Bottom Six Minutes: David Savard should be the one to sit for Mike Matheson

The Montreal Canadiens dropped their second straight game on Thursday night, falling 6-4 to the Columbus Blue Jackets on the road. It easily could have been a win for them without some critical mistakes, as they played well enough overall to earn a win. They had more shots, more scoring chances, and largely outplayed Columbus outside of those few mistakes.

One such mistake was authored by David Savard, and it really had me thinking that he should be the one to sit when Mike Matheson is ready to go.

This led directly to a three-on-one and a goal for Columbus. It wasn’t his only mistake on the night either, as he had one of the more nonchalant shot block attempts on Mathieu Olivier’s goal in the third period as well. On top of that, he simply looked sluggish and out of place at numerous times, which is not something you want to see from your only veteran defender.

Of course, Savard won’t be the one to sit for Matheson, even if he deserves to. They won’t waive him, and unless a well-guarded trade is in the works, it seems he’s quite safe in his current position. The betting odds would likely have to favour Arber Xhekaj as the odd man out at this stage.

But Xhekaj has been showing improvement, whereas Savard has shown to be more of an anchor around the neck of his partner, Kaiden Guhle. I’d argue that giving Xhekaj the chance to prove himself further is worth more than seeing Savard carried by Guhle any longer.

In a perfect world, maybe the Habs adopt my argument. But we don’t live in a perfect world, so I’ll likely just have to hope that Savard can turn things around soon.

Click the play button below to listen to your full Bottom Six Minutes, also available on your podcast platform of choice. We’re back at it on Saturday night when the Habs will be back in Montreal to host the Philadelphia Flyers at the Bell Centre.