Call of the Wilde: Montreal Canadiens doubles Calgary flames – Montreal | The Canadian News

The Montreal Canadiens are off to a surprisingly bad start this year. Heading into their adventure with the Calgary Flames, Montreal had just three wins in 14 games. Only the Arizona Coyotes are worse in the entire NHL.

The club seems to be playing better hockey as of late after the ice leaned massively against them for the first 10 matches. The Canadiens responded well Thursday night, beating one of the best in the league this season, Calgary, 4-2.

Wilde Horses

It has been an unpredictable season. As unpredictable as it is to fight for a victory, even more shocking is Ben Chiarot’s goal total. In the first half, Chiarot was within a meter of the goal once again to score, once again. Chiarot scored a goal all season last year. This year, the defensive specialist is tied for the team lead with four goals. He is tied with Mike Hoffman, who missed time with injury early in the season, and a star in the making of Nick Suzuki.

The sample size is growing and Nick Suzuki is still performing at a point-by-game rate after a difficult start to the season. The club’s front-line center made the key play on the first goal with a deft deflection to wreak havoc at the front of the net.

In the third period, a little Suzuki magic. It’s remarkable how smart Suzuki is at this. He’s about to go around the net, but instead of taking it to the other side, Suzuki knows the goalkeeper will have to cross quickly and will push the post to do that, so Suzuki attempts a pool shot near the side of his back. from Jacob Markstrom’s skateboard. It works perfectly. Suzuki’s shot from behind the goal line is 3-2.

Suzuki now has 14 points from 15 games. He didn’t get a point in his first four games. This is an excellent race for Suzuki, who is undoubtedly the building block that fans can be most excited about as they envision better days than these.

Another player who should make fans optimistic about better days is Alexander Romanov. It wasn’t long ago that he seemed to be restricted in his game, as if ordered to keep it safe. However, lately he has been much freer in his game. Carry the puck more on the ice. He’s looking for more of a boss pass instead of just ripping it off the glass all the time. The biggest change, however, is how much he is getting ahead of the attackers on the Montreal blue line and absolutely hitting them on the boards with legal and powerful punches.

Romanov has already had this in his game, but from time to time it can backfire. It felt like he had been instructed to play that aggressive moment safely. You can’t play one of your best skills safely. If you want to be effective in the NHL, you have to accentuate your best skills. Romanov finally seems to be doing that by playing his best hockey he has in North America so far.

A few words for Jake Evans, who scored the empty goal to make it 4-2. Evans was given much of the responsibility for running the top line for the Flames, who are formidable, and Evans did the job effectively. It sure isn’t Philip Danault, but if Evans can start to be a player who offers a bit of offense every now and then, but manages the upper lines of the opposition effectively, that would be a huge boost for the club and for Evans. . career.

The results aren’t exactly here yet overall, but the Canadiens are becoming a more competitive team. They are more in the battle. His disc support is much better than at the beginning of the season. His game is much more organized and structured. Players are more comfortable with each other. The power play is creating more.

Here it was said that the top 20 would be the worst 20, and they had to survive that segment of the calendar. They could not. However, they will be a better team from here until the end of the season. The worst is behind the Canadiens.

Wild goats

Goats don’t change with this outfit. They are the same players with difficulties all the time. You know who they are. You know what the team worries about.

Rather than focus on that, let’s expand on a league theme that has been around for decades. It is simply absurd for a player to score a goal in front of the net and be absolutely hit against the ice right after him without there being a penalty.

In Brendan Gallagher’s tying goal, it was Erik Gudbranson who brutally crossed Gallagher. This moment is never called. This is embarrassing. It’s as if the referees thought you already scored a goal and you can’t have a power play as well. No matter how violent this moment is, it is never called. The fact that it is never called means that players are taking more and more liberties. The only time in recent memory anyone can recall a violation was Jake Evans’ concussion when Mark Schiefele destroyed him. It literally has to be such a bad hit for there to be a call.

Imagine this moment in the NFL where a player is celebrating his touchdown and is absolutely crashed to the ground. In soccer, the player scores and is elbowed in the face. The work is finished. This moment should be treated as the most egregious in hockey, but it’s not even a penalty.

There is no sport that plays scoreboard like hockey does. It’s as if the referees at some level, conscious or not, want to keep the game close, or feel that penalties should be close at the end of the night. If the game has a one goal advantage in the last four minutes, it has to be a full round for the team behind to receive a lesser penalty. The referees don’t want the game to be over and decide.

Umpiring in the NHL is the worst of all major sports by a wide margin, and it’s not for the reason you think. It is not because infractions are lost. All umpires miss the call in all leagues. The problem with the NHL is that they actually see the infraction and decide not to call it. Whether it’s a heist after a goal, the score is close and the umpires don’t want to end the excitement, or they feel that one team has too many minors compared to the other team, whatever it is, the NHL umpires forget one. age. -old adage. If you see a penalty, ask for the penalty.

There is no leading team or final team. There is no time on the clock. There is no team with more power plays than the other team. There is simply an infraction that you saw and called it.

Wilde’s Letters

The most difficult time in hockey life to score goals continues for Cole Caufield. The Hobey Baker winner didn’t score in 10 games for the Montreal Canadiens this season, and has now gone to the American Hockey League to find his scoring touch, but goals remain elusive in three games. Caufield is playing pretty well, but he can’t find the net. However, he has two assists and was a solid player in Wednesday night’s win for the Laval Rocket.

The Rocket are using him in the power game, but in an unusual position in front of the net. This doesn’t seem like a natural fit for a small player who will get checked and hit quite a bit in front of giant defenders, but that’s where the organization has decided to put the sniper on.

Caufield would be best served as a right shot playing on the left side for one-time players in the power play. The best scenario would be to find a teammate who can put you through sewing. So far, despite taking eight shots in three games, none have landed.

It must be a difficult time for Caufield as he has never known at any point in his career that he is not scoring at will. It happens to all players, but considering that it is happening so early in your professional career, you will have to hold off thoughts that this is not your future, but just a difficult point that you can overcome.

We will see.