Cowan: Canadians hope Mike Hoffman’s shot can ignite their power play

Article content

Mike Hoffman was on the ice one day last week with a Canadiens training staff member at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard, continuing his recovery from a lower body injury.

Article content

Hoffman picked up a puck on his stick and skidded over the shooter-guardian goalie who had positioned himself in one of the nets. Hoffman then quickly smashed the puck in one of the top corners.

Then he grabbed another puck, skidded over the false goalie in butterfly position again, and shot him into the top corner on the other side of the net. Hoffman continued to do this for a few more minutes, with most of the shots neatly placed in a corner.

That opportunity is the reason Hoffman scored 52 goals in 62 games during the 2008-09 QMJHL season with the Drummondville Voltigeurs and is the reason the Ottawa Senators selected him in the fifth round (130 total) of the US Draft. NHL 2009.

That opportunity is why Hoffman has 189 goals in 545 career NHL regular-season games, including a career-high 36 with the Florida Panthers in 2018-19. That shot is also the reason why 67 of Hoffman’s goals in the NHL (35 percent) have come in the power game and it’s the reason Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin signed the 31-year-old left winger with a three-year, $ 13.5 million deal. as a free agent during the offseason.

Hoffman suffered a lower body injury while preparing for training camp, ended up losing everything and also missed the first three games of the regular season, during which the Canadiens went 0-3-0, scoring a total of three goals and went 0 of 11 in the power play. Hoffman has now recovered from his injury and is expected to make his debut for the Canadiens Tuesday night at the Bell Center against the San Jose Sharks. (7 pm, TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM). The Canadiens hope Hoffman’s shot can help jump-start their offense.

Article content

“Practice was good today,” Hoffman said after skating in a line with center Adam Brooks and right winger Brendan Gallagher Monday at the Bell Center. “It’s good to be back with the guys out there. The body feels good and I think it should be ready if the coach decides so ”.

Head coach Dominique Ducharme said that if Hoffman feels good after Tuesday’s morning skating, he will be in the lineup against the Sharks.

Hoffman is not a very big guy at 6 feet 182 pounds, but he has managed to develop a wicked shot.

“I had a lot of energy when I was a kid,” he said. “So I was always throwing pucks in my garage and playing road hockey, whatever. On the ice working on it. I put in a lot of effort and time at a young age and then I developed a technique and went from there. “

Article content

Part of his technique came from watching OHL’s Kitchener Rangers play as a child growing up in that city.

“They were shot out of one leg,” Hoffman recalled. “I thought it looked great, so I started testing it and went from there.”

Hoffman also practiced on the No. 1 power play unit Monday, positioned in the middle of the right wall where he can shoot just one shot with his left-hand shot. Tyler Toffoli, Jonathan Drouin, Christian Dvorak and Jeff Petry were also in that unit.

“I can make some plays, make some passes, good tackles and throw the puck into the net,” Hoffman said of his role in the power play. “So that’s the power play.”

The Canadiens are the only NHL team to have played three games this season and not scored a single power goal.

Article content

“Look at the best power plays in the league, they don’t just have one option,” Hoffman said. “They are guys who can make multiple plays and multiple options. There are shots, passes, and puck movement. If people focus on one area, then you have the advantage of being a man to start with, usually something else will open up. “

The Canadiens have a younger version of Hoffman’s shot on his second power play drive in 20-year-old Cole Caufield, who hit the left half wall in practice Monday with his right shot. The second unit also included Brendan Gallagher, Josh Anderson, Nick Suzuki, and Chris Wideman.

“I will definitely talk to him, work with him as the year progresses and if there is anything he sees or points to,” Hoffman said of Caufield. “You can never dominate anything in this league. You always want to try to get better and better. You might also have a few things to say to me. He’s pretty new to this league and as he gets more comfortable making plays and having the puck there on that half of the wall and realizing the time, how much time and space you’ll have, he’ll be a good player. “

Only two players have scored goals for the Canadiens this season: Drouin has two and Wideman has one.

This team needs all the help it can get and Hoffman’s shot certainly won’t hurt a team that averages one goal per game.

[email protected]

twitter.com/StuCowan1