While the Montreal Canadiens have lost their last two games, on Thursday, NHL.com released its latest power rankings, and the youngest team in the league remained in the top five.
So far this season, the Canadiens have managed to keep fans on the edge of their seats with comebacks and overtime wins. With Thursday nightâ€s defeat, the Canadiens have now played 11 one-goal games in the first 14 matchups so far this season. This speaks to their ability to perform under pressure, but it also shows that they struggle to separate themselves from their rivals when they are in control of the game and to protect a lead.
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While Martin St-Louis†men arenâ€t afraid to live dangerously, thereâ€s something to be said about successfully managing the game and putting it away when the occasion arises. NHL.comâ€s article mentions Lane Hutson as one of the reasons why the Habs are so high in the rankings. The young defenseman had 81 points after 97 career games, which is quite a feat. After the same number of games, Vancouver Canucks†captain Quinn Hughes had 77 points. Whichever way you look at it, Hutson has been a major factor in the Tricoloreâ€s success this season and even though his opponents know what heâ€s about now, having studied plenty of video, he still gets it done. As things stand, heâ€s on pace for 76 points this season.
I feel the article should also have mentioned Ivan Demidov. The rookie is fourth in scoring on the Canadiens with 12 points in 14 games. Five of his points came on the power play, but that number would likely be higher if he had been put on the top unit sooner; however, Martin St-Louis understandably wanted to wait until he had “earned itâ€.
The young Russian is on pace for 70 points so far, and, likely, heâ€ll even pick up the pace. The more he plays, the more comfortable he gets. His youthful enthusiasm is great to see, but after picking up another penalty in Thursdayâ€s match, heâ€s got 10 penalty minutes in 14 games. A few of those calls came on the power play, cutting short the man-advantage unit. When youâ€re on the power play, the refs are looking for a reason to cut it short and are more prone to blow the whistle and make calls, something heâ€ll adjust to. On BPM Sports yesterday, winningest goalie of all-time Martin Brodeur named Demidov amongst the current players he wouldn’t want to play against.
While the youngsters have both played significant roles in the Canadiens†early success, itâ€s impossible to forget about Jakub Dobes†hot start, Nick Suzukiâ€s leadership and productivity, and Cole Caufieldâ€s goal scoring and ability to score the big goals when it matters the most.
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