The Montreal Canadiens now have a six-point cushion over the New York Rangers for the final wild-card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference after a win against the Predators.
The Montreal Canadiens have moved into a strong lead for the final playoff spot as the season nears its conclusion. It’s a six point lead for the Canadiens over the New York Rangers after a win in Nashville. Montreal was exhausted in playing a back-to-back but they managed a 2-1 win.
Wilde Horses
The Canadiens were outplayed, due to no energy, but outstanding individual performances continued. Three players continued their assault on the record book, or an assault on their own personal bests.
Cole Caufield has slowed down in the goals department, but his number is still impressive this century on the Canadiens. The top mark in the 21st century is Max Pacioretty with 39 goals. Caufield moved to 36 goals with the opening tally for Montreal. Caufield also moved to 66 points which is a career high.
The assist on the Caufield tally went to Nick Suzuki who counted point 84 on the year. Again, this is greatness for the Canadiens this century equalling the top mark held by Alex Kovalev in 2008. These are notables for the Canadiens.
What Lane Hutson is doing is notable in the history of the National Hockey League. Hutson laid out a gorgeous pass for Patrik Laine to rip a snap shot into the top corner for his 20th of the year. Not bad for half a season for Laine.
For Hutson, it was point 64 on the year tying him for the sixth highest total of points for a rookie defender in NHL history. It was also assist 58 on the season. Hutson is second for a rookie defender in history behind only Larry Murphy of 60 points.
With five games to go, Hutson has in his crosshairs the greatest rookie rearguard season ever for assists. The rookie race for the Calder Trophy is no longer a race. Vegas knows it. The hockey world knows it. He’s left the doubters embarrassed that they didn’t think he could play at the NHL level at all.
Wilde Goats
In the NHL, through the course of a season, there are nights that one club has energy and the other is dead. This was one of those nights. The Predators are one of the worst teams in the league this year, but they dominated the Canadiens who had only 17 shots.
The Canadiens tried to hang on in the third up by a goal. There was only one way to get there, and that was get on the correct side of the puck, trust in the goalie Jakub Dobes, and fight off the lactic acid as well as possible.
As ugly as it was, the Canadiens won with a 36 save performance from Dobes. It doesn’t matter how it got to 2-1. They don’t ask if it was pretty. They ask did you win. Montreal did enough to take its fifth straight contest. Perhaps the gutsiest win of the season.
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The last of the major prospects not playing in Laval has concluded his season. Ivan Demidov was eliminated from the playoffs in game six of the first round. SKA Saint Petersburg dropped a 5-2 decision to Dynamo Moscow for the Gagarin Cup in the Kontinental Hockey League.
Demidov had a strong playoff as his club’s leading scorer with five points. This despite starting the series as the 13th forward as his head coach continued to behave illogically.
His head coach is also the owner, so this has always been a complicated relationship. Roman Rotenberg wants Demidov to stay in Russia, so he’s tried to entice him with ice time by taking away his ice time.
The KHL contract runs until May 31st for Demidov. Rotenberg has hinted that he will now move Demidov to his junior team, so he can compete for that title. Demidov should find the competition in that league easy to handle considering he was nearly the best player in the adult league.
There has been speculation that Demidov will buy his way out of his contract early to come play for the Canadiens. If that happens, it must happen without help from the Canadiens. That is not allowed.
The player has to come up with the money himself to get out of his KHL contract early, at least, officially. It has happened many times that a Russian player suddenly comes into some money, then, miraculously, is in North America. No one ever explains how this is possible, because no one ever wants to truly know.
Let’s just say that in Russia, you don’t find the end of your contract, the end of your contract finds you.