MONTREAL — Cole Caufield finished a dizzying overtime sequence with a highly skilled shot that beat Joey Daccord and stamped a dramatic 5-4 win over the Seattle Kraken in the Montreal Canadiens’ home opener at Bell Centre on Tuesday.
He had rifled home the goal that made it 2-1 Canadiens in the eighth minute of the second period, too. The puck came to him and was off his stick in a millisecond, uncorked in a way few in the NHL could replicate.
That was 30 minutes of game action before Ivan Demidov produced his second highlight-of-the-night-candidate — a gorgeous move that froze Daccord and tied the game 4-4.
The fifth pick in the 2024 NHL Draft produced his first with a high-speed, pull-up-and-pass play to Alex Newhook for a tap-in that opened the scoring.
Yes, fans in attendance were treated to Caufield and Demidov making game-altering plays and tapping into their natural talents to remind everyone how fortunate the Canadiens are to have them.
Nick Suzuki has done that, too, since the start of the season, producing a league-high six assists through four games. And Lane Hutson, fresh off signing his eight-year, $70.8-million contract extension Monday, came with his best on Tuesday.
But the Canadiens know they wouldnâ€t be 3-1 on their season without the ordinary plays Mike Matheson has made in the background.
Yes, it is the ordinary that has made Matheson “exceptional so far,†according to Newhook.
Martin St. Louis said, “Mikeâ€s been tremendous.â€
“Without him, who knows where we are?†asked Caufield.
And Suzuki, who called Matheson Montrealâ€s best defenceman, put his finger on why heâ€s made such an impact to this strong start.
“I think as heâ€s gotten older, heâ€s found a way to feel out the game more and not take as much risk,†the captain said. “Mikeâ€s been so poised. Perhaps more so this season than Iâ€ve seen before.â€
If the 32-year-old keeps it up, he becomes indispensable to the Canadiens.
You know theyâ€re thinking it.
After locking up Hutson on Monday and signing five-year contract extensions for themselves Tuesday, Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes must be contemplating what itâ€ll take to keep Matheson in Montreal beyond this year. The Pointe-Claire, Que. native is in the final year of a deal paying $4.85 million per, and heâ€s undeniably a huge piece of the fabric thatâ€s woven the vaunted culture of the Canadiens, and they know it.
Itâ€s what they hoped Matheson would be when they traded for him four summers ago.
He put up 19 goals and 96 points over his first 130 games. And then, with Hutsonâ€s arrival, he assumed the role of becoming their top shutdown defenceman and leading penalty killer.
The transition wasnâ€t necessarily as smooth for Matheson as his patented skating stride, but it wasnâ€t nearly as rocky as some in the market made it out to be last year.
But now? With more experience under his belt?
Matheson looks as comfortable as can be in his role, and the Canadiens are benefitting tremendously.
Theyâ€ve felt it since the start of the season, but they particularly felt it on Tuesday night, when they were prone to complicating the game and playing “jumpy,†as Newhook put it.
Matheson was sure-footed and steady, calming play that needed to be calmed.
Itâ€s been what heâ€s done since the season started. With the depth of the Canadiens bolstered, and with game-changing talent throughout their lineup, Matheson has been able to use his teammates more efficiently and adopt a less-is-more approach thatâ€s increased his value.
It is the approach he thinks all the Canadiens should have.
“You look around the league, especially teams that are successful in the playoffs, they play boring hockey,†Matheson said. “As much as that might not be the most fun to watch all the time, thatâ€s what wins. It gets people off their feet when thereâ€s a really nice move or something like that, but more times than not it doesnâ€t work. I think weâ€re understanding more and more that the more connected we are, the more we use each other, the better and better weâ€ll be.â€
Right now, heâ€s driving that.
“Itâ€s hard to say ‘simple†with all he does, but at the end of the day his role on the team has definitely changed a lot and it takes a special person and player to kind of adapt to his role that way,†said Caufield. “To all of us, we know how special a player and person he is. Every day, he just works. Itâ€s special to have a player like that. Heâ€s a huge leader for our team. He plays against their top line every night, kills penalty, goes back and breaks the puck out every time and takes a hit. Where heâ€s come is a long way, and heâ€s a very special piece to have.â€
Matheson will be a difficult piece to keep.
The Canadiens wonâ€t be able to do it at just any price. But losing him might cost them more.
Itâ€ll require a fair deal and a strong pitch to keep Matheson from the allure of unrestricted free agency as the salary cap is skyrocketing and the scarcity of minute-munching, penalty-killing, offence-stimulating defenceman like him becomes more and more evident. The Canadiens will be incentivized to give it to him if he keeps playing as he has.
Matheson would welcome that with open arms.
He called the opportunity to potentially stay with the Canadiens and see through the process theyâ€ve embarked on together over the time heâ€s been in Montreal “super motivating.â€
But Matheson also said heâ€s not spending his days thinking about anything other than the plays heâ€ll have to make to help the Canadiens win their next game.
His mind is in the right place, and thatâ€s as much a reason the Canadiens are off to a good start as the game-breaking plays some of his teammates have delivered.
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