Jared Book and Anton Rasegård got together for a new episode of Habsent Minded right before Lewis Hamilton cruised to the 97th win of his formidable Formula 1 career.
Cruising is not a term which can be used for the Montreal Canadiens at the moment. However, when the end result ends up positive there is less reason to complain about the process in which you got there. Montreal ended up winning back-to-back nights against the Winnipeg Jets and the Ottawa Senators after being down by two goals in each of the games. Battling back from deficits should be a healthy sign as the playoffs are looming right around the next corner.
Since it is the start of a new month, it is naturally time to discuss the organizational players of the month again: Nick Suzuki heated up again in April after being just lukewarm during the middle part of the season. With 13 points, he led the Canadiens during an intense period with 17 games in just 30 days. In a month riddled with injuries, he also affirmed the old cliché that “your best ability is availability”. So far this year, Suzuki has been present for every single game. Let’s hope it remains that way for the foreseeable future.
Speaking of finding strides, Ryan Poehling fell down to ninth during last year’s Top 25 Under 25. After a difficult rookie season, it was natural that people started to question how high his NHL ceiling would ultimately be. This year, he is rapidly approaching point-per-game pace in the AHL and, ever more importantly, he seems to have rebuilt his confidence.
While Sean Farrell has been a giant in a toddler’s league during 2021 ending the season with three digits in the points column, Mattias Norlinder has had an up-and-down first year in the SHL. Getting accustomed to the higher pace of the first tier is not easy when you keep getting setbacks in the form of injuries. That’s why it was important to see Norlinder shine in the SHL playoffs. Next year could prove to be a big one for the Swedish defenceman.
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