Well, I’m a man who always stands up and admits when he’s wrong in “real life” so I may as well do it here. Again.
Marty St Louis, is a good coach, I was wrong about him and I apologize for all the crass comments and rude remarks I made about his abilities when I was an extremely frustrated Habs fan. While he did make some awful mistakes, he’s proven he can adapt and has the team playing the best hockey I’ve seen them play in a very long time. He is the man behind the team’s turnaround and I feel like I should stand up and say, “I was wrong and I’m sorry.”
Lane Hutson is phenomenal. He’s gone head to head with Makar and Hughes, and come out on top. He’s a number one defenseman in this league already, and I genuinely feel like he’s got a shot at 60 points and the Calder. His poise, vision and hockey IQ are remarkable. I said this in the Hutson thread, but we are witnessing the birth of a superstar here.
Kirby Dach has been a monster lately, making big plays, scoring timely goals. It’s wonderful to see him keep going and scoring.
Suzuki and Caufield are quietly on track to be PPG players. Caufield has that elite shot and sniper accuracy, while Suzuki is becoming one of the best two way centers in the game. We need to get Slaf at their level, but he seems to be making progress.
Kaiden Guhle is the rock that the defense will be built upon. When he ran over Lekerrimaki and glared at him after the carnage, it set the tone immediately. Suddenly the Habs are the ones throwing the body, initiating the contact, setting the physical tone. Xhekaj and Struble were also very physical and played solid games.
The fourth line was terrific. Again. Evans, Armia and Heineman were fantastic in every zone. They may be the best fourth line in the NHL.
Montembeault was awful. He almost managed to lose the game for the Habs. It was extremely fortuitous that Myers only hit the iron because he had Monty beaten badly, and may well have put the game out of reach.
Overall one of the most entertaining games of the last couple of years. Great stuff.