Coming from behind twice on Saturday night, the Montreal Canadiens willed their way to overtime against the New York Islanders. When that didn’t solve anything, it took a ridiculous nine-round shootout to determine a winner, ultimately sending the Habs home with a consolation point.
After a blazing hot start with the Laval Rocket, Logan Mailloux earned a shot with the big club, and he didn’t waste any time showing them what he can do.
Mailloux’s shot is a rather well-known quality at this point. Next to Cole Caufield, Mailloux’s offering is likely the best on the roster, and he found himself in prime position to let it fly here. There is a measure of risk to him pinching that low, but he picked a great time to do it. The Islanders had mostly collapsed low in the zone in response to the preceding rush chance, and he took advantage of that by sneaking into the slot. It was a smart play, and a risk you want him to take with a team that has struggled to score at times.
It wasn’t all sunshine and roses, however, as he and Lane Hutson saw some incredibly difficult shifts together. Most notably, they were hemmed in their own zone for a shift that lasted nearly four minutes, as Oliver Kapanen’s stick exploded and essentially created a power play for the Islanders. But they persevered, managing to avoid any damage even on their tougher shifts.
There will be growing pains, of course. There were some plays where Mailloux threw pucks up the wall or into space without much thought, in situations where he had more time than he thought he did. But we’ve seen him make significant improvements to his decision making since turning pro, so we have reason to believe that his processing will improve with more NHL reps. We don’t know how long this stint will last, but this first game has at least shown the coaching staff that he can be trusted with big minutes.
He had four points in just two games with the Rocket before he was called up. He earned his way into the mix, and now he’s looking to prove that he should stay. If he can string together some efforts like that one before the team is fully healthy again, he just might force some difficult decisions.
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