We nearly witnessed a collapse of epic proportions on Tuesday night. The Montreal Canadiens held a 4-1 lead with six minutes to play against the Dallas Stars, and the latter roared back into the game with two goals while their net was empty. By the skin of their teeth, the Habs held on and managed to leave Texas with a 4-3 win.
Aside from Samuel Montembeault, one of the key players who helped avoid that collapse was Jordan Harris.
Pavelski doesn’t even need to shoot this puck if it comes to him. Merely getting his stick on it could have been enough to put it over the pad of Montembeault, but Harris never gives him that chance. The initial stick lift is intended to disrupt, and then he wedges himself against Pavelski’s stick to allow the puck to slide harmlessly into the corner instead of tying the game.
And Harris’s involvement went much deeper than this excellent defensive play, with a goal and an assist helping to build the lead that he’d later defend.
In his four games since returning to the lineup, he’s been excellent for the Habs at both ends of the ice. Over that time, he leads the team with a 59.44% share of expected-goals at even strength, thanks in large part to the Habs controlling 57.89% of the high-danger scoring chances when he’s on the ice. The closest fellow defenceman in terms of expected-goals is Kaiden Guhle, who has clocked in at 49.68% over that span.
He’s been quietly leading on the blue line, and when they eventually revert back to a six-defenceman lineup, it is very tough to envision them doing it without him involved. We’ll see how long it takes for them to do that given the pending injury status of Josh Anderson, but if Harris keeps playing as he has, his spot should be secure.
The going theory is that the Habs will look to move one or more defenders before the trade deadline. Harris should draw interest himself, but he could make a more experienced defender expendable with his play. Depth is never a bad thing to have in a rebuild.