Tag: Kaiden Guhle

Habs Prevail In San Jose

Published on by JD Lagrange

By JD Lagrange – It’s been fast and furious around the NHL, even difficult to keep track of all of the player-movement around the league. As playoffs’ contenders attempt to distance themselves from pretenders by loading up, others like the Arizona Coyotes keep accumulating dead cap space for picks. It’s been so crazy a few days leading up to Friday’s trade deadline that we almost forgot that there are still games needing to be played.

Two of the teams in action last night have made some moves as the Canadiens visited the San Jose Sharks, who started life without Timo Meier. As for Montreal, it was their first game since trading away underwhelming Evgenii Dadonov to Dallas, getting 25 year-old Denis Gurianov. If Dadonov scored in his first game in the lone-star state, the Canadiens’ new addition did everything but putting the puck in the back of the net last night, a very impressive first appearance. The Canadiens came back from a 1-0 deficit after 40 minutes, to win 3-1. Kaiden Guhle, Jesse Ylönen and Christian Dvorak – in an empty net – were the Canadiens’ goals scorers.

Gurianov

Denis Gurianov

The Russian winger, sporting Ryan Poehling’s old number 25, skated on a line with Nick Suzuki and Mike Hoffman for his Habs’ debuts. Not only did head coach Martin St-Louis put the newcomer on the top line, but he also played him on the second powerplay unit against the Sharks.

In 17:02 of ice time (2:24 on the PP), Gurianov ended the night with a plus-one rating and six (6) shots on goal, many of them quality chances. He also hit the side of the net on a one-timer.

Earlier in the day, St-Louis spoke to reporters about what he knew about his new player and about his expectations. Always refreshing to listen to, the coach had this to say: “Honestly, I’ve had people who tried to contact me to tell me about the young player they know, but that’s something I’ll get into in two to three weeks”, said St-Louis. “I want to form my own opinion. I don’t want to be influenced by what someone might tell me before I get to see him. I fee like not everybody sees it the same way, so I don’t want to get tainted just because that’s some person’s opinion”, he added. “I want to see him in practice, I want to see him in games, I want to make my own first impression versus being influenced by somebody with what I should be expecting. Because I don’t think everybody sees it the same way. You’re coaching a hockey player, you’re coaching a person, so if I can get an edge there I will, but in due time.”

With his performance last night, it’s fair to say that Gurianov is starting in the coach’s good grace. He came as advertised. He’s big, he’s a good skater, he has a good shot. On one play, he out skated Erik Karlsson (of all people) on the outside, cut to the net but was stopped by the goalie. In another occasion, he fed a brilliant pass to Suzuki in front of the Sharks’ net, and the Canadiens’ center seemed surprised to get it on his blade, and took too long to shoot.

It’s only one game so it’s important not to get carried away here, but if he is to keep playing the way he did last night, it is not too farfetched to think of him on the right side of Cole Caufield and Suzuki next season.

Guhle

The game against the Sharks was also the return of Kaiden Guhle into the line-up, he who had left the game on December 29th with a knee injury and hadn’t played since. The rookie defenseman picked up where he left off, paired with David Savard. Smooth skating, always in good position, joining the rush, it’s like he never missed a game.

Guhle finished the night with 18:27, third most behind Mike Matheson and Savard. He scored the game tying goal in the third period, and finished the night with a plus-one rating, three shots on goal, one hit and one blocked shot.

The Canadiens did use their six defensemen rather evenly as the least utilized was Justin Barron, with 15:50 of ice time.

Allen

Last night’s win, however, is on veteran goaltender Jake Allen, who stopped 38 or the Sharks 39 shots. In fact, Allen stopped 38 consecutive shots as he allowed a goal on the Sharks’ very first shot of the game, 1:43 minutes in.

Spectacular at times, helped by his defensemen a couple of times, Allen was in full “beast mode” last night. He was a big reason why Erik Karlsson was kept off the scoresheet, something very few teams have been able to do this season. It was the 34th start of the season for the Canadiens’ number… 34.

The Canadiens continue their Western road trip on Thursday, when they will visit the Los Angeles Kings. Game starts at 7:30 PM Pacific, 10:30 PM Eastern.

David Savard – The Unsung Hero

Published on by JD Lagrange6 Comments

By JD Lagrange – We look at the Canadiens’ start of the season, playing .500 hockey through the first eight games, without Joel Edmundson and Mike Matheson on defense, and we praise the goaltenders and the four rookie defensemen. And rightfully so. Kaiden Guhle, Jordan Harris, Arber Xhekaj and Johnathan Kovacevic are all NHL rookies this year and they deserve the accolades that they are receiving. Both Jake Allen and Samuel Montembeault have been outstanding so far. But there’s one man that seems to be a second thought and he too, deserves some attention. His name? David Savard.

In the absence of Edmundson, the coaching staff game the assistant-captain job to the 32 year-old St-Hyacinthe, Quebec native. After all, he has played over 680 games in the NHL and he has a Stanley Cup ring to show for. And Savard is taking his role seriously on this young defense. In fact, he and Chris Wideman have been good role models for the Canadiens’ young defensemen.

But why is he so often overlooked by the media and fan base alike? Well, he’s not a fast skater. He’s not one who will carry the puck end to end. He’s not the best at anything on the ice. But he does the little things right. And that doesn’t draw the attention of those who like the flashiness and spectacular side of the game. But rest assured, the coaching staff and his teammates know and appreciate what he does out there.

At the time of writing this, Savard leads the Canadiens in ice time, and the team’s defensemen in points with four in eight games. His 37 blocked shots place him first in the NHL in that category.

Teaching Guhle

You cannot talk about Kaiden Guhle’s amazing start to his NHL career and leave Savard out of the equation. Yes, it is amazing to see Guhle playing almost 21 minutes a game in his rookie season, on the top defense pairing. David Savard is his partner and averages just under 22 and a half minutes of ice time per game. Yes, Guhle’s first goal in the NHL against the Buffalo Sabres was on an amazing shot. But it’s Savard who set him up beautifully, drawing the defender on him, with a perfect pass for that one-timer.

Not his chair

With that said, there is no doubt that first pairing is not his seat. He’s also too smart to believe that it is. But the Canadiens losing Shea Weber and Jeff Petry in back to back season without replacing either of them is not Savard’s fault. Yet, he is the one who must face the opposition’s top lines, while bringing along and teaching the ropes to a – talented – rookie by his side.

Ideally, Savard would be on the second pairing but neither Kovacevic nor Wideman are better replacements than him for that role right now. And that’s not even the coaches’ fault. The responsibility sits fully on Kent Hughes who, like his predecessor, has not addressed the issue. Although at least Bergevin had Petry there.

Justin Barron and Logan Mailloux both have the potential to become better defensemen and better candidate to first pairing duties than Savard is. But neither of them is there yet in their development. Aside from unloading a few veteran wingers who aren’t carrying their weight, the number one priority for Hughes is – or should be – to trade for someone who would allow Savard to continue what he’s doing, but on the second pairing.

More reading…