Hockey

The Newhook-Kapanen-Demidov line is less effective than you might think
Félix Forget
The Newhook-Kapanen-Demidov line is less effective than you might think
Credit: Getty Images

Right now, there's a huge wave of optimism surrounding the Canadiens. Seeing the club have two good games (despite its 1-1-0 record) to start the season is a good sign.Especially since, in recent years, the start of the season has been a more… complicated time.Of the lot, Oliver Kapanen is highly praised, with two goals in two games. All this makes it easy to assume that his trio with Ivan Demidov and Alex Newhook is playing some great hockey.

Last night, on the Tellement Hockey podcast, Martin Leclerc decided to dig a little deeper to see which of the club's trios were really dominant, by looking at their puck possession rate per game.

After two games, Kapanen's line is (by far) the Habs' worst: it controlled the puck only 42% of the time in the first game and 30% of the time in the second. As an indication, anything less than 50% is not a great performance. https://youtu.be/NQj_zXxQ034?si=_-O2sHxRAz13UhOF&t=1356

What Leclerc is explaining is that the other three trios all finished at least one game with a rate above 50%. That's not to say they were dominant in both games (Jake Evans' line had an atrocious outing against the Red Wings with 22%, but broke it all in Toronto with 75%), but they all had at least one good game. Seeing Kapanen score two goals in two games makes it all fly under the radar. That said, the first of those two goals was scored shorthanded, mind you,although it's also worth remembering that the second was scored thanks to great work from all three players.

It's still very early in the season, and you'd think Martin St-Louis would want to be a little more patient before tweaking his trios. The three guys will still be together tonight, and it's safe to assume they'll be together for at least a few more games.But sooner or later, things will have to settle down, otherwise the coach might have to readjust his aim.

'Overtime'

– Speaking of that line.

– Ivan Demidov is no slouch.

– Samuel Girard on the sidelines.

– Wow!

– Can the Blue Jays reach the World Series?

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