Habs Win & Mr.Saturday Night SPECIAL!

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The Montreal Canadiens delivered a statement win at the Bell Centre, crushing the New York Islanders 7-3 in a massive Eastern Conference showdown.

Cole Caufield stole the show with a hat trick and five-point night, continuing his elite goal-scoring season and pushing toward the NHL scoring race. Juraj Slafkovsky added two goals and two assists, while captain Nick Suzuki chipped in with four assists in a dominant offensive performance.

After a tight game early, the Canadiens completely took over in the third period, scoring four unanswered goals and exposing the Islanders defensively. Kaiden Guhle and Alex Newhook also contributed, while Jacob Fowler held steady in net.

For the Islanders, goals from Emil Heineman, Simon Holmstrom, and Matthew Schaefer weren’t enough, as Ilya Sorokin struggled and was eventually pulled.

With the win, the Canadiens continue to surge in the playoff race, while the Islanders take a major hit in the standings.

🔥 Is this the Canadiens' most complete performance of the season?
🔥 Is Cole Caufield becoming a true NHL superstar?
🔥 Are the Islanders starting to collapse at the worst possible time?

Shaun Starr and Marco D’Amico break it all down LIVE at 10AM!

#MontrealCanadiens #NHL #Hockey

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

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SPEAKER_01 1:58

Uh it's going great, except for the fact that the white stuff just keeps coming down.

SPEAKER_00 2:03

Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. I took my dog for I took Hanky Panky for a for a walk this morning. And uh yeah, it was it was nuts. It was nuts. You know, Frank loved it though. He loved it. Hopefully, you still get your dog out there, and like mine, he he thrives uh plowing through the snow um like a wolf hound. But uh, we're here to talk about another wolf-like performance. Mr. Saturday night does what Mr. Saturday night likes to uh do. He drops a hattie, Nick Suzuki, and Uri Slavkowski, Marco, they combined for 13 points and a massive 7-3 win at the Bell Center over the New York Islanders. Uh, you were in the building last night. I mean, the vibe was strong, but uh it was still a tense game until they broke it open in the third.

SPEAKER_01 2:45

Absolutely. And I think you know, one of the things that was consistent was either this team is going to be carried by the top line or another line was gonna have to step up. And I feel like that's exactly what ended up happening with the Alex Newhook goal, is that the second line finally just you know came in and was able to make a difference. And I think when you look at the way things played out, you know, the first period I thought the Canadians played well enough to come out of that period with a lead. And then in the second period, I thought it was abysmal enough that they could finish the period, you know, trailing, which they were up until a certain point. You know, so it's funny how this game kind of works out, but one of the things one of the elements that really stuck out to me was the Canadians were able to, you know, keep I I feel like at least move away from the status quo in this game. When Alex Newhook scored, there was a roundabout pass, right? That happened where uh Kapanin got the puck out to the center of the line. It missed Newhook, it missed Demidov, and it slid all the way to Caden Gooley. And we'll talk about Caden Gooley's game in a bit. But Gooley being able to get the puck over to Alex Newhook for that one timer, to me, that was the turning point of the game. That is what I feel like gave the spark necessary. And then the Canadians went on to score very quickly thereafter on the power play. Uh, and and you know, the Canadians had the lead there up until uh uh unfortunately Brendan Gallagher's uh penalty that it was taken at the end of the game.

SPEAKER_00 4:19

You saw Gallagher's reaction when he got called in the dying moments of the second period. He's like, oh, what could have been there? Because the Canadians, you know, ended that period, were going to end that period more or less on a power play themselves, but there was enough time on the clock. And Matthew Schaefer does what Matthew Schaefer does, man. Um, he just absolutely thrives when playing the Montreal Canadians. Are we already talking about before we dip back into the Canadians? I just want to talk about the special talent that is the teenager Matthew Schaefer. Uh, he's gonna win rookie of the year. He's having a historic season, no doubt, right? But yeah, is he already a price of admission player, Marco? You've seen him already.

SPEAKER_01 4:54

Yep, day one. Day one, this kid is nuts. And honestly, like, watch out, Gail McCar.

SPEAKER_02 5:01

Is all yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:03

If he played on a better team, uh he would most definitely be in the McCar situation. Now it's gonna be up to Matthew Darsh and the New York Alenders to properly surround him because that's a cornerstone piece. That's a franchise defenseman already. Um, so you know, good. I think it's great. I think the lottery saved that franchise because without Matthew Schaefer, they'd be a lottery team this year again.

SPEAKER_00 5:27

Uh, what does it say about the Montreal Canadians for pretty much all season, Marco? They've been the best team to pick up a point off a loss. And yes, I understand they went through a little bit of a funk, uh, but bounce back in a big way. Their point percentage off a loss is tops in the National Hockey League. It was hovering around 690. What did you see differently? You know, if we go back from the Detroit game, and obviously, I mean the power play work, the first line, we talked about it, 13 combined points uh by the Canadians' top unit. But is there anything that stood out in terms of their compete level, how they looked, how they played, their structure, their infamous system uh that stood out to you last night?

