Newhook Gives Canadiens New Life Against Sabres

Montreal Canadiens forward Alex Newhook may not have been the most valuable player on the ice for Game 3 against the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday. That honour probably goes to goalie Jakub Dobes (yet again). However, without Newhook, the dams maybe don’t burst open as they did in the Habs’ eventual 6-2 victory to take a 2-1 series lead.

Canadiens Owe Round 2 Berth to Newhook

Without Newhook’s two goals to bookend the Canadiens’ scoring, maybe they don’t win. Without his two goals in Game 2, in which he was named first star, maybe the Habs don’t pull even in the series. And, without his series-winning goal in Game 7 over the Tampa Bay Lightning, maybe the Habs aren’t even here at all.

Granted, these are all hypotheticals. In Game 3 against the Sabres, the Canadiens were certainly carrying the play despite Tage Thompson having opened the scoring less than a minute in. Some may say it was only a matter of time before the Habs finally broke through and it could have been anyone. However, considering his suddenly team-leading five goals in the playoffs and his new penchant for scoring big ones to boot, he deserves some kind of acknowledgement for the difference he continues to make against all reasonable odds.

Just a few short weeks ago, with the Canadiens tied two games apiece against the Lightning, Newhook had yet to so much as score a point. He was arguably one of the Habs who most needed to step up to help secure an eventual series victory, even if only to start to establish himself as someone who could leave his mark in the playoffs. Heading into this postseason, he had played 32 playoff games in his career with just nine points to show for it. Since that point, he has the aforementioned five goals and six total points in his last six games.

More of the Next Byron than Caufield

No one should confuse Newhook for a superstar talent. While his 21.3% shooting percentage this past season hints at him having the talent of a finisher, between his speed, the 3:35 per game he averaged on the penalty kill heading into Game 3 and, all due respect to him, his inability to stay healthy, he seems to have more in common with Paul Byron than Cole Caufield.

Granted, Caufield, who has yet to score at even strength this spring, is not exactly playing like himself, but, with players like Newhook, who are generally relied on for secondary scoring but putting the puck in the net with such regularity, it’s much easier to be patient with the former. Even so, Newhook’s sudden surge in scoring admittedly speaks more to a shot in the arm of good luck than anything else, but the Canadiens and their fans will obviously take it.

Case in point, on Newhook’s 1-1 game-tying goal, the puck found the back of the net through a sea of bodies, going in off Sabres defenseman Conor Timmins. On his empty-net, insurance marker late in the game, Newhook wasn’t even able to get it to go, with Rasmus Dahlin hooking him as he was trying to gain position on the Sabres captain. He was simply awarded the goal, because of the infraction on the play. Finally, on Newhook’s piece de resistance, late in Game 7 against the Lightning, he simply threw it on net, deflecting it in off goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, for one of the team’s record-low nine shots on goal in a playoff victory.

Newhook Living Up to the Hype

Nevertheless, Newhook serves as proof anything can happen by just taking a shot. His co-team-leading four in the game (with four other Canadiens) reinforce what is shaping up to be the difference in this series against the Sabres. The Habs are throwing it in the direction of the net with greater efficiency (and preventing the opposition from getting the chance to do the same), driving the play more as the series wears on. It’s ironic, but, in Game 1, when the Sabres held the edge in play (and won 4-2), the Habs nevertheless outshot them 28-16. Newhook had a co-team-leading four shots in that game too, but obviously neglected to net his now customary two goals a game, which was obviously the difference.

For shame.

Whatever it’s worth, Byron was a worthy fan favourite, based on his consistent effort level and obviously the multiple 20-goal seasons he put together during his Canadiens tenure, which ended one season before his apparent successor was acquired. Newhook has yet to hit that mark, getting as high as 15 back in 2023-24, his debut season with the team, following the much-maligned offseason trade with the Colorado Avalanche (who had drafted him at No. 16 in 2019, one spot after Caufield, and with whom he won the 2022 Stanley Cup).

Based on Newhook’s first-round draft pedigree, standards have always been high. In sharp contrast, Byron was a sixth-round Sabres draft pick back in 2007. So, that’s a legitimate reason to expect more out of Newhook. He’s not the same 5-foot-9 (164 pounds) underdog that Byron was (5-foot-11, 200 lbs). However, it’s hard to argue Newhook should be delivering more than he has these playoffs. At least over the last little while, he’s lived up to the hype… and his undeniable skill level.

Some might say Newhook is capable of more still. However, realistically, what more can you ask? He may not be Dobes, who, for all intents and purposes is the team’s most valuable player so far these playoffs, but Dobes needs someone to score. That’s (been) Newhook.