One minute and eight seconds into the second period, Jesperi Kotkaniemi took the puck on the power play and fed it to the front of the net, and Jeff Petry calmly finished it off at the other side.
Getting the puck to the rookie to begin the scrum was Max Domi. It wasn’t the flashiest assist he had this season, but they all count the same on the game summary.
It was the 10th consecutive game Domi had his name announced in the arena after participating in a goal for the Montreal Canadiens. Of the last 17 matches, the only one he failed to register at least one point in was a 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on October 30.
As the RDS broadcast highlighted last night, a 10-game points streak hasn’t been seen in Montreal since February 28, 1996, when Vincent Damphousse had what proved to be the final point in his 10-game run, recording an assist. Interestingly enough, that 10-game streak was also separated from a previous six-game stretch by a single pointless contest.
Damphousse finished with 94 points that year. Pierre Turgeon outdid him with a 96-point performance. It was the last time the Canadiens have seen a 90-point campaign.
Now with 25 points in 21 games, Domi is on pace to reach that mark by the end of the season. There’s no guarantee that this pace holds for the full 82 games, but we’ve been saying that for several weeks now.
He’s also leading what hasn’t been a very good power play in points, registering eight on the season. With Shea Weber just about set to return to the lineup, that additional weapon could help boost Domi’s offensive production even further.
The majority of his points are coming at five-on-five: 17 of his 25 total. That’s good for fifth overall in the NHL this season, just two back of emerging star Mikko Rantanen of the Colorado Avalanche.
Rantanen was one of the breakout performers a season ago. This year, it looks like Domi may be following him, and perhaps becoming the most prolific point-producer the Canadiens have seen in over two decades.