SPEAKER_01 6:05

One of the one of the elements was attacking open ice, and that was definitely the top line going to work there. The other aspect, the bottom six finally bottom sixth. Finally, shots were being taken from the point. There was a net front presence in front of the point, there was traffic involved. You look at Caden Gooley's goal, that's exactly what it is. Just get the puck to the point, rush to the center of the ice, block Sorokin's vision, ricochets if it has to, and it goes in. That is what the Canadians bottom lines need to get back to doing. You're not going to be able to play periphery with a lack of talent like that. You're gonna have to get to the dirty areas, you're gonna have to play in those situations. And I I really did like the way that um the the the the veteran line, the Gallagher, uh yeah, veteran line for now when when Anderson comes back. But Gallagher, Voleno, and and uh and Deneau, I felt like we're playing a really strong cycle game on Caden Gooley's goal. Dano with the clutch face-off win yet again. Uh Brendan Gallagher, who is his first presence after the penalty.

SPEAKER_00 7:20

Yep. Like he won that, he won that face-off for Dano, eh?

SPEAKER_01 7:23

Yeah, and Martin St. Louis is a better man than me because I would not have played them after that penalty. That was a very lazy penalty to take. I don't care how gassed you are. There's six seconds in the game, uh, in the period. Situational awareness is key here. Um, and he gets the puck to the point, and they're able to get that shot off, and here and and and here we are, you know. So I really do appreciate them finally trying to shoot in volume from anywhere. Because that's what it did. That's what did it. That's what broke Sorokin. Is that all these shots from all over the place, all these loose pucks coming from all over the place, and the Canadians being either the open man or first on the puck and getting bodies in the way, like that's how you score in the playoffs. You're not gonna do the pretty dipsy-doodle plays. The Canadians may have success on the penalty kill, absolutely, because uh Cole Caulfield is a is a cheat code, and we'll get to him in a sec. And your ice Likoski has found the secret to scoring, which we'll get to in a sec. But your bottom six in a playoff situation, which Martin St. Louis says they're already in right now. If your bottom six is gonna be effective, they need to get their butts in front of the net, they need to drive to the net, tip pucks, rebounds, crash the net, get the greasy goals. You guys aren't going to be all-stars, just get to the net, be as effective as you can, and then you let the top line do the rest of the work. But to me, if you're gonna be like that's the biggest critique I have. They're so good at offensive zone possession, are the Jake Evans and Phil DeNo lines, but they just didn't generate it up until last night, they wouldn't generate anything. Now we see it. Now we're seeing it with a little bit more regularity where they're going to the net. You saw a little bit against Detroit. Now you're seeing it with a little bit more regularity here.

SPEAKER_00 9:15

Um, I want to talk about the potential of the Montreal Canadians, are legitimately, credibly on the cusp of making individual history with two players and Nick Suzuki and Cole Caulfield. We'll talk about that after their unbelievably strong performance. But here's a comment from uh one of our best fans, our most loyal fans from day one, Stefan from Brossard. As he writes, the Canadians decided to give up defensive play to make the playoffs and to fix it in the offseason. To that, I would say, Marco, one of the positives, obviously, outside of scoring seven goals and players looking dominant. Shout out to Zachary Bullduk, who was so close to uh scoring his first goal since December 23rd. If not for Alex Texier being offside, Patrick Watt throws the review flag, and the goal is denied. But I I think I mildly disagree here. I love the balance. Look at the ice time spread throughout the six defensemen from Saturday night's seven-three win. Every it was pretty as balanced, Marco, as I can remember it being this season. And I believe now three games in a row, I think that they look a lot more stable to me. I'm curious to get to get your read on what you've seen in the last three games from the new air quote new defensive pairings.

SPEAKER_01 10:25

Yeah, also the the team defense overall, I thought has been much better.

SPEAKER_00 10:30

Agreed.

SPEAKER_01 10:30

Yeah, like I felt like there were two goals scored on Jacob Fowler that he should have had 100%. Like the first the Emile Heinemann goal, beating him on the far side. I feel like he should have had that, right? I don't feel outside of that, uh the the second goal where Elaine Hudson made a cross-sized pass to Dano that got intercepted and went back the other way. I didn't see anything in yesterday's game where I felt like Jacob Fowler was left to dry outside of that second goal where it was a breakaway, right? But in the defensive zone, I felt like they played very well in terms of being aggressive, and I think the biggest thing was being physical along the boards. I think that's the biggest thing. Like I saw Noah Dobson throwing massive hits, yeah, and and Patrick Wah was probably on the bench going, where was that when he was playing here? Because Noah Dobson's picking up the aggressiveness. Um, Caden Gooley was an absolute monster in that regard. Jaden Strubel was delivering hits as effective as they can be. He was throwing hits, so defensively, I don't think they were giving much at all. And I think that's the biggest difference now is that the Canadians aren't, you know, maybe they're not playing as aggressive on the puck carrier as I would like them to, but at least they're playing with more conviction in the defensive zone. It's tighter, it's stronger, it's faster. I, you know, so I tip my hat in that regard. Defense is not the reason the Canadians have lost of late, or at least the last two, three games. It's undoubtedly their lack of secondary scoring and the lack of of going back to basics. You look at the Canadians' power play, you know, yes, the Canadians were effective in getting those power play numbers in this game, but what did they do differently? There was somebody in front of the net. Oh my gosh. Somebody near the net. There was they were going to the net. The Demidoff, you know, Demitov almost had a goal right off the hop because he was crashing the net. What happens? Puck goes back around the other way, boom, give it back and score again. You know, Yuri Slavkovsky again open in the slot, ready to take a shot. So to me, it goes back to the same fundamental basics of just getting open, getting shocks off, making space for yourself, and keeping it simple, not overthinking it. And I think that's what allowed the Canadians to take advantage of some situations from the Islanders where they got lost in coverage or a player was left open and they took advantage of that situation. And we're gonna get into Caulfield and Slavkovsky in a sec, but I feel like the line that took advantage of this the most, you know, as opposed to other nights, was most definitely the Jake Evans line. I thought Jake Evans played a really good game, Alex Texier played a really good game, and Zachary Balzuk, poor guy getting a goal refused. Yeah, but I feel like Balzuk was playing a stronger overall game. I still think he needs to work on his situational awareness and where to be in terms of puck support, but as a four-checking forward, he everything you would want in a bottom six gritty forward last night. Now, let's see if he can continue that and get that goal uh for real in the next coming games.

