem. Montembeault continues to practise with the team and will be ready to play again if Dobes or Fowler were injured.<\/p>\n Did you have hair the last time the Habs had a 40-goal scorer before Cole Caufield? I did \u2014 LOL. Man, I miss Grade 9.<\/p>\n Ian MacKinnon<\/p>\n LOL.<\/p>\n When Vincent Damphousse scored 40 goals in 1993-94, I was 30 and working as an editor on The Gazette sports desk. My hair was pretty much gone by that time. But, believe it or not, I did have long blond hair when I graduated from high school.<\/p>\n I\u2019d like to see Juraj Slafkovsky moved back to the second line for a big-body presence. In the off-season, the Habs should acquire Isaac Ratcliffe from the Nashville Predators cheap. He hasn\u2019t done much, but he grew up playing alongside Nick Suzuki and they always had chemistry. Thoughts on a trial basis?<\/p>\n thenumbersguy on X \u2014 @numbersguy130<\/p>\n Suzuki and Ratcliffe were teammates with the London Junior Knights minor hockey program and also for a brief time with the OHL\u2019s Guelph Storm in 2018-19, winning the OHL championship together.<\/p>\n The Storm acquired Suzuki that season in a trade with the Owen Sound Attack. Suzuki had 12-37-49 totals in 29 regular-season games after joining the Storm and then was on fire in the playoffs, posting 16-26-42 totals in 24 games. Ratcliffe, a left-winger, had 50-32-82 totals in 65 regular-season games and 15-15-30 totals in 24 playoff games.<\/p>\n Philadelphia selected the 6-foot-5, 203-pound Ratcliffe in the second round (35th overall) of the 2017 NHL Draft, but he only played 10 games with the Flyers, posting 1-3-4 totals. The Flyers traded him to the Predators on Feb. 26, 2023, for future considerations, which shows how far his stock dropped.<\/p>\n This season, the 27-year-old Ratcliffe has 6-9-15 totals in 46 games with the AHL\u2019s Milwaukee Admirals. I don\u2019t believe Canadiens management would have any interest in him.<\/p>\n If you have a question you\u2019d like to ask for the weekly Habs Mailbag, you can email it to montrealcanadiens@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n