The redemption of Dach and Newhook, the emergence of Bolduc, and the glorification of violence

Maxime Truman
The redemption of Dach and Newhook, the emergence of Bolduc, and the glorification of violence
Credit: Getty Images

I said it a few hours after the first game, and I'll say it again here this morning: the Sabres don't impress me. Yes, they're big, and yes, they hit hard… but they have less possession than the Canadiens, who are hitting them just as hard.

The last two games were one-sided wins for the Canadiens: 5-1 and 6-2. Let's go for the free Buffalo wings at La Cage!

What do I take away from yesterday's game and what's coming up in the series?

1. The Habs have won two games in a row for the first time in this series. Jakub Dobes, in particular, bounced back after giving up four goals in Game 1.

Dobes seems to be in complete control of his game… and his emotions, which brings me to the following two-part question: what role will Jacob Fowler be given over the next few months? That of backup goalie… or as trade bait?

And how much money will Jakub Dobes be offered?

2. Canadiens fans must not make the same mistake as Sabres fans—thinking the series is over and already seeing themselves in the third round.

NHL players only touch the Stanley Cup if they've won it. Most of them refuse to touch their Conference trophy before the Stanley Cup Final. Drinking from a fake Stanley Cup after just five wins out of the 16 needed is sacrilege.

In the NHL, even if you've beaten your opponent by four and three goals, they can still surprise you in the next game. If the Sabres win tomorrow night, we'll be in a best-of-three
series with home-ice advantage for the Americans. This isn't the time to get ahead of ourselves and take our foot off the gas. And Martin St-Louis knows that, thankfully…

3. Zachary Bolduc scored a superb goal (100% Quebec-style) last night. He now has six points in 10 playoff games and 18 penalty minutes… 16 of which came last night! He also dished out 24 hits.

Bolduc is excellent in the playoffs on the bottom six. We're seeing his true identity.

Meanwhile, Logan Mailloux is practicing his approach shots on the golf courses near his home. What a trade, when you (re)think about it!

4. During Game #1, I thought to myself: if only Kent Hughes had decided to draft Zach Benson instead of David Reinbacher…

Since then, we've seen a lot less of little Benson. I even wondered if he was playing at one point during yesterday's game!

Still, with David Reinbacher's injuries—he didn't play in the final game the Rocket lost this weekend—I'd still take Benson over him.

Man, we'd love Zach Benson in Montreal!

5. Noah Dobson shouldn't be playing; he had surgery on his left thumb just a few weeks ago. Yet he's playing and helping the Canadiens win games. Yesterday, however, he was the second-least-used defenseman (behind Arber Xhekaj).
And that's perfectly fine!

6. Arber Xhekaj needs to keep playing (seven or eight minutes) in place of Jayden Struble. We've seen just how valuable he's been since the start of the series against the Sabres.

7. Phillip Danault's goal should have been allowed yesterday. Fortunately, it didn't affect the outcome of the game (or the series).

8. It's incredible to think that the Canadiens have played 10 games since the start of the playoffs, but haven't played a single Saturday night game yet. If the series goes to six games, I predict a hat trick for Cole Caufield on Saturday at the Bell Centre.

9. I think it's time I learned how to spell Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen's name. I don't see how Lindy Ruff could not put his #1 goalie back in net.

10. Who are the Habs' top two scorers since the start of the playoffs? Alex Newhook (5) and Kirby Dach (4, tied with Juraj Slafkovsky). They're good—when they're healthy!

Newhook saved the Canadiens in Game 7 against the Lightning, and he's scored two goals in each of the wins so far against the Sabres.

Not bad for a guy who makes $2.9 million a season!

Newhook, a former Avalanche player, learned from the best when it comes to playoff hockey. His acquisition is one of Kent Hughes's best moves.

T.J. Oshie had criticized him after his celebration—which Oshie felt was a bit too selfish—in Game 2. The result: Newhook barely celebrated his two goals last night. Who knows if there's a connection between the two…

As for Kirby Dach, he's changing the perception many people have of him. He's the team's second-leading goal scorer and third-leading point scorer since the start of the playoffs. Surprise: he's also averaging two hits per game!

My opinion has changed over the course of the playoffs
: Dach needs to be offered a new contract this offseason. There's no choice!

11.
Cole Caufield's goal: don't you think Lane Hutson looked like a dad who REALLY
wants his 4-year-old to score in front of the net on a Saturday morning? He did everything he could to hand Caufield a goal on a silver platter. He REALLY
wanted Caufield to snap out of his slump.

He'd already set him up with a perfect pass just minutes earlier…

Man, Lane Hutson is good!

12. Brendan Gallagher and Oliver Kapanen will have to wait; Joe Veleno is playing some serious hockey right now.

13. Arber Xhekaj lands a s*cker punch on Sam Carrick (who's returning from injury)…

Logan Stanley holding Zachary Bolduc and Ridly Greig while Josh Norris sneakily hits him…

Beck Malenstyn makes NO effort to try to avoid Jakub Dobes…

Gary Bettman, Bill Daly, George Parros, the referees, the linesmen… someone is going to have to do something to prevent this series from getting out of hand. It's already off to a bad start, unfortunately…

I like physical play, but there are limits to glorifying gratuitous and dangerous violence. What do I tell my kids when they cheer on that kind of behavior?

14. Sooner or later, Zachary Bolduc is going to have to drop the gloves
. He's a real pest, and pests have to show that they can stand by their actions and words sometimes.

15. Every Habs forward scored at least one point last night except one: Josh Anderson. Wow!

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