SPEAKER_00 13:49

Yeah, all that being said, you know, the intensity there, whether you're talking about the bottom six, intensity, you talk about the power play. Montreal went three for four on the man advantage in last night's seven-three win. And again, you just how the power play I really focused on Slavkowski's game quite a bit last night. I found myself really impressed uh with the young man's game. And to your point about the net front presence, which is well made, you noticed that I thought they were moving with a lot more purpose, moving with a lot more intensity. When Slavkovsky was on the perimeter and when they distributed the puck, Lane Hudson would go back to quarterbacking the power play at the point. And where did big number 20 go? He'd go right to the net. He'd go right to the net, ready for a tip drill, ready to create a screen, just like everything was purposeful, everything was smart and well executed. And I'm happy that the individuals and the team got paid off for that. You brought up Caden Gooley's name. Lori writes, Gooley is back, baby, scores his second goal of the season to go with a three-point night. Not a coincidence, right? Uh if we go back to the defensive pairings, that uh looks like they found something in the near future. And Caden Gooley, who by the way loved what he did coming to the defense of Nick Suzuki when Barzell throws his mitts, he wants to, he wants to fight Martin, he wants to fight Nick Suzuki. Gooley says, Not on my watch, and he jumped him right away.

SPEAKER_01 15:05

Yeah, I mean, Caden Gooley's always been that kind of a player that's gonna defend his teammates. I I that didn't surprise me. I think what I really enjoyed was just how simple he kept his game. He didn't overthink it, he didn't overskate it. He didn't like to meet that's the biggest difference with him is being able to make those quick plays. You know, the I believe it was Caulfield's first goal. I could be wrong. No, that was on the power play. Um, perhaps then Slavkovsky's second goal, you know, starts with a nice strong breakout from from Caden Gooley. And you know, they're off to the races, goes back the other way, and they score. And I just felt like those were passes he wasn't making last week or you know, weeks prior. Um, you look at the way that he was physical along the boards, the Canadians have been anemic along the boards, like they're bad along the boards. They're not playing with physical, they weren't playing with a physical presence. They were getting they were very passive. And I feel like seeing him, seeing Dobson, Matheson, a lot, you know, far more assertive along the boards, I think was a huge help for this team and in getting their mojo going and keeping the islanders at bay. And one of the things that I also appreciated from from Caden Gooley in the past, when he would get a puck from the point, oftentimes overthink it and wire it along the boards, right? That that was his go-to. We saw him yesterday, more conviction gets the puck, decision within a second, pass over to Alex Newhook, shot to the net, both resulting goals for the Montreal Canadians. But it's that when you get involved in a play and you are being effective in that regard, I feel like he started to feed off of that game and just got better and better and better and better. Hopefully, this is a turning point for him because you know, I said it up right from the beginning. You know, ever since he came back from his injury, he was a little off, the balance was off, timing was off, decision making was off. Last night, everything was on check and it showed in a big way because when Gooley can play the way he's supposed to play, the Canadians have four legitimate top four defensemen in their lineup, and they have the the, I guess, the luxury of being able to play them in three different pairs.

SPEAKER_00 17:24

Nick Suzuki, Yuri Skowski, and Cole Caulfield. A massive night in the Canadian 7-3 win. Huge night, huge, huge, huge win, considering you know what this team has gone through in the last week, right? Um, with some disappointing results, some disappointed individual play, um, a certain element of the fan base, not a majority, but uh enough that they make enough noise, almost ready, or in some cases deployed the panic button. And it looks as though off last night, you know, when we look at the out-of-town scoreboard, Detroit um loses to the Boston Bruins. The Buffalo Sabres forget about them. They're gone. Let's stop talking about them. Uh, the Columbus Blue Jackets, they pick up a massive 5-2 win. The Canadians third, they still sit third with 86 points in their division, tied with Boston.

