Bottom Six Minutes: Kirby Dach is just getting started

The Montreal Canadiens turned in a thrilling 3-2 overtime win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night, overcoming a two-goal deficit in the process. Kirby Dach scored his first goal in the Tricolore during the extra frame, capping off the comeback and earning a second win on the season for his team in the process.

Benoit Brunet had some words on RDS about Kirby Dach after last Saturday’s game.

Brunet said that he’s disappointed in Dach, and opined that he hasn’t been involved enough. He said he’d like to see Dach win more one-on-one battles, and get to the net more often. I couldn’t disagree more with Brunet’s assessment when I first heard it, as I would argue he had been one of the better forwards through the first three games of the season.

And he definitely went to the net when it mattered most on Monday.

As methods of silencing your critics go, scoring your first Habs goal in overtime — in front of a Bell Centre crowd no less — has to be way up there. This wasn’t dumb luck either, this was a reward that has eluded him in his excellent play through the previous four games of regulation play.

He has managed to put together strong performances without much consistency in terms of linemates, and on a team that is expected to finish in the basement of the eastern conference. He’s just getting started with this club, and he looks to still have a lot of the potential that made him a third-overall pick.

Kent Hughes believed that to be the case when he made the deal at the draft, and so far he has reason to believe that he made the right call. If Dach keeps playing the way he has, the points will keep coming, and that trade may be looked back on as a key moment in the rebuilding of the Montreal Canadiens.

BONUS HIGHLIGHTS TIME!

The countdown continues. 37 more to go.

Also, Nick Suzuki is on a point-per-game pace.

Click the play button below to listen to your full Bottom Six Minutes, also available on your podcast platform of choice. We have a few days off this week, but will return following an early edition of the basement bowl against the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday.