One of hockey\u2019s favourite adages is to control what you can control.<\/p>\n
It is a chaotic game that can be somewhat random, so when things are not going well for you, it is better to focus on the areas of the game that are not subject to that chaos, that randomness.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, we got a lesson in how to do that from Montreal Canadiens forward Zack Bolduc.<\/p>\n
Following the morning skate Saturday, Bolduc was sitting at his locker, still sweating from the work he had just put in on the ice. As he removed his equipment, we asked him about how he felt his centre, Kirby Dach, was progressing with his game. Not surprisingly, Bolduc was impressed with what he\u2019s seen, because Dach\u2019s game is clearly starting to come together.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not worried about Dacher getting more and more comfortable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
How about you, he was then asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cMe? It\u2019s going well,\u201d Bolduc began.<\/p>\n
But then he caught himself, and almost mocked his own answer immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, it\u2019s going well, I started the season well,\u201d he continued. \u201cI think the last few games it\u2019s been a bit tougher for me. I need to find my base a little bit, find my game. But I\u2019m not worried. It\u2019s a long season, and this is part of the marathon we\u2019re in, having highs and lows. You just have to make sure the lows don\u2019t last too long. I think you always want to produce more for the team, but yeah, as I said, I think I can bring a bit more.\u201d<\/p>\n
His coach did not disagree with Bolduc\u2019s own self-assessment.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s been up and down a little bit,\u201d Martin St. Louis said Saturday morning. \u201cHis good\u2019s really good. We are getting to know the player, he\u2019s coming to a new environment, new concepts, systems, however you want to call it. I don\u2019t think he\u2019s playing instinctively yet, but we\u2019ll get him there. It\u2019s just to figure out how do we get him there? Is it through more conversations, more video? So, we\u2019re learning. But we know it\u2019s there, we like the player, and we\u2019re going to keep at it with him to get a little more detail in his game so the game is easier for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Bolduc said he felt he could be bringing more, was he talking about production? About goals?<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, absolutely not,\u201d he replied. \u201cWhen I\u2019m on my game and playing the right way, I think I\u2019m a guy who skates, who plays physical, who\u2019s good on the forecheck. That\u2019s what I\u2019ve lost and what I\u2019m looking to find again. I think that\u2019s what brings me success.\u201d<\/p>\n
That night, in the first period against the Ottawa Senators, Bolduc went out and did exactly what he was talking about. He controlled what he can control.<\/p>\n
Bolduc\u2019s hit on Senators star defenceman Jake Sanderson just before the nine-minute mark of the first period sent Sanderson into the Canadiens\u2019 bench and incited Sens tough guy Kurtis MacDermid to go after him, handing the Canadiens a power play.<\/p>\n
BOLDUC SENT SANDERSON INTO THE HABS BENCH \ud83e\udd2f pic.twitter.com\/XT3sLnnISO<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 B\/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 1, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n The Canadiens extended their lead to 2-0 moments later.<\/p>\n Ils font de la magie noire ou quoi? \ud83d\udd2e<\/p>\n That\u2019s some black magic right there #GoHabsGo<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/wvvjum7aw1<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Canadiens Montr\u00e9al (@CanadiensMTL) November 1, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n That hit on Sanderson was one of five Bolduc had in the first period alone, setting a new career high before the first intermission. He finished his night with zero goals, zero assists, zero points, two shots on goal and those five hits. But Bolduc had an impact on the game. He made a difference by focusing on playing to his strengths and not focusing on the somewhat random, often chaotic nature of scoring.