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From undesirables to essentials: Anderson the monster, Dvorak the star and Gallagher the playmaker
Charles-Alexis Brisebois
From undesirables to essentials: Anderson the monster, Dvorak the star and Gallagher the playmaker
Credit: Getty Images
Do you feel it, the playoff fever?

I don’t know to what extent the habs really have a chance to make the playoffs this season. After all, in the event of a tie, regular season wins count – and the habs are at 24 only.

But I’m not necessarily here to crush the wave: this morning, the habs are in the playoffs.

(Credit: Sportsnet)
The chances of seeing the habs qualify mathematically are around 31.2%, at the moment. But when you look at how the guys are playing, it seems like it’s more than that.

Why? Because something is happening right now, in Montreal.

And on that topic, it’s clear that Josh Anderson has his say. The guy has been playing hurt for many weeks, but he doesn’t let it show on the ice.

He had 1000 opportunities to take evenings off (again yesterday, he was almost cut by a skate), but he continues to have his say in the team’s successes.

Without him (and his trio in general) last night, the habs wouldn’t have won 6-3 against Ottawa in a big hockey game.

He scored the goal that tied the game 3-3 and later in the game, he made a great effort to score in an empty net and make it 5-3. His teammates rewarded him on his return to the bench and it was deserved because he was a monster on the ice.

Then, after the game, he was warmly applauded by the fans, who recognize his efforts.

But for him, it’s normal to do all that: he wants to win in Montreal. The last few years have been tough, but he still wants to win here. That’s why he’s making the efforts and redeeming his difficult 2023-2024 season.

But we must not forget his trio in general, tonight. And it must be emphasized because seeing that the first trio was more discreet and the habs still won, it says a lot.

Brendan Gallagher and Christian Dvorak were important.

In total, the trio got nine points. There were Anderson’s two goals, but we must not forget Christian Dvorak’s four points. The guy had a Wayne Gretzky vibe, last night.

Besides his three assists, Dvorak opened the scoring in the beginning of the game. Yes, he took advantage of the fact that the goalkeeper was destabilized without his stick… but it’s still a goal, let’s say.

I don’t know what Dvorak put in his Honeycomb yesterday morning, but I want some too.

But we must also talk, about that goal, about Patrik Laine’s powerful shot that made Linus Ullmark lose his stick… and about Brendan Gallagher’s clever pass to his center player.

Gally, yesterday, it was three points, including a goal in an empty net. Like the members of his trio, Gallagher has gone from undesirable to essential to the habs’ successes this season. He’s no longer “to be thrown away” for the fans.

And by the way, the habs’ little warrior, who must be eager to return to the playoffs one day, has reached 16 goals this season. It’s really not bad, after all.

But there’s not just that trio that made noise during the game.

What makes the habs in a position to make the playoffs this morning? What are the elements that led the habs to a big win?

1. Nick Suzuki is one of the best players in the National League since the break. He was probably whipped by his “forgetting” with Team Canada, but also by Kent Hughes’ words, who asked him to win games to not trade players.

Clearly, he understood things.

Yesterday, it wasn’t his trio that stood out, but he found a way to score – on the second powerplay wave – which became the winning goal in the game.

It was a bit the same for Lane Hutson, who scored via a play sequence that only he has the secret to among the habs’ defensemen. It made the difference in the game.

2. The habs came back from behind twice in the game and we must emphasize the work of the defense. 25 minutes for Mike Matheson… 28 shifts (almost 20 minutes) for Alexandre Carrier… almost 23 minutes for Lane Hutson…

They made the difference. And still on the blue line, even if Arber Xhekaj played little, he kept the Senators quiet. There were no outbursts.

3. Samuel Montembeault was not perfect during the game. He let in two goals that he would probably like to see again (especially the Senators’ third)… he extinguished the crowd at times… he knows he owes one to his teammates.

But by the way, he won the game. And this save deserves to be seen again.

Does Montembeault, one of the most used goalies in the National League, need a little rest? Is he capable of becoming the goalie the habs need again?

In my eyes, it’s just a tougher game – but really not horrible anyway – after several excellent games. If it continues, it will become a trend. We’ll see.

4. Juraj Slafkovsky had to be Brady Tkachuk, yesterday. I talked about it in a post yesterday morning, but it didn’t happen. That being said, even Brady Tkachuk wasn’t Brady Tkachuk, yesterday.

It was especially Josh Anderson who was Brady Tkachuk, yesterday. #Warrior

5. We could also talk about Alex Newhook who wants to break through, but we’ll end with this: the Senators are in a good position to make the playoffs, but they missed their chance to distance themselves from the habs.

With a regular season win, Ottawa would have had a seven-point lead over New York and eight over Montreal. The difference? The Senators are not desperate right now, unlike the habs.


overtime

This morning, there will be an optional practice at 11 am in Brossard. And then, the habs will head to New York because tomorrow, Patrick Roy’s Islanders are on the menu.

Will it be an important game, you say? Obviously.

The Islanders’ win last night tightens the standings and with a New York win tomorrow, there would be only one point between the Islanders and the habs after the game.

It’s not over yet, this race.

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