SPEAKER_01 18:11

I'm not ready to not talk about the Buffalo Sabres simply because they're about to play the Detroit Red Wings and the Boston Bruins in the next week. So something to keep in consideration when these teams, because as you get down the stretch, there's more uh intradivisional games for those teams, whereas the Canadians have played most of their intradivisional games. In fact, most of the games they're playing between now and the end of the season are actually against metropolitan division teams. That's right. Um, so it'll be very interesting to see how things play out because as Detroit, Ottawa, and Boston start playing each other. Yes, there's the opportunity for three-point games, but there's also the opportunity for a team like the Buffalo Sabres to start doing Montreal a solid here.

SPEAKER_00 18:54

I mean, it's it's going to be hectic. They're gonna play four times this week, they're gonna play four times next week. I guess you know, the week starting on March 31st, they're gonna play some some bad teams. They got the Devils twice, they got the Rangers, but that's then. What's on deck is two games, though. Yeah, two games against Carolina in five days in between hosting Columbus and then at Nashville, including a Saturday-Sunday uh after uh affair, which reminds me that we're gonna be live at McLean's The Real Deal on Peel Sunday afternoon at four o'clock. If you have time, come by and check us out. It's a great place to watch the game. We'd love to see you there. We've got some prizes to award, lots of interaction as always. We'll we'll dive into the Habs and Hurricanes game. And uh hopefully we'd love to see you there on Peel Street starting at four o'clock ahead of that game. So very much looking forward to that. What about the possibility, Marco, of a couple of Montreal Canadians making history? The answer to two trivia questions the last 100-point guy, Matt Snazlin, the last 50-goal guy, Stefan Richet. Now Nick Suzuki on pace for more than 100 points off of last night's strong effort, 101-point pace and a 51 goal pace for Mr. Saturday night, who dropped his third career hat-trick last night. Um, what do you make of that? The the realistic chances that in one season, two Canadians can finally rewrite history and make new history this year.

SPEAKER_01 20:23

Well, it tells me a couple of things. One, man, have the last 30 years been dark from an offensive perspective with the Montreal Canadians. Well, been leaning so so heavily on goaltending to fix their problems. Um, one of the things that I would say though, Cole Caulfield, I always felt would be that kind of player. If there was going to be a player that could hit 50, it was gonna be Montreal, it was gonna be in Montreal, and it was gonna be Cole Caulfield. Yeah, and one of the things I find even more mind-blowing is he has zero, big zero empty net goals in his career. So you're right now he's two, he's two goals off from Nate McKinnon, right? Yeah, Nate McKinnon has 45 goals, two goals off from Nate McKinnon for the Maurice Richard win uh like lead in goals, but Nathan McKinnon has five empty netters, yeah, in that in that time, right? Is it crazy? What a crazy stat. It's it really like I don't like to be the kind of guy to be like, oh well, you know, Cole Caulfield's a more ethical goal scorer, but like Jesus. When when like over like when when 11 of your goals come from empty nets, yeah. Wow, yeah, I know. So it really it really puts what Cole Caulfield is doing in perspective because he's got 43 goals, Nathan McKinnon's got 40 45, and then after that, I think the closest after them has like 38.

SPEAKER_02 21:49

Yeah, yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01 21:50

So, like two horse race, it is it's it's really a two horse race for the uh for the Rocket Rashard. And the whole team in the dressing room last night, guys. I'm gonna tell you point blank. Everybody was talking about getting Cole to 50 goals.

SPEAKER_02 22:04

Everybody.

SPEAKER_01 22:04

Nick Suzuki, uh, Yuri Slavkowski, who is on pace for 70 plus points. Like, for the love of God, we should be talking about that too. 100%. You know, he's probably going to hit 30 goals at this rate. I don't think anybody would have everybody would have been like, yep, I'll take that at the beginning of the season. If you had said that Yuri Slavkowski was going to be a 30 goal, 70 point winger this season at the age of 21.

SPEAKER_00 22:29

Isn't that insane? Again, insanity. You know, he's on 61 points. He's on 27 goals, Marco. And it doesn't his game post-Olympic. It's fair to say that it took a couple of games when he got back from Milano and the disappointing result for his country losing to Finland for the bronze, right? And what did he say after that? It felt like you we finished last place in this tournament. It took a couple of games, but does he just continue to impress not just with the point production? That's that's obviously great, right? But how strong his game is in terms of his battle and his effort.

SPEAKER_01 23:01

Slovkovsky or Caulfield?

SPEAKER_00 23:03

Slovkowski. Caulfield. Oh, I got I mean that goal where he went over again.

SPEAKER_01 23:07

You could have made it, you could have made an argument for either or in that in that kind of a discussion. Because Cole Caulfield, you look at his you look at his hat-trick goal, that was all Cole Caulfield. That was all Cole Caulfield. Like look at why am I sounding like I'm from Boston today?

SPEAKER_03 23:23

I know.

