Hickey in Hockey: The Evans line is different on the first Canadiens report card

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The Canadiens have gotten through a quarter of the season, which is set to become a short season that looks long.

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At this point in the season, it is customary to offer a report card. A few seasons ago, we decided to abandon the A – F rating system in favor of a more progressive approach. If you are in school or have children, you may feel measured in terms of performance, such as exceeding expectations, meeting expectations, or needing improvement.

Suffice it to say that no one on this team is exceeding expectations, with the possible exception of the Jake Evans line. The seventh-round sketch selection is growing into the role of an empty shutdown center left behind by Phillip Danault’s departure, while linemates Brendan Gallagher and Artturi Lehkonen will never stop working.

Aside from Carey Price, injuries threaten Shea Webers ’career and Danault’s enjoyment of life in California, so no one should have expected the Canadiens to repeat their victory in the Stanley Cup final, but the first two months of the season have been a disaster.

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The Canadiens went to Buffalo on Friday with a 5-14-2 record and a 0.286 win. Only Ottawa and Arizona have worse records. Canadiens is 29th in goals per game (2.24), 30th in goals per game (3.62), 27th in power play (14.1%), 29th in penalty (68.2%) and 25th in starting percentage (47%). 9). ).

One big problem is that many players are asked to do too much. This is the case with defender Jeff Petry, whose game has crashed at both ends of the ice. He scored 42 points in the shortened season of 2021. He is in a brisk eight points this season, but his game is gaining momentum when he meets Joel Edmundson again, who has been a victim for a long time.

Nick Suzuki has been fine, but there is no sign of the chemistry he enjoyed late last season with Cole Caufield, who has struggled this season.

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Jake Allen has been hot and cold, but he hasn’t gotten much help from the defense and he’s playing way too many minutes in the absence of Prices.

Tyler Toffoli falls into the category of improvement needs. He led the team last season with 28 goals and hit 17.7 percent of his shots. No one expected him to maintain that pace, but his 7.4 percent success rate this season is below his career’s 11.1 percent.

Defender Alexander Romanov makes mistakes, but his physical play and enthusiasm is a plus and he meets expectations.

General Manager Marc Bergevin made several skillful moves to improve last season’s team, but his biggest contribution this time was to add French-language content by adding Mathieu Perreault, Cdric Paquette, David Savard and Sam Montembeault. Perreault and Paquette get incomplete grades because they’ve been in lineup and out with injuries; Savard has to be better, even if you can’t teach speed, and Montembeault becomes irrelevant when Price returns.

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Bergevin picked up two players who should have an impact on the power game. Chris Wideman does a good job of moving the puck from the point, and Mike Hoffman is a proven scorer, but unfortunately he is on the injured reserve list for the second time this season. He has scored four goals in 13 matches, but the difference is minus 9.

Another newcomer is Christian Dvorak, who was a last minute addition after Jesperi Kotkaniemi jumped into Carolina. Dvorak won the early rounds, but he has a defensive responsibility in minus-16. The Canadiens gave up two draft options to get him, but the good news is that a first-round player is likely to be a late-round choice.

Another factor in the Canadiens ’poor start is Bergevins’ failure to retain two players who were important during last season’s playoffs. Corey Perry signed with Tampa Bay after the Canadiens did not give him a two-year contract. And there was no hope of Danault signing after the Canadiens embarrassed him by leaking the details of the contract offer. There was a touch of irony in Danaults ’departure because it was Bergevin who encouraged the Chicago Blackhawks to trade him in 2011, and he brought him to Montreal in a barter five years later.

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And finally, we need to look at coaching. Dominique Ducharme is the latest of the Canadiens coach to step into the position without head coach experience in the NHL. Players claim they have a bad start, but there have been hints that Ducharmes ’system may be a little too brainy.

Julien is not ready to: It looks like Claude Julien is still interested in coaching. Julien, who can afford to take it easy because he has a year left on his contract with the Canadiens, which will cost him $ 5 million, has agreed to coach the Canadian team in next month’s Channel One tournament in Moscow and the Spengler Cup in Davos. Switzerland.

This announcement is important because if the NHL decides not to compete in the Olympics, Julien and his staff, including Montrealer Blair Mackasey as head of player staff, will lead the Canadian team in Beijing.

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