After 15 days on the road Montreal Canadiens finally completed our Christmas travels. It was a successful trip, with the Canadiens scoring ten out of a possible 14 points. It was the toughest part of the 82-game schedule, and Montreal survived.
In Sunday's final game in Dallas, the Canadiens were exhausted against a well-rested team, but they managed to put together one of their best games in a decade. Montreal beat the Stars 4–3 in overtime.
Wilde Horses
The last time these two teams met – in November in Montreal – the Stars won 7-0, so the only direction was up. The Canadiens expected a tighter game, and they did just that. The first goal was key and the Canadiens got it from Brendan Gallagher. Philip Danault scored his first point for the Canadiens, marking the 400th point of his career.
In the second period, Gallagher and Danault continued to find each other well. They made up two-thirds of one of the best lines in hockey with Tomas Tatar before Danault left for Los Angeles. They seem to be finding the old chemistry with Zachary Bolduc.
What the Canadiens hoped Danault would do when they acquired him in December has worked well so far: He does what he's supposed to do defensively. He makes a huge difference in the face-off circle. Danault has scored at least 58% of his points in the faceoff circle in five of the six games he has played so far.
With a one-up lead, there's nothing better than a player who wins a faceoff and then plays great defense from the center position. Danault had 67 percent of his faceoff chances against the Stars Sunday.
Thanks to Martin St. Louis for judging the draw and using Danault in the key overtime matchup. Dano coped with the task. He won the big draw and passed to Lane Hutson. Hutson then won the spot and scored his seventh goal of the season with a wrist shot from 15 feet.
The first line cooled down on the road, and the second came of age. Juraj Slafkovsky is developing powerfully and his presence on the ice is undeniable. With the score tied at 2-2, Slafkovsky made a spinarama to pass to Ivan Demidov and win the blue line.
Demidov then worked his magic, performing a feint that forced the defender to retreat respectfully. Demidov feeds wide open Oliver Kapanen, who continues to understand how to get open as his linemates rush through the offensive zone. Kapanen scored his 13th goal of the season to tie the rookie lead with Beckett Senneke.
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Slafkowski was the top offensive player through seven games. He fed Nick Suzuki for his 15th goal of the season. He easily sent him into the corner once. Slafkovskiy's 11 points led all Canadiens scorers, while Demidov and Hutson each scored 10 points on the road trip.
Wild Goats
It takes a great goalie to beat the Stars. There can be no mistakes, but Sam Montembeault made a huge mistake in the first period. There is no other way to describe it other than that it was a poor technical performance from the goalkeepers.
This was an excerpt from Maurice Bourque. Montembeault slipped in just in time, but kept his feet in place to clear the bottom half of the net. There is no chance that this turn could be an overhead kick, so any goalie knows to save the low kick. Montembeault spread his legs wide during the strike. It was poor fundamental goalkeeping.
After that one banana, Montembeault recovered well and gave the Canadiens a chance. Montembeault is a goat, but only in one technical respect. After that, he became a star, stopping many quality shots.
The stars have rested. The Canadiens were exhausted after playing 15 straight days on the road. It was an amazing effort by Montreal against an amazing hockey club. The Canadiens are legit.
Wilde's cards
Nick Bobrov's track record as the Canadiens' chief scout is nearly perfect.
With a star found at No. 62 overall in Lane Hutson, expected stars at No. 21 in Michael Hage and No. 34 in Alexander Zharovsky, Bobrov has had tremendous success.
To some, a pick like Philippe Mesar might seem like a miss, but a late first-round pick only has a 50-50 hit rate to even become a full-time NHL player, so if Mesar becomes a rare miss for Bobrov, it's the draft – there are always expected misses outside the top ten.
A competent assessment of training confirms that Bobrov has achieved outstanding results since taking power under the regime of Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton. However, one day he may regret choosing a certain five.
A draft miss is defined as selecting a player in a number slot where success is almost always achieved. Players in the top five become full-time NHL players 85 percent of the time. If a club selects a top-five player who does not succeed, it is a detrimental organizational mistake.
It is possible that David Reinbacher will not be a top four NHL player when he completes his development. Reinbacher is still young at 21 and will get a couple more years of head start, but he should start taking over the AHL soon.
Reinbacher played 25 games at right back for the Laval Rocket this season. He has three goals and 12 points. He doesn't control the matchup as much as he should and sometimes gets beaten quite badly one-on-one by players with minor league talent.
If everyone was as confident as his head coach, everyone would be nonchalant about his developmental delay. Laval's Pascal Vincent fumes every time he is asked about Reinbacher. Vincent says, “I 100 percent think Reinbacher will have a wonderful, long career.” Vincent says Reinbacher has a great playing brain and knows how to read a play at a high level.
It's not like other defensemen from the same draft class were shining in the NHL. Utah tried Dmitry Simashev, the sixth overall pick, for nearly a dozen games before sending him back to the AHL because he wasn't ready.
The Red Wings stubbornly continue to use Axel Sandin-Pellik at the NHL level, even though he clearly isn't ready for minus-19 this season. They believe that his best path is a trial by fire, and indeed, he catches fire.
On the Canucks blue line is 20-year-old Tom Willander, and he's doing a great job as the top defenseman in the 2023 class.
Overall, the comparisons are made to highlight that the training seasons for quarterbacks are numerous and the expectations are too high, too fast.
While it would be great to see Reinbacher ahead of everyone else in the NHL, he's actually a bit behind. Now, in the second half of the AHL season, it's time for Reinbacher to find other gear.
Brian Wild, Montreal-based sportswriter, brings you Wilde's Call is on globalnews.ca after every Canadiens game.
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