SPEAKER_01 23:24

Cole Caulfield. That was all Cole Caulfield. Like the way that he plays in pursuit of the puck, like Lane Hudson coming down the line, trying to lift uh Pellex uh stick, and then Caulfield comes in, pokes the puck out to Nick Suzuki. They go two on one, he scores Hattie, right? Like that to me is Coke is what Cole Caulfield has become, and it's what makes him more complete. And I think St. Martin St. Louis's talking about this. I could he could put him out there with an empty net so he could pat his stats, or he could teach him ethical ways to score on a consistent basis that are going to make him an elite goal scorer for far longer. And I think that's what we're seeing from Caulfield is he's playing with the overall game, he's playing the 200-foot game. How many times now have we seen Caulfield collect points off strong two-way plays just this week? Just in the last eight days, right? Not limited to Saturday nights. And I think the same applies to a guy like Uri Slavkowski. You know, when I was talking to Urai in the room, first of all, I congratulated him on the bus cut. I told him that uh good the less hair, the better. But uh we'll we'll get into the our secret, uh, our our secrets later, probably at the end of the season. But one of the things that I was talking to Urai about and that he pointed out is it's not so much that he's improved his shot, he's improved his situational awareness. He's improved the overall impact that he has on the ice by knowing where to be, by finding that soft ice. So you look on the power play, for example, he'll push himself to the front of the net to be available for a pass and then kick off so that he's higher in the slot, ready for the one timer. And I think that element in his game, we were talking about it yesterday. They had done hours of video to help him improve that aspect of his game because he really is able to kind of explode into those spots and take these one-timers off. And it's very difficult for a goalie to beat that because when he has full stride in his shot, especially his one timer, where he's able to get that release much faster, it's it's difficult to beat because he's beating you on two angles. He's either beating you straight or he's going the opposite end. And it's because he's that far, he's that close to the goalie, it's the reaction time is so much faster, or it has to be for the goalie to make a save. And that's why you know Slavkovsky is one of the top five power play goal scorers in the NHL this season, and it's for exactly that purpose, is how they've worked on him as a bumper player, be it either a net front guy or a guy that they're going to be able to use as a quick shot option on the power play outside the bumper. To me, it's it really goes to show you how much he's evolved as an offensive player, and then it even strength, it's the two-way game that that top line plays with. This is the best that we've seen those three together since they've ever since they've been put together three years ago.

SPEAKER_00 26:29

I I can't disagree. I mean, I mean, the sample size is too large, it's too consistent, it's too proven, there's too much, too many points, I think, for there to be like a serious debate. And I wonder, as we often talk about, you know, certainly around Oliver Kapanen as the as the two C currently and question mark in the future. I mean, I'm I'm more inclined to believe that um there's nothing wrong, Marco, with having two potential number one lines, you know, in the ongoing discussion of oh, one day 93 is gonna be on the top line.

SPEAKER_01 27:00

You need two lines, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:01

Right. Does that just take away the the discussion around getting another winger for Suzuki and Caulfield? What's wrong with leaving 20 there and then focusing your your your time and energy? And Marco and I are gonna go deep on the salary cap and its dramatic rise tomorrow on the show to give you an idea that if the canys want to splash the pot and spend some money, that they should focus you know the majority of their time and energy on on filling the two C hole and leave the number one line as it is.

SPEAKER_01 27:32

Yeah, I mean, there's a lot that you can go with, and it I think it all also depends on what the vision is for certain prospects in the system, right? If the Canadians view Michael Hage as a center, then maybe it is the winger you have to go out and get. But the way I see it, a lot like this season, you're not going to have players locked into lines all season. Like you're gonna see some fluctuations. Sometimes a line's gonna go cold, you want to shake things up, you're gonna swap two players out, right? Well, the problem in the past is the Canadians have been basically a one-line team. And because they were a one-line team, you really didn't touch that top line. Well, this season, at least up until the Olympics, the Canadians were a two-line team, and it really allowed them to run up the scores, making them one of the top scoring teams in the NHL. What I think is going to be the biggest difference maker when they can find an element on that second line that can continue going the full season and is you know that elite top-end player offensively, that's when this team is really gonna take off. I especially in this kind of you know, this time of the year. Because right now, I do feel like I, you know, I was watching it yesterday for a while. I felt like you know, you kind of felt like Demidoff was on an island by himself. Yeah, there were elements where like Kapanin would show something or Alex and Hugh could come down with the puck, but it always felt like he was there, made this great play, and then off to one of his teammates, and the puck goes back the other way. So the moment that they're able to bring in a player with a little bit more conviction, like if they if if Michael Hage isn't the answer at center and they decide ultimately he's gonna go on the wing, and they bring in a you know a top six center, a legitimate top six center, and you bump Capan into the third line. Well, I think at that point everybody's in their right chair, and you're able to keep things going. Where they're having difficulty right now is what happens when that second line slows down. Yeah, so that's where the the cap situation that we're gonna touch on tomorrow is going to be ever more important because it sets up the Canadians brilliantly, and we're gonna show you why.

SPEAKER_00 29:48

Uh, congratulations to the Michigan Wolverines and uh Canadians uh prospect, Michael Hage knocking off Ohio State. As Tony wonders, any chance of seeing Hage? And he's asking uh uh for you to land between one and ten on the scale of seeing Michael Hage this season.

SPEAKER_01 30:05

Uh, I'd probably put a nine, yeah. Unless he gets injured, nine.

SPEAKER_00 30:09

Right.

