Montreal Canadiens news and notes
- The most encouraging part of the Canadiens’ surge is that it’s a young team still growing, and there are plenty of assets to add more pieces in the future. [La Presse]
- The 9-2 defeat by the Pittsburgh Penguins was the moment the Habs players decided they had had enough of losing. [La Presse]
- Alexandre Carrier says now that everyone knows their role and proper position, they can apply a controlled aggression to get themselves back in games without having to abandon their defensive structure. [TVA Sports]
- It’s been a slow road to get the team and individual players to this point, but Martin St-Louis is making it happen. [TVA Sports]
- The Canadiens move up to 14th in the NHL’s power rankings. [NHL.com]
- In the history of the NHL, it’s generally been very difficult for defencemen to contribute offensively. Lane Hutson is proving to be one of the most effective blue-liners in his rookie season. [Radio-Canada]
- Jakub Dobes and Samuel Montembeault are both performing well at stopping the chances taken from around the crease. [NHL.com]
- There’s much more to Josh Anderson’s game than just goals and assists this season. [Sportsnet]
- It will be a milestone night at Little Caesars Arena as Brendan Gallagher plays his 800th NHL game, and Christian Dvorak his 500th. “I hope there are many more to come,” Gallagher said. [TVA Sports]
- Patrik Laine, fiancée Jordan Leigh, and Paul Byron participated is yesterday’s Canadiens mental health panel. [Canadiens.com]
- Jacob Fowler and Michael Hage are on the initial long list of Hobey Baker candidates. [Journal de Montreal]
Around the league and elsewhere
- The NHL has the revenue to give a massive boost to next season’s salary cap, but spreading out the wealth over a period of several years could be better for the league and the players in the long term. [Sportsnet]
- The Winnipeg Jets are interested in welcoming Jonathan Toews back to the NHL in his home city. [TSN]
- Jacques Lemaire was inducted into the New Jersey Devils’ Ring of Honor. [NHL.com]
- Matthew Schaefer leads Bob McKenzie’s mid-season draft rankings. [TSN]
- Auston Matthews was disappointed in the home crowd’s energy level during Ryan Reaves’s fight with Mathieu Olivier. [Sportsnet]
- When Adam Fantilli hit the empty net to complete his hat trick versus the Maple Leafs, his mom’s hat was the first one on the ice. [NHL.com]
- Logan Thompson says he was never contacted by Team Canada management about a possible 4 Nations spot. [Sportsnet]
- Jacob Markstrom was injured in last night’s game versus the Boston Bruins, and will “miss some time.” [Sportsnet]
- Malaika Underwood will take over from Brian Burke in the role of executive director of the PWHL Players Association. [CBC]
