Pat Hickey: Can I rescind my Canadiens playoffs prediction?

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Per week in the past, somebody foolishly urged on this house that the Canadiens would make the playoffs this season. That overly optimistic (dumb?) prognostication was primarily based on two projections.

The primary was that the Canadiens couldn’t undergo a 3rd straight marketing campaign with a parade of crippling accidents that noticed the staff set an unenviable file of 751 man-games misplaced final season. That broke the earlier NHL mark of 720, which the Canadiens established a 12 months earlier.

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The second assumption was that the second-youngest staff within the NHL would be taught from its previous errors.

A lot for wishful considering.

The very best information this week was that defenceman Kaiden Guhle has been listed as day-to-day after he suffered what seemed to be a wrist harm in Tuesday’s 5-2 loss to the Wild. Lots of people had been holding their breath after Guhle left the sport as a result of, earlier within the day, the Canadiens introduced that second-line centre Kirby Dach was completed for the season. Dach tore his ACL and MCL after a knee-to-knee collision with former Canadiens first-round draft alternative Jarred Tinordi.

Dach’s future will rely upon a surgeon’s talent and his diligence as he goes by the rehab course of. The Canadiens have dominated him out for this season and there’s a great probability we gained’t see him in uniform for the beginning of subsequent season.

The knee harm is the most recent in a sequence of setbacks for the 22-year-old Dach, elevating the query of whether or not he’s injury-prone or simply very unlucky.

He was restricted to 18 video games with Chicago within the 2020-21 season after he broke his wrist whereas taking part in for Canada on the world junior championships. A sequence of accidents late final season pressured him to overlook 24 video games, however the transfer to Montreal appeared to rejuvenate him and he had a career-high 38 factors in 58 video games. He bought off to a great begin this season, choosing up two assists and taking part in a bodily recreation within the Canadiens’ season-opening 6-5 shootout loss in Toronto.

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Alex Newhook, one other younger participant who the Canadiens are hoping will profit from a change in surroundings, is filling in for Dach up the center for now. Christian Dvorak, who’s recovering from knee surgical procedure, must be again within the lineup quickly. Each gamers are a lot better than Dach within the faceoff circle, however Dvorak doesn’t have the identical offensive upside and Newhook is extra helpful on the wing.

Nothing particular right here: Montreal’s particular groups have been a humiliation and there’s no signal of enchancment within the early going.

The facility play has scored as soon as in 11 alternatives and ranks twenty fifth with a hit fee of 9.1 per cent. The facility play went 0-for-5 in opposition to Minnesota and gave up two short-handed objectives.

The Wild added three power-play objectives on eight alternatives and the Canadiens’ penalty-kill dropped to twenty fourth with a hit fee of 73.12 per cent.

The Canadiens have been strong when taking part in 5-on-5, however the particular groups have been on the ice for a mean of practically 18 minutes a recreation, which ranks twenty fourth within the league. When a staff is spending a lot time on particular groups, it’s troublesome for a coach to take care of the stream in line modifications. Some gamers are pressured to play too many minutes and others get chilly sitting on the bench.

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One of the simplest ways to keep away from giving up power-play objectives is to keep away from taking penalties, however Montreal is probably the most penalized staff within the league with 29 penalties, together with 24 minors, for a complete of 85 minutes in three video games. Carolina is subsequent with 68 minutes in 4 video games. The Canadiens have drawn 21 penalties, however lots of these had been coincidental penalties.

Some minor accidents: The Canadiens harm woes usually are not confined to the massive staff. Two prospects — defenceman David Reinbacher and ahead Emil Heineman — are presently on the sidelines.

Reinbacher, who was the fifth general alternative within the June draft, suffered a knee harm whereas taking part in for HC Kloten within the Swiss NLA. The excellent news is he gained’t want surgical procedure and must be again in 2-3 weeks.

Heineman, who was considered one of many key items within the 2022 commerce that despatched Tyler Toffoli to Calgary, is out indefinitely after struggling a concussion whereas taking part in for the Laval Rocket.

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