The Canadiens completed their 5th week of the NHL’s regular season and it was a successful one. Sure, it would have been nice to sweep the road trip and get all six points at their disposal but it was a good trip nonetheless. Here’s what I liked most…
- Nick Suzuki continues to impress us with his hockey sense. He isn’t the quickest skater by any stretch but his hockey brain is off the charts. Claude Julien is going to fall in love with this player quickly. He’s a rookie and is already showing great versatility in his ability to play all situations and multiple positions. What was once an area of weakness for the Canadiens is becoming an area of strength. They will have too many centers down the road… EVENTUALLY, my choice for the wing is Max Domi.
2. Jonathan Drouin and Brendan Gallagher both had their best months of October of their careers. The most impressive thing about Drouin is that he’s played well with different linemates. He’s always had strong starts however, let’s revisit his play in February/March.
3. Habs’ GM Marc Bergevin seems to have a good eye for finding undervalued players. It hasn’t always worked (see Matthew Peca) but Nick Cousins seems to be another one of those players. Of course, he’s not Andrew Shaw but there are similarities. He can score goals and isn’t fun to play against. It was nice to see him score against his former team.
4. During the first month of the season I was hearing a lot of people talk about Shea Weber’s play. The games against the Vegas Golden Knight and Arizona Coyotes might have been his best two of the season. Also, don’t look now but he’s managed to pick up 9 points in 14-games.
5. The Canadiens never say die attitude is a lot of fun to watch. I would have been tempted to turn off the game against the Golden Knights if I wasn’t working. They were down by two and the game looked like it was over. We shouldn’t be surprised that they came from behind. It’s something they do routinely. And that ability could come in handy when the points are a little harder to come by.
I’ve been beat up, I’ve been thrown
Out but I’m not down, I’m not down
I’ve been shown up, but I’ve grown up
And I’m not down, I’m not down
– Mitchy
