Call of the Wilde: Montreal Canadiens keep rolling with a win over the Toronto Maple Leafs

It seems impossible, but the Montreal Canadiens went into Toronto on Saturday night having scored points in nine consecutive games. They haven’t been at their best in the last three weeks, yet the positive results have continued.

The Maple Leafs were kind enough to make it 10 straight with a point for Montreal as the Canadiens won 4-2.

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Pretty goals are preferred, but so many goals are simply about getting to the net and working chaos. The path of a hockey puck is often unpredictable as it weaves its way to the net.

The Canadiens jumped out to a two-goal lead in the first period thanks to some beautiful chaos. Both goals were counted by Alex Newhook. The first had Newhook throwing it at the net perpendicular to the target. He was hoping that either Kirby Dach or Oliver Kapanen could get a stick on it. They both missed.

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The sweet irony is two players were trying to touch the puck and missed while two players who were hoping to clear the puck put it in the net. Jake McCabe tapped it accidentally first which resulted in Sergei Bobrovsky also directing it into his own goal.

The second tally also had some chaos in it, but at least this chaos was more likely. Kaiden Guhle threw a harmless shot at the net. Newhook deflected it waist-high into the net through the tiniest of holes between the pads of Bobrovsky. Out of little came a lot: Montreal 2, Toronto 0.

A thought to the play of Dach on both goals. He is playing a lot of his hockey in front of the net. He’s not shying away from dirty areas trying to make a difference. Dach is also difficult to take off the puck with his long reach and that has value as the Canadiens try to extend shifts in the offensive zone.

Dach was rumoured to be done when he was ill and missing games. He is back and playing his best hockey of the year. The return of Kapanen from injury has made a big difference to the fortunes of the club. Kapanen rarely gets in trouble. He makes a lot of great decisions that don’t get noticed much.

Newhook-Kapanen-Dach was the best line analytically on the night. It also makes significantly more sense that Kapanen is the centre on the line. He is the most responsible and intelligent of the three at the centre position.

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The Canadiens took a three-goal lead late in the second period. A Gavin McKenna giveaway led to Chris Kreider having a breakaway from his own blue line. Kreider’s shot was perfection. Montreal must have had about a chance and a half in two periods to score three.

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In the third period, it got dicey and the Canadiens needed a big goal. They got it on the power play which is already improved with the return of Nick Suzuki. It was Lane Hutson with a perfect no look pass to Zachary Bolduc. He ripped it home for a solid sixth goal of the season.

More excellent goaltending from Jacob Fowler. He’s a strong character. Fowler didn’t suffer from any anxiety at all, even when the Maple Leafs scored two quick goals to make it 3-2. Fowler finished with another sparking Goals Saved Above Expected of 1.56 stopping 26 of 28 shots.

Fowler’s GSAE is now 11.4. He is second in the entire NHL behind only Jesper Wallstedt. In save percentage, Fowler is .926 for third in the league. Fowler is now also the favourite among bookmakers for the Calder Trophy ahead of James Hagens in Boston.

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This game was well in hand until a scrum with five minutes gone in the third period. The score was 3-0, and there were fists flying on both sides. The refs sent only Arber Xhekaj to the penalty box. Head Coach Martin St. Louis was incensed even before the Leafs broke the Jacob Fowler shutout bid. He demanded for the ref to come to the bench to speak with him.

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The entire momentum of the game changed on the call. The head coach was then seen absolutely ripping into the officials. He’s usually mild mannered, but he had had enough. It was easy to read the lips of St. Louis saying to a ref “you’re better than this”.

The truth is they are, but they manage the score. Former official Tim Peel actually admitted that the refs do decide who gets the next penalty and was released when the audio was caught on a hot mic accidentally. He was fired.

With the momentum changed, the Leafs dominated the third period as the Canadiens inability to hold the lead comfortably continued. They quickly allowed a second goal and Montreal was reeling again.

While the Xhekaj exchange was clearly horrible reffing, the double minor that Juraj Slafkovsky received for high-sticking Jack Roslovic was not. Slafkovsky with a clear infraction that cost Roslovic some teeth.

On the ensuring six-on-four power play, two Canadiens lost their sticks. They somehow managed the trauma this time as the clock ran out, and that’s how a team grows character.

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The Canadiens have done an excellent job of not giving up any top prospects as they’ve built their team to one of the best in the league. However, it might just take a trade of a high draft choice to get the final piece of the puzzle to take the club over the top.

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Michael Hage is the most asked about prospect by other general managers. The Canadiens have never been rumoured to be ready to part with Hage. However, it is believed that Hage is the only untouchable when negotiations begin.

The second-best prospect might just be Alexander Zharovsky. He was on pace in his first season of KHL in Russia to pass Ivan Demidov before he slowed down at season’s end. Demidov’s rookie scoring records remain intact in Russia.

That doesn’t mean anyone is discourage by Zharovsky. He continues to look outstanding in his second season in the Kontinental Hockey League. This season started sluggishly, but Zharovsky is now on fire.

Zharovsky has 12 points in his last eight games. He has scored in the last week two absolute highlight reel goals. On one goal, he broke in, stuck his knee out to block out the defender, went around him, then delayed his release to go short side when his body went far side. The better way to describe it for the initiated is he did the ‘Datsyuk’.

Zharovsky seems to cover an incredible amount of ice in each stride. He is a handful in the KHL to stop at only 19 years of age. Zharovsky has 18 points in 23 games. He’s playing so much better than that total now. He is on fire.

Zharovsky is second on his team in scoring, and only six points off the league lead in scoring.

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Imagining where he slots into the line-up in Montreal is the tricky part. He’s a top six player, but he’s a winger. The club needs a centre, so it might just be that he is trade bait.

With some patience, the best scenario is that Hage and Zharovsky land as bona fide top six joining Ivan Demidov to complete the trio. That would leave a lot of talent to form a scoring third line as well. There are very few third lines that can score, so talent that deep in the line-up would definitely love their matchups.

Expect both Zharovsky and Hage to join the Canadiens in April when their seasons’ end. It’s hard to imagine how Martin St. Louis manages his line-up with that many NHL bodies in the mix.

Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sportswriter, brings you Call of the Wilde on globalnews.ca after each Canadiens game.