<\/p>\n Of course, in the second period, Bolduc had a golden opportunity to score a goal when Dach made a brilliant pass from his own end, banking a puck off the boards into the neutral zone and hitting Bolduc in stride for a breakaway. Bolduc\u2019s shot went wide, the Senators went back the other way, and 14 seconds after Bolduc missed his breakaway chance, Drake Batherson scored Ottawa\u2019s first goal of the night. Instead of the Canadiens being ahead 3-0, they were ahead 2-1.<\/p>\n Considering how Bolduc felt about the state of his game that morning, we\u2019re going to guess he might have been more focused on that missed breakaway in the second period than his impactful first period.<\/p>\n But that first period was definitely a step in the right direction for him.<\/p>\n An open lab session<\/p>\n Toward the end of Saturday\u2019s morning skate, Mike Matheson and St. Louis were having a conversation. They were standing near the blue line and pointing to different areas of the ice. At one point St. Louis took the puck and demonstrated a pivot near the boards, then demonstrated that same pivot in a different way. There was a back-and-forth between player and coach. It lasted roughly 10 minutes.<\/p>\n When Matheson was asked about it afterward, he laughed. He figured it was normal for us to be asking questions about it because it happened in plain sight of the media, but he said exchanges like this happen all the time.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s almost a daily thing,\u201d he said. \u201cSometimes it\u2019s me asking a question, sometimes it\u2019s him, and then we have at it.\u201d<\/p>\n Now, if you\u2019re hoping to know what was being discussed out there, too bad.<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d St. Louis said when asked if he would share some details of the conversation.<\/p>\n Matheson was slightly more transparent, but only slightly.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were talking about a lot of stuff,\u201d he said. \u201cJust kind of PK entries, five-on-five entries, we talked about forechecks, we talked about \u2026 there was a little five-on-six. A lot of stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n Matheson refused to get into specifics, but even the general tone of the conversation was somewhat revealing.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was more kind of ideologies of what we\u2019re trying to accomplish in those certain situations to force (the opponent) into a next play that favours us,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot of the times when you\u2019re in those situations, whether it\u2019s PK or an entry, you\u2019re not necessarily going to stop the play right there, that only happens every so often. But it\u2019s more so how are you going to make them feel like they\u2019re making the right play, but actually they\u2019re kind of falling into a trap? That\u2019s kind of what we\u2019re trying to accomplish. \u2026 And that\u2019s why we have our meetings, because that answer will be different against one team as opposed to another.\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s important to retain here is these conversations are not one-sided, and they are not even really debates, necessarily. It is an exchange of ideas, and an effort to come to a conclusion that ultimately helps the team, whether that\u2019s the coach convincing the player or vice versa.<\/p>\n And therefore, it is a window into how this team and particularly this coaching staff operate.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy wouldn\u2019t we try to use the brains of our players, who are the ones doing all those reps, and especially those who have the experience that Mike Matheson has?\u201d St. Louis said. \u201cSo sometimes you have those conversations, little debates, whatever, but at the end of the day all we\u2019re trying to do is convince ourselves as a group how to manage certain situations on the ice.\u201d<\/p>\n Kapanen\u2019s PK transition<\/p>\n Oliver Kapanen is somewhat the forgotten man among the Canadiens\u2019 rookies. With what Ivan Demidov and Jakub Dobe\u0161 have done so far, the fact Kapanen is still a rookie sometimes gets lost in the shuffle.<\/p>\n Kapanen, however, is fifth in rookie scoring with seven points in 12 games. But what is more remarkable is his role on the penalty kill for the Canadiens.<\/p>\n Fraser Minten of the Boston Bruins is the only rookie in the NHL playing more than Kapanen\u2019s 1:46 a game on the penalty kill. They are the only two rookies in the NHL to have played more than 20 minutes on the penalty kill. Only 12 rookies have played more than 10.<\/p>\n So, what Kapanen is doing is somewhat unusual. And it\u2019s not easy.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s pretty hard,\u201d Kapanen said in Seattle on Tuesday morning. \u201cThe power plays here are pretty skillful and fast and everybody\u2019s dangerous out there. It\u2019s something new for me, for sure \u2014 this style of playing PK here is a little different from Europe, what I\u2019m used to. It\u2019s so dangerous here on the smaller rink, so basically whoever has the puck is a dangerous guy.\u201d<\/p>\n Kapanen entered the season knowing there would be an opportunity for him on the penalty kill with the departures of Joel Armia and Christian Dvorak, and he even got a hint of it last season when he was asked to take part in penalty-killing meetings, much like his current penalty-kill partner Alex Newhook.<\/p>\n \u201cLast season, I was on the door to play on the PK,\u201d he said, \u201cbut I didn\u2019t get the chance.\u201d<\/p>\n So far, the bulk of the penalty-kill minutes have gone to Jake Evans and Josh Anderson, but overall, considering how inexperienced they are and how they are learning on the fly, Kapanen and Newhook are not doing too bad, according to Natural Stat Trick\u2019s numbers.<\/p>\n PK1 compared to PK2<\/p>\n TOISA\/60HDCA\/60GA\/60XGA\/60<\/p>\n Newhook\/Kapanen<\/p>\n 18:37<\/p>\n 54.79<\/p>\n 41.9<\/p>\n 9.67<\/p>\n 12.03<\/p>\n Evans\/Anderson<\/p>\n 33:28<\/p>\n 46.59<\/p>\n 30.46<\/p>\n 8.96<\/p>\n 8.19<\/p>\n To put those numbers in perspective, the two best penalty-killing teams in the league right now are the Philadelphia Flyers and Buffalo Sabres. Here is how they are doing in each of those same metrics.<\/p>\n Two best PK teams’ metrics<\/p>\n TeamSA\/60HDCA\/60GA\/60XGA\/60<\/p>\n 50.4<\/p>\n 17.88<\/p>\n 3.25<\/p>\n 7.72<\/p>\n 55.43<\/p>\n 26.13<\/p>\n 3.17<\/p>\n 8.4<\/p>\n Kapanen and Newhook are a work in progress on the penalty kill, but considering they are both starting from scratch, there seems to be a basis for a good partnership here.<\/p>\n A dose of perspective<\/p>\n We had a chance to chat with Seattle Kraken rookie Berkly Catton on Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n He is still of junior age, so the Kraken can\u2019t send him to the AHL as a CHL player. Catton played on Seattle\u2019s top line against the Canadiens. But he is still working his way through the transition to the NHL from junior, and it\u2019s a process. There is an adjustment he needs to make from what he is used to in the WHL.<\/p>\n \u201cI like to carry the puck through the neutral zone a lot, and with these neutral-zone coverages, it\u2019s a little tougher,\u201d Catton said. \u201cI think I still have the ability to make plays out here, but I think it\u2019s just the details, how important the details are, in the D-zone being in the right spot, or even offensively being in the right spot to create stuff. Just the little details, how much they matter I think is the biggest thing I\u2019ve noticed.\u201d<\/p>\n One of those details is positioning.<\/p>\n \u201cI think how if you\u2019re even a little bit out of position, how people will make plays is crazy,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s just how sound you have to be on the defensive side of the puck, and then usually when you\u2019re in good spots that way, you can get the puck and go play offence. It\u2019s happened to me a couple of times where even just a little bit out of position, high-end guys, everyone in the league, really, will make plays.\u201d<\/p>\n Later that evening, Catton got a reminder of just how important positioning can be. He was on the ice in overtime, and if he were just a tiny bit more assertive in the neutral zone, he might have knocked this puck away from Cole Caufield and gone off on a breakaway. Instead, he watched Caufield end the game. It was the first goal against the Kraken that Catton was on the ice for this season.<\/p>\n COLE CAUFIELD \u00c9TABLIT UN NOUVEAU RECORD DE FRANCHISE POUR LE NOMBRE DE BUTS EN PROLONGATION <\/p>\n COLE CAUFIELD, THE MOST OT GOALS IN FRANCHISE HISTORY#GoHabsGo<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/8cYFKq2suT<\/a><\/p>\n