Streaks and good vibes do one of two things: they continue or end. The Montreal Canadiens had been playing some admirably sound hockey since before Christmas. The club arrived in Chicago to play the Blackhawks on Friday (Jan. 2) after besting the likes of the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Vegas Golden Knights on their road trip. What sort of threat could the Blackhawks present? Enough of one to clip the Habs 4-2, that’s how much. Let’s discuss.
Making It Both Easy and Hard
It was a curious case of Montreal making the game both easy and difficult for the host Blackhawks. The Canadiens outshot their Original Six rival considerably, rifling 40 shots at Arvid Soderblom whereas Samuel Montembeault only had to deal with 26.
Cole Caufield and Mike Matheson accounted for 15 of those 40 opportunities, a mesmeric 37.5% of their side’s total shots. That sounds like a great plan, after all. Matheson has a cannon slap shot and Caufield leads Montreal with 20 goals. Lo and behold, said 20th marker came in the first period on Friday via some clever positional hockey sense and pure skill in the slot.
From that perspective, the Canadiens merited a better fate. But that’s not the world we live in. Beyond the fact that Soderblom, to his full credit, had one of his best outings of the 2024-25 campaign, one must reap what one sows. Less than two minutes into the contest, Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble were whistled for transgressions (tripping and slashing), thus awarding the Blackhawks with a mouth-watering 5-on-3 power play.
Related: Alexandre Carrier’s Contributions to the Canadiens So Far
For all their faults, the Blackhawks still have a respectable power play, operating at 23.5% this season (12th-best in the NHL). Thus, Tyler Bertuzzi put the puck past Montembeault after it was passed around by his Chicago mates for what felt like forever.
The second goal was another demonstration of slackness. A dumped puck behind the Montreal net attracted three Habs players to the action like flies to a midnight lamp. Kirby Dach, Brendan Gallagher, and Struble all converged where there were only two of the opposition. This allowed Wyatt Kaiser to make himself comfortable in the slot, receive the rubber, and mail it to Nick Foligno who performed a deft redirect.
Did Montreal play poorly? No, they didn’t. Did they commit enough annoying little mistakes that meant they still deservedly lost? Yes, they did.
The Return of Struble and Pezzetta
Suppose someone tuned in to Friday’s match who had not paid close attention to the Canadiens’ trials and tribulations this season. They had just followed the general storylines. Those people would probably wonder about some of the lineup decisions.
Where was Patrik Laine, the goal machine? Who are Micheal Pezzetta and Jayden Struble?
Good questions that all have sensible explanations. First, Laine was resting due to an illness. As of Saturday morning (Jan. 4) he is listed as day-to-day, so it’s nothing to worry about. That might change come game time versus the Colorado Avalanche. David Savard was also out of the lineup because of an upper-body injury.
Insert, therefore, a couple of faces Montreal supporters had not seen in a long time: little-used forward Pezzetta and blueliner Struble. Not to toot their own horn, but this author wrote two pieces about each last month, here and here, arguing that they provide more bang for one’s buck and deserve some ice time. Well, maybe it wouldn’t make sense to toot a horn given that the team lost and Struble finished with a minus-1 rating.
Nevertheless, it was nice to be reminded of their existence, especially Pezzetta, who had been a healthy scratch for over two months. He commenced the match as the second line’s left winger, although his minutes were limited to 5:49, by far the least of any Montreal skater.
The funny thing is that his statistics were far from bad, as per MoneyPuck. For someone who saw limited action, he found a way to muster three shots on target and finish with 0.398 expected goals (xG), which was fourth-best on the team. His line, which included Alex Newhook and Kirby Dach, finished with 0.457 xG.
He’s like a younger Gallagher. Scrappy and willing to grind it out, but has more offensive skills than some might be led to believe. But trailing for most of the night, head coach Martin St. Louis might have felt he had to rely on his top dogs more than the chap who hadn’t suited up since late October. That is understandable, but his inclusion remained a pleasant surprise.
Emil Heineman’s Importance Surges
Emil Heineman, the 23-year-old Swede, continues to flourish. He netted his 10th goal of the campaign in the third period during a power play. That the coach is giving him minutes on special teams counts for a lot.
It was a nifty goal too, what with Heineman’s good hands helping him bat the puck (legally) out of the air from the right side of the net to cut his side’s deficit to 3-2 at the time. He has 10 for the season, a number bolstered by seven helpers for 17 points in all. There are only six roster members with positive plus/minus ratings at this point in 2024-25. Four have earned a plus-1, and he’s one of them.
Heineman began the season hot, scoring a pair of goals early in October, then cooled off considerably. But has rekindled his mojo as of late, having notched at least a point in eight of his last 10 matches.
For all the hubbub surrounding Lane Hutson – who is still visibly developing as a defender – Laine’s magic, and Caufield’s scoring prowess, the Swede has somewhat flown under the radar. But he’s there, and he’s usually contributing in some capacity. Don’t be surprised if he becomes a major part of some top-six plans between now and the campaign’s conclusion.
There is no time to sulk in defeat. Montreal immediately travels to Denver for a game against the Avalanche on Saturday in the final match of the traditional late-December, early-January road trip. It won’t be easy limiting the damage from the likes of Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. One more push before heading home, lads.
