On Saturday night, the Montreal Canadiens faced off against the Ottawa Senators at the Bell Centre, offering the home team a chance to secure a rare win against their Ontario rivals. The Canadiens triumphed 4-1, with standout performances from Lane Hutson, goalie Samuel Montembeault, and forward Cole Caufield.
There’s plenty to cover, so let’s jump into the highlights!
**Prospect Development**
While Oliver Kapanen and Joshua Roy garnered much of the attention during Canadiens’ training camp, it was Emil Heineman who delivered the best underlying statistics during the preseason. This is promising, as Heineman is at an age where he needs to start demonstrating value for a permanent role on the team. The 22-year-old netted his first NHL goal on Saturday, aided by teammates like Christian Dvorak and Hutson. Although Hutson was announced as an assisting player by Michel Lacroix, the NHL only credited Dvorak. Despite this minor detail, what matters is that Hutson’s skills are translating well to the NHL, marking just the beginning of his professional journey.
Cole Caufield, who switched his number to 13 in memory of his late friend Johnny Gaudreau, is on fire, scoring three goals in as many games, including a signature shot that left Senators goalie Linus Ullmark no chance to save. Despite initial concerns that a shoulder injury might have impacted his scoring, it was only a matter of time before Caufield found his rhythm again after a string of bad luck last season. Though he could experience another scoring lull, he is clearly back to his scoring ways, and his potential seems limitless.
**Monty’s Resolve**
Tim Stutzle eventually managed to score against Montembeault in the third period, but the Canadiens’ starter performed admirably, particularly during the moments when the Senators took control. The Canadiens capitalized on Montembeault’s solid play to build an early lead.
**Time to Score**
Despite not being credited with an assist on the game’s first goal, Hutson remained undeterred. I may frequently highlight Hutson’s impressive play, and while that might create high expectations for fans, his performance is indeed speaking for itself. However, it’s worth mentioning that it’s slightly disappointing Hutson hasn’t yet scored in his first five NHL games. He has accumulated five points in that span and is a frontrunner for the Calder Trophy, but there’s always room to grow.
It’s noteworthy that every NHL team, including the Canadiens, passed on drafting him due to concerns about his smaller stature, which instead has allowed him to be quite elusive on the ice.
Caufield netted another goal midway through the third period by capitalizing on Nick Suzuki’s breakaway, bringing his goal pace to an impressive 112 this season. So, feel free to keep an eye on that—after all, watching sports wouldn’t be as much fun without a little excitement, and I’m certainly not here to tell you otherwise.
