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Kaiden Guhle: not a long-term injury

 Auteur: Jessica Williams
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Kaiden Guhle: not a long-term injury
Credit: Capture d'écran / Screenshot

We all had a big scare and a very bad feeling of déjà vu this week, when Kaiden Guhle, Mike Matheson (treatment day) and Juraj Slafkovsky (left training on Friday) appeared to be injured/inconvenienced.

We all thought that this was it, and that we were in for a horrible injury-filled season all over again.

Especially since this season started before the real season even began with Patrik Laine, who by the way might not be using crutches anymore.

In short, it really wasn’t looking good on Friday, but in the end, more fear than harm.

Matheson and Slafkovsky both played yesterday.

Matheson had an assist, and Slaf had two.

And as for Guhle, well, Renaud Lavoie said yesterday that the Habs defenseman wasn’t injured for the long term.

The Canadiens aren’t worried about Guhle’s long-term future, which is a relief and great news.

Losing Guhle so early in the season would have been a real tragedy, especially considering he’s been the team’s best defenseman since the start of the season.

He brings great consistency and stability to the Habs blue line, both defensively and offensively (one goal and three assists in five games).

In short, Guhle should be able to return to action soon, and even if he misses a week, it’s perfect timing, as the Habs only play one game on weeknight, on Tuesday against the New York Rangers at 7:15pm at the Bell Centre.

After that, the Habs will have a three-day break without a game before playing two games this weekend.

  • Saturday vs. the St. Louis Blues at 7 p.m. at the Bell Centre.
  • Sunday vs. the Flyers in Philadelphia at 7 p.m.

In short, Guhle shouldn’t miss too many games, and if I had to make a prediction, I think he could be back for the weekend games.

As for yesterday’s game against the Islanders, apart from Guhle’s absence, there are a few other things to take away from the game.

My notes on last night’s match

1. Logan Mailloux had a solid NHL debut this season.

The young defenseman left his mark on the game, scoring his first NHL goal and playing a very physical and solid game defensively, despite some long periods and a penalty.

He spent over 19 minutes on the ice, and he really didn’t seem overwhelmed by events or the speed of the game.

Martin St-Louis trusted him and he delivered a fine performance.

2. Emil Heineman continues his very interesting start to the season.

Even though he only spent 10 minutes and 36 seconds on the ice, Heineman once again proved that he really belongs in the NHL.

He manages to stand out in virtually every one of his appearances, as he makes good decisions using his speed and body to generate scoring opportunities and time of possession in the offensive zone.

On top of that, Heineman has one of the best shots on the team, and he showed it again yesterday, this time in the shootout, when he fired a perfect shot in his first career shootout appearance.

3. The same can be said of Oliver Kapanen, who plays some good hockey, and who also didn’t break his head in the shoot-out with a good, accurate shot.

In fact, the Habs’ only two shootout scorers were the two young rookie forwards, who were the two least-used players in the game.

4. Kirby Dach had a very tough game, including an unnecessary penalty in overtime, which led to him being benched for the shootout.

Obviously, we have to be patient and vigilant with Dach, given that he’s rusty because he hasn’t played since the start of the 2023-2024 season, but all the same, Dach has to be better.

It’s hard for him at center, so maybe sending him to the wing to boost his confidence could be beneficial.

5. Lane Hutson had a much more subdued game than usual, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Hutson didn’t have his best game, but he was still good defensively, which is a good thing.

6. Cayden Primeau was very solid last night, bouncing back nicely from his rough start against the Boston Bruins.

He kept the Habs in the game and earned his team a point.

7. It was another tough game defensively for the Habs.

The Islanders too often had long, uninterrupted sequences in the habs zone.

This needs to be fixed if the team is to win games.

In short, a far from perfect game, but a very entertaining one.


Overtime

– Tickets are now on sale!

– Wow.

– Read on.

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