SPEAKER_01 30:10

Um, but you know, Michael Hage, uh Big Ten champion, so that means they won their division. Uh, they are very likely going to be the top seed in the NCAA championships. So the earliest that Michael Hage's season can end is uh, I believe March 28th or 30th. And so that's the first leg of the national championships, and then after that, the frozen four, which is the semifinal and the finals in Vegas, are uh the 9th and 11th of April. So I think he'll get he'll he'll play a game this season, no question. Where I am unsure is when, because it has everything to do on how far Michigan goes. If Michigan loses their first two games, then more likely than not, Michael Hage signs his entry-level contract at you know, first or second of April and joins the team in the final little bit. And if he goes all the way, well, then he'll probably be only able to play the last game of the season against the Philadelphia Flyers.

SPEAKER_00 31:11

Uh, it'd be um amazing to see. Um, and I think Marco's been pretty consistent on the likeliness of uh the Canadians fan base uh getting a look at Michael Hage at the NHL level. But you know, as we pointed out, I mean this is a dynamic stack team. This is, I mean, Michigan is what the the number one seed.

SPEAKER_01 31:27

Um number one seed paralyze.

SPEAKER_00 31:30

So yeah, it's gonna be um fun to watch. You know, all about you know Michael Hage um, you know, hitting those markers as we talk about. Uh this one from Rod, um, is it too early to say gooley is back? What was the biggest factor in his improvement in play over the last week or so?

SPEAKER_01 31:46

It's a it's a great question. Um, I'm a sample size guy, and uh I don't think that one game is a big enough sample size. Now, if he could string a couple of games like this, uh then you know, I believe there is an opportunity to say that he's back and he's playing to a level of top four status. Um, that being said, you know, you have to be very careful with Caden Gooley because every time something goes well, something goes bad. No kidding. The only thing why I believe that Caden Gooley had a strong game, he was emotionally and physically implicated in that game. I think that's the biggest difference. When he gets it when he gets involved, when he is keeping it simple and playing to his identity, like we spoke to him about it last night after the game, he's able to play a very strong physical two-way game that the Canadians don't have in their system. It's the reason why they don't want to consider trading him because he's he has such a unique skill set when healthy, he's just got to play to it on a regular basis. And last night we saw exactly that. He's physical, he's playing hard in the corners, good, strong first pass. Um, you know, I think ultimately if he's able to keep this up and maybe be utilized in a more strategic way, like we saw last night. It was the it was the first night, I think, in a long time where we didn't see Lane Hudson paired with the top line. We saw Caden Gooley paired with the top line, right? And I think that helped a lot in terms of getting his mojo going and making some of these plays, and it really kind of shut down the defensive side and it allowed the Canadians quicker counterattacks to spend more time in the offensive zone. So when you're able to do that properly, it's what sets you up for longer-term offensive zone uh possession.

SPEAKER_00 33:37

You know, we talk about Michael Hage and uh the Michigan Wolverines off to the NCAA after winning their Big Ten. Uh, the other player that Marco and I have spoken and talked about quite often is the historic rise of Bryce Pickford and and what he's doing. As uh Patrick wonders about when we're gonna see Pickford uh in the American Hockey League this season, question mark.

SPEAKER_01 33:59

Um, so the way that it works with Bryce Pickford, he signed his entry-level contract. So it'll slide this season as long as he doesn't play 10 NHL games, which isn't gonna happen. Um, the moment that Medicine Hat's season ends, because the WHL playoffs are about to start, the moment it ends, they'll be he'll be able to join the Laval Rocket for the playoffs. So we'll see what happens with Medicine Hat, just like we'll see what happens with Michigan. Yeah, but uh if the ruck brothers continue playing the way they are in Medicine Hat and uh Jonas Wu and Bryce Pickford continue to be lights out offensively, you know, they'll probably they could probably win a couple of rounds before they they bow out. So, you know, the WHL playoffs could go well into April. Um, I think ultimately Laval is well structured to go on a little bit of a run as well. So it's not outlandish that he be sent down and or set sorry, called up to Laval. Right. Um, and you know, for all intents and purposes, that's exactly where he's gonna be playing next season anyway. So best to get him around the team and and get him used to it. But I just don't know you know how comfortable Laval is gonna be playing two rookies and Luke Middlestadt and uh Bryce Pickford on the same pair. So it'll be interesting to see how they balance it out. You know, do they get him into games if he's not getting power play time? Because you're gonna have Engstrom and Reinbacker in those situations. We'll see. But I think just being around the team will be a big help. So uh I would expect him if if Laval is still playing and his season ends, I would expect him to join the Laval Rocket.

SPEAKER_00 35:33

Um, I want to talk about the goaltending and the schedule that's coming up this week with the Canadians playing four times Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday in some big games. Uh, we'll talk about Jacob Fowler and uh what we saw from his performance last night as the Canadians uh steamroll the Islanders in the third period, Cole Caulfield with a hat-trick, Slavkowski and Suzuki have uh multi-point games, Caden Gooley with three points, and the Canadians pick up their 85th and 86th points of the season. Uh, but Stronghab wonders about Arbor Jackey's future. And, you know, as it's been mentioned a couple of times, we're gonna dig in on the salary cap and how that affects the Canadians. But like Kirby Docmarco, Arbor Jackey's also an RFA. As Strong Hab says, he's one of Jackey's biggest supporters and fans. He just believes that he's not gonna be with Montreal next season. I I'm not so sure about that. What do you think?

