It’s appropriate that while the Montreal Canadiens will be hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday at the Bell Centre, with first place in the Atlantic Division potentially on the line, Michigan will be facing Denver in the national NCAA semifinal in Las Vegas.
The game became consequential when the Lightning lost 4-2 Monday night at the Buffalo Sabres, leaving the teams tied atop the division with 102 points. The Lightning hold a game in hand, and the Canadiens are two points back.
We’ll see what happens Tuesday when the Canadiens host the Florida Panthers and the Lightning play the Senators in Ottawa, or Wednesday when the Sabres travel to face the New York Rangers. But the game Thursday in Montreal could be dripping with consequence.
Meanwhile, Michigan enters its semifinal against Denver as the favourite and the tournament’s top seed. If the Wolverines pull it out against the Pioneers it would delay any decision Canadiens top prospect Michael Hage would have to make for two more days, with the national championship game scheduled for Saturday.
The Canadiens would like to sign Hage once his season is over. They feel he is ready for the professional ranks.
The only question is whether that professional debut would be in the NHL or with the AHL’s Laval Rocket. Canadiens management appears open to either option, but has made an effort to let Hage focus on what he’s trying to accomplish with Michigan.
A year ago, Ivan Demidov came over from Russia somewhat unexpectedly on an April 10 flight and was in the Canadiens lineup four days later, scoring his first NHL goal on his first NHL shot. That team was also playing consequential games: it had not yet clinched a playoff berth, yet coach Martin St. Louis did not hesitate to insert Demidov and give him nearly 17 minutes of ice time. He played three minutes on the power play, got more ice time in the third period than in the first and saw a shift in overtime.
Demidov did not dip his toes in the NHL water. He was thrown in the deep end.
The important context there, however, is the player who gave up his spot in the lineup to make room for Demidov was Michael Pezzetta. It was not a very difficult decision.
If the Canadiens were to insert Hage in the lineup, a player far more important than Pezzetta would have to come out. Considering defenceman Adam Engström has been with the big club for three games since his recall a week ago after Alexandre Carrier was injured and has yet to see any game action, it is worth wondering if St. Louis would feel as comfortable inserting Hage as he was with Demidov.
With the impending returns from injury of Carrier, Kirby Dach and Alexandre Texier, St. Louis will have some difficult decisions to make. It’s clear the Canadiens could use more secondary scoring behind the top line, which Hage could potentially provide. But whomever comes out of the lineup would be someone who has been a consistent contributor all season.
The Canadiens have already clinched a playoff spot, but they are still playing for something. They want to win the division, or even the conference. They do not want to take their foot off the gas heading to the playoffs.
If Michigan reaches the national championship game, it would leave Hage with one regular-season game to realistically play for the Canadiens. That would be in Philadelphia on April 14, in the same building where Canadiens management imposed a lineup decision on St. Louis by asking him to play college signee Sean Farrell on March 28, 2023. That did not go over very well.
We’ll see what happens over the next seven days. Anything is possible, but it seems like Hage is a far less natural fit in Montreal than Demidov was a year ago.
Suzuki can take a compliment
It is well known that Nick Suzuki grew up idolizing Patrice Bergeron, who won his first of six Selke Trophies when Suzuki was 12.
When Bergeron’s first NHL coach, Mike Sullivan, compared Suzuki to Bergeron unprompted after the Canadiens beat the New York Rangers on Thursday, it was worth asking Suzuki what he thought. People have compared him to Bergeron before, but coming from Sullivan, it hit different.
“It’s really nice to hear other coaches or other players, it’s great to see what they think about you. It goes a long way,” Suzuki said Friday after practice in Newark. “He’s obviously coached a lot of great teams and a lot of great players, so it’s good to hear that coming from him.
“I obviously loved Patrice and want to be the best 200-foot guy I can be, so that’s always been my thing.”
Suzuki is, according to our Dom Luszczyszyn’s model, the favourite to win the Selke this year. Somewhat surprisingly, Suzuki did not shy away from talking about it when asked Friday. It would mean the world to him to win it and have his name on that trophy.
“I think it would be unbelievable,” he said. “Ever since I was a kid, I’ve wanted to be that player, be the guy that can be relied upon on both sides of the puck, whatever situation I feel like I can play in. All the past Selke winners are guys that I always looked up to, so to be in consideration for that would be really cool.”
Hutson’s pet defensive move
One of Lane Hutson’s super powers is his ability to read moments of weakness, use deception and exploit them. He does it offensively all the time. But he does it defensively too.
There is a play Hutson makes regularly: If an offensive player is curling back toward the blue line near the wall and Hutson is checking him, Hutson will use any lack of urgency against that player, swoop in on the inside, do a quick stick lift and take off up the ice.
This is what it looked like in a game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Jan. 27, with Pavel Dorofeyev discovering the move the hard way.
“I think a guy gets comfortable when they curl away from me and think that I’m off of him, so I kind of chill for a second,” Hutson explained in Tampa last week. “Just let him feel like I’m tired or something.”
That comfort is the weakness, but a lot of calculation goes into using that move. Hutson basically only does it between the hashmarks and the blue line, a low-risk area where at worst, he can at least knock the puck out of the zone. If the opponent anticipates the move and curls away, it’s toward the boards, mitigating any danger by being far enough to the outside that Hutson has time to recover.
“If he beats me that way he’s not even going to shoot it,” Hutson said, “because if he shoots it that’s terrible.”
Hutson’s biggest weapon is his mind. This is just one example, but he is starting to learn how to use it in the defensive zone as effectively as he does in the offensive zone.
Alex Newhook’s breakout season
A broken ankle stopped it right in its tracks, but Alex Newhook is still having the best season of his NHL career.
His goals, primary assists and points per 60 minutes of ice time in all situations are all career highs. Newhook has 12 goals and 23 points in 37 games this season after putting up 15 goals and 26 points in 82 games last season. His 82-game pace this season is 26 goals and 50 points, which would shatter his career highs.
“I’ve felt good this year,” Newhook said Friday. “I knew that I could take another step in my game. I think last year I took a step and I don’t think the production really showed it, but I think this year, again, just looking to keep getting better every year. With an 82-game sample, I think there’s potential there for what the pace is right now. I know what I’m capable of, but I’m feeling pretty good.”
Before his injury Nov. 13, Newhook had to adjust to a change in role, becoming a primary penalty killer and being taken off the power play. Upon his return he was put back on the power play as the primary zone entry guy on the second unit and taken off the penalty kill because while he was gone, the Canadiens acquired Phillip Danault.
Newhook has always seen himself as an offensive player, and the results this season would support that. But his future might be as a two-way guy who can use his speed on both sides of the puck. It’s one thing to be a two-way guy who puts up 30 points a year, it’s quite another to be one who can put up 50.
