A glimpse of the the power play's first wave

On paper, the Habs have what it takes to have a respectable season.

The return of Kirby Dach combined with the addition of Patrik Laine to the top-6 will help, Lane Hutson could have a major impact if he’s as good as we saw at the end of last season, there won’t be a ménage à trois to start the campaign…

But if the Habs are to succeed, the key will be to score more goals than they did last season. And at that point, the power play needs to start rolling.

Laine’s arrival could really help get things rolling, and we seem to be getting a glimpse of how things might look in the first game of the season.

I say this because in Brossard today, five players in particular trained for an hour or so with Adam Nicholas.

I’m talking about Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, Patrik Laine, Juraj Slafkovsky and Mike Matheson.

All in all, it looks like a formation Martin St-Louis would use with the man advantage…

A preview of the Habs’ 1st man advantage?

Caufield, Suzuki, Slafkovsky, Laine and Matheson spent nearly an hour on the ice with Adam Nicholas this morning pic.twitter.com/MtmsbbbUXk

– RDS (@RDSca) September 11, 2024

The idea makes sense.

After all, you’ve got the team’s top line, the team’s best defenseman… And possibly the team’s best maverick.

I wonder, though, whether Caufield and Laine will be able to live together on the ice for long, because we know how much they love to shoot at the net.

But if this is really the first wave of the powerplay, it’s going to be interesting to watch.

Because on the second wave, there could be…

Roy – Dach – Newhook

Hutson – Guhle / Xhekaj / Barron

There’s also the question of whether the possibility of Hutson taking Matheson’s place on PP1 at some point is real.

At least, if the Habs realize that the smaller defenseman is more effective than Matheson with the man advantage, Martin St-Louis will have some questions to ask himself…

It’s going to be exciting, to say the least.

It’s good, too, because it’s been far from glorious when the Habs have found themselves on the power play in recent years!

Overtime

– Big cash!

There’s “reason to believe” Igor Shesterkin’s camp is “aiming for” $12 million per year in his next contract with the Rangers, per @MollieeWalkerr

That AAV would make Shesterkin the highest-paid goaltender in the NHL. pic.twitter.com/C0FuIRvM5w

– B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) September 11, 2024