A stellar five-on-five performance wasn’t enough to earn the Montreal Canadiens two points against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday night. They played well enough to deserve those points, but sometimes in hockey, what you deserve has nothing to do with the end result. If they can continue to play games that well at even strength, eventually it will translate into wins.
And if they can keep getting production like they are out of their top line, they’ll silence a lot of doubters in the process.
One of the concerns surrounding the Habs this season has been a lack of production from that line. It hasn’t been unwarranted, as even the best shooter on the team in Cole Caufield hasn’t been scoring at his customary rate. But in their last five games, they’ve scored a combined 15 points, and been easily the most productive trio going for the Tricolore. Against the Lightning, with a shortened bench up front and without the benefit of last change, they were arguably the best line on either team.
Ever since Juraj Slafkovsky was re-added to the trio, they’ve had a bit of a different look on the forecheck. But now, even Caufield and Nick Suzuki are playing with a little more sandpaper, and the result is a line that is capable at times of hemming the opposition in their zone for extended periods. There are perhaps still some lingering concerns about their ability to defend, but those concerns won’t be around much longer if they’re continuing to spend the majority of their ice time with the puck in the offensive zone.
Having a top line that they can rely on to produce would be a massive win for the rebuild. They’d be able to start looking more at what players they can acquire to surround that line, and stop worrying about the eternal question of who plays with Caufield and Suzuki, or if they should simply be separated. Right now, they’re playing like a true top line, and if they can keep this up, it is worth more than some standing points.
They’ve been one of the better lines in the league in terms of expected goals, and now we’re starting to see real goals come from it. Hopefully they can keep this trend going in the new year.
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