SPEAKER_01 36:22

I don't disagree with it. I I just I don't I know for a fact that Arbor Jackey's name was in trade discussions. That's all I'm gonna say. So I don't know if he's gonna be in the long-term fix. I don't know if somebody else is gonna get moved. I don't know. I don't know. Um, a lot could happen in offseason, a lot could change in an off-season, but it just feels like when you see him, when you see the way they go about utilizing him, it's evident to me that you know Jaden Strubel seems to have a leg up with this coaching staff. So I don't know what that means. And you know, if the Canadians feel like they need to upgrade, and I feel like we all agree on this, but if the Canadians feel they need to upgrade their bottom pair, they need a player that is better than Jaden Struble. They need a player that is better than Arbor Jacky, and they need a player that is better than Alex Carrier to really kind of book la book and make their bottom pair, you know, a pair that Marte St. Louis is gonna have confidence in putting out there on a regular basis.

SPEAKER_00 37:27

Anyone else get uh uh woken up like they thought there was a missile alert landing in Montreal? Maybe there should be an Arbor alert instead of the Amber alert that shook you out of your bed this morning, uh, like what happened to me today. It's like, oh, listen, I'm not here to complain about it. It's very important stuff. Um, Jacob Fowler, your impressions uh didn't like the first goal, certainly scored against him yesterday. Um and what'd you think of his game last night? And we'll talk about the schedule coming up, but let's talk about Jacob Fowler and and what you took away from his game.

SPEAKER_01 37:58

I thought that Jacob Fowler had a really shaky start, unfortunately. Um, and the Canadians in the first period, you know, what were the shots like 17 to 4 or something like that? Like it was it was very much all habs, but they were losing 2-1 at the end of the first. So I like I liked how he bounced back from that because then after that he proceeded to let only one goal in and then his following 22 or 20 shots. So, you know, I think he bounced back quite well and made some good saves. He didn't have to steal that game, which is obvious in a 7-3 win, but he did he did make the necessary saves when was called upon him in the third period to ensure that the Canadians could continue to exert offensive zone pressure and not have to worry about having to play catch up. So there is that element, but yeah, Jacob Fowler's last two outings have not been out of this world, he's done well enough, but yeah, it's uh it goes to show you guys that you can't bank on a 21-year-old to be your savior.

SPEAKER_00 39:00

This isn't the 80s, but yet they're still doing it right for now. I mean, not the savior part, but they're rolling with two.

SPEAKER_01 39:06

No, he's clearly he's clearly the backup, he's clearly the backup.

SPEAKER_00 39:09

I agree, I agree, but he's still the backup, right? And he's gonna play again this week. And in my mind, and obviously, Marco, you know, walk me through how you see it. Tuesday against Carolina at the Bell Center, Thursday night against Columbus, also at the Bell Center. Then then they're on the road for Saturday and Sunday, Nashville and and Carolina. Um, to me, Yaakob Dobesch gets the Tuesday in the Thursday game. What do you think about how the goaltending kind of maps out this week if it was your decision to make?

SPEAKER_01 39:38

Well, the way that things have looked up until now, I'd say you'd be right on the money, right? Mm-hmm. I you know, I had uh colleagues on Bipa M Sport that thought it should have been Dobesh last night and Fowler on Tuesday.

SPEAKER_00 39:50

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_01 39:51

You know, I feel like if you're gonna not play Fowler for a week, I'd rather play him against the Islanders than against the Carolina Hurricanes right now. So um it'll be interesting to see, right? Because I feel like the Carolina Hurricanes are one of those teams that, yes, they have what, 94 points in the standings. Uh, they're the top team in the East right now by uh proxy of a game in hand, I believe, on the uh on the uh Buffalo Sabres, but I still feel like the Canadians match up better against a team like the Carolina Hurricanes than they do right now against the Columbus Blue Jackets. So I would I would want to see Daubesch play. If Daubesh plays the way he's been playing over the last 10 days, then I would also give him Columbus. And then you probably give Jacob Fowler Nashville, and then you go back to Daubesh against Carolina again, right? If he played well against them on Tuesday, it makes sense to play them again on the Sunday. That's the way I see it. Um obviously Martin St. Louis and uh Marco Marciano have their vision, and uh I don't pretend to be in the loop on that vision, but I will say that there is gonna be both goalies are gonna play. Um, my prediction is three games for Daubesch, one game for Fowler, but that all depends on the way that uh that all depends on the way that Daubesch plays on Tuesday. If Daubesch lays a goose egg on Tuesday, then I think we see Fowler twice.

SPEAKER_00 41:14

And I wonder about that, you know, as we talk about Jacob Fowler. Like in my mind, Fowler's got to play at least at least once a week. I mean, other than that, I mean, you know, he's not a veteran guy, he's not a lung-in-the-tooth player that can sit on the bench and manage his manage his mind in that situation, right? I'd much rather see him playing for Laval than not playing for the Montreal Canadians and backing up Jakob Dobesh, right? With but with that being in mind, I mean, it's hard not to think that as get to crunch time, Marco, and as how how tight the Atlantic and how tight the wild card race is between Montreal, Boston, Detroit, Columbus on the come up. The New York Islanders are obviously still there, clearly, right?

