The Montreal Canadiens endured a long dry spell before they made the playoffs last season. While they dropped their opening round series to the Washington Capitals, the Canadiens came to life in the second half of the season and demonstrated that they have one of the fastest and most exciting teams in the Eastern Conference.
The start of the current season has been even better for the Habs. They are in first place in the Atlantic Division and head coach Martin St. Louis has a team that is hungry to prove itself on an every-game basis. Despite dropping a 5-4 decision to the Philadelphia Flyers Tuesday night in a shootout, the Canadiens have a 9-3-1 record.
Glory days could be back for the Canadiens, a team that is looking to win its first Stanley Cup since the 1992-93 season. The lineup is loaded with young stars who combine game-changing skill, remarkable confidence and the support of some of the most raucous fans in the league. The team's ability to succeed in the third period and overtime have allowed them to record a 5-1-1 record since suffering a home loss to the New York Rangers October 18.
St. Louis knows he can count on Nick Suzuki for leadership and big plays when the game is on the line. Suzuki is the team's captain as well as its leading scorer. He has just 2 goals, but he has set up 16 goals this season. He had a remarkable plus-9 rating in the first week of November. That's a shocking number this early in the season. Both of his goals have come on the power play and he is averaging more than 20 minutes of ice time per game.
Cole Caufield and the Canadiens' young stars benefit from coach's advice
Cole Caufield has been a spectacular player for the Canadiens since he made his debut as a 20-year-old in the 2020-21 season. While he demonstrated plenty of flash from his first time on the ice, he became a legitimate star last season when he scored 37 goals and registered 33 assists.
Caufield continues to make huge plays for the Habs this season, as he has a league-high 10 goals and 5 assists. Three of his goals have been game-winners and he has a remarkable 29.4 shooting percentage.
St. Louis knows that he has a team that features young stars, and he is able to share the experience that he had as a player and what he has learned as the head coach of the league's most storied franchise.
“As a coach, I think you only have so many bullets, and you’ve got to be careful when you use them, and I try to be calculated when I do,” St. Louis said, per Arpon Basu of The Athletic. “I feel like I have patience, empathy, and I feel like I can help my players whenever they’ve made a mistake or they’re going through a hard time.”
Youthful supporting cast has made key contributions
Suzuki and Caufield may be leading the way, but they have plenty of company. Young defenseman Lane Hutson is a brilliant puck handler and a solid offensive talent. He has scored 1 goals and has added 10 assists and is plus-3 for the season.
The Habs have a pair of young gamebreakers in Ivan Demidov and Juraj Slafkovsky. The 20-year-old Demidov has excellent skating speed and remarkable balance. He has already contributed 3 goals and 7 assists in his first 12 games.
Slafkovsky, 21, has had his struggles since he was selected with the first pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, but he is clearly improving. He has scored 6 goals and added an assist. He uses his 6-3, 225-pound body to create space around the net.
Goaltending has been solid
As exciting as the Canadiens can be when they turn it on from an offensive perspective, there is no way they will be able to sustain their success unless they get solid goaltending.
St. Louis can look at his goaltending duo of Sam Montembault and Jakub Dobes and know that both of his puck stoppers can get the job done.
Montembault is the team's No. 1 goalie and has a 3-3-1 record after the shootout loss to the Flyers. He has a 3.66 goals against average and an .839 save percentage. St. Louis knows that Montembault can do much better as the season progresses.
On the other hand, backup goalie Jakub Dobes has been stellar. He has a 6-0-0 record with a 1.97 GAA and a .930 save percentage. If he continues at his current pace, he could move into position as the team's No.1 goalie.
This is a team that has gotten off to a razor-sharp start and there's no reason the Habs can't continue to string victories together and have a long playoff run
