California has been rather unkind to the Montreal Canadiens over the last decade. The Anaheim Ducks may not be a powerhouse in this NHL, but their status as an active California team could have proven too much to handle for the Habs on Wednesday. For some reason, the Tricolore seem to evaporate the moment they find themselves under the California sun, and Wednesday night was their first visit to the Ducks’ barn.
Unfortunately for the Ducks, not only does Alex Newhook exist, he decided to play his best game in a Canadiens uniform against them.
Simply making himself available early in the first period, Tanner Pearson was able to locate him, and he unleashed a beautiful shot to put the Habs on top early. The early onslaught was important in keeping the Habs on top, and Newhook was a huge part of making sure they had enough offense to carry them through the night.
He also put the team on his back, though…
This was, as mentioned, Newhook’s best game in a Habs sweater. At the very least, it was his best game since Kirby Dach was ruled out for the season, and that should be a very encouraging sign for the brass to see. If he can keep that level of play coming through the California trip and beyond, it would go a long way to quelling some of the concern that has been going around about his future with the team.
Earlier in the year he seemed quite dependent on Dach to generate offense, but he’s been getting gradually better on his own. He’s now quietly put himself on a 50-plus point pace, which would be a career high for him by a fair bit. If he keeps this up, we could be talking about Kent Hughes acing another reclamation project.
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