SPEAKER_01 41:49

Senators, the Flyers. It's insane.

SPEAKER_00 41:54

Jacob Fowler's at one more game and then they try Sam Montebo again.

SPEAKER_01 41:59

No, I don't think so. I don't think so. I don't I don't know if if Montabeau, like I don't know. I don't know, but I just though I'm just the read, I just don't know if Montembo gets into another game this season until the Canadians clinch a playoff spot. Yeah, it's the way I see it.

SPEAKER_00 42:18

Um, Jacob Fowler's gonna have a lot to do with that, though, at the end of the day.

SPEAKER_01 42:22

Yeah, I mean, Jacob Fowler's gonna have to play up to his standards for sure, but I just don't think that we're gonna see Samuel Montembo in. I really, really don't. And uh, you know, it's unfortunate the way that things have gone. We'll see what the Canadians decide to do with him this summer. Uh, but I just when Martin St. Louis comes out and says we are going with the two goaltenders that give us the best chance to win, read between those lines.

SPEAKER_00 42:47

That's it. Yeah, yeah. Doesn't take a doesn't take a rocket uh scientist to to understand the the meaning when you ask between uh uh to to read between the two lines, right? But to me, like I know a lot of people are like uh Sam Who enough enough with the with the Monty conversation and everything else. I mean, the race is as tight as it is, you know, and and that's I think it's an it's an interesting talking point in my Canadians lose, Sean.

SPEAKER_01 43:11

Canadians lose yesterday. They were last, they would be last in the east, right? That's it. Sorry, last in the east, sorry, no, eighth in the east, last wild card spot. Correct, correct. So it's it's a difficult play, and I think one of the other elements that I really want to kind of bring forth here, yeah. You you know, we keep talking about the the goaltending and the defense and whatnot, it's the offense that's gonna have to hold, right? I think you look at some of the teams that they're playing, thankfully, not some some of the most physical clients, but even the Nashville Predators are in a playoff spot at the moment that we're speaking in the Western Conference. So you gotta be like there is no easy games from here on out. The Canadians have a little bit of a breather the week after because they're playing the Rangers who are looking to lose at this point. Devils twice. The Devils twice. Like they have an opportunity. Here to maybe get a little bit of a push. But the unfortunate reality right now is that the two the two conferences are so incredibly lopsided that the Canadians are like top eight or seventh in the NHL right now overall in terms of points, and are two points from being out of a playoff spot or three points from being out of a playoff spot. That is incredible. Incredible. Um, you know, I just Dan Habs asks about Cornway and Cornell. Is he a legit NHL prospect? I'm glad you brought this up. We actually put out a video on Friday uh highlighting exactly, or sorry, Thursday highlighting exactly who Alexei Cornouye is and why you should be paying a little bit more attention. So we invite you to go and check that out on the channel. Um I I do very much like him, but we go a little bit more into detail uh on that video.

SPEAKER_00 44:54

Yeah, expand on on the the amount of goaltenders. I mean, the Canadian's building that pipeline of goaltenders with a bunch of them uh in the NCAA and obviously one playing over in in Russia. So as Marco pointed you, go check it out. It's uh it's worthwhile. You know, we like to do short, tight content, we don't want to take up too much of your time unless it's a Sunday morning where we just drag on.

SPEAKER_01 45:12

Yeah, and uh I know I see these comments come up, you know. Maybe it would look good with that.

SPEAKER_00 45:17

It's been a theme all week there with for uh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:19

The only thing I would say right now is if you if you think that Martin Saint Louis doesn't trust Arbor Jacky, oh my god, oh Lord. Yeah, there's a reason. There's for those that remember, right? People are seeing Logan Mayu. Obviously, I wish him the absolute best. Yeah, but the reason why Logan Mayu is getting the minutes that he's getting is because there's nobody else on the right side within the entire structure currently of the St. Louis Blues. We'll see once Adam Yurichek signs his entry-level contract. But Logan Mayu is getting 22 minutes like Justin Barron was getting 20 minutes at the end of the 2021-2022 season. It's because there was nobody else to take them. He's playing well.

SPEAKER_00 45:56

Yeah, he's risen to the challenge. Let's say that.

SPEAKER_01 45:58

If he definitely's playing well enough, but I just don't think that he's playing to the point where you need to worry, like that we need to be on like uh unhashing this. Um, you know, I don't feel like Martin St. Louis would have played him over uh Jaden Strubel or Alex Carrier. So it's it's a nothing right now. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 46:17

And I and I wouldn't even use the thing of like he's playing on a bad St. Louis team to Marco's point. They you know liquidated talent on the blue line, right? And they tried to even even even go further than that, right? If if not for a certain player uh not waving his no movement, no trade clause, and Colton Pareco. Um, he's playing for you know his own pressure in terms of being a full-time NHL player.

SPEAKER_01 46:36

So good on the guy.

SPEAKER_00 46:37

I I would echo Marco's sentiment. I wish him nothing but the best. I've always liked the player, you know.

SPEAKER_01 46:42

But I want him to be settled, I want him to have a long NHL career. He's a he's a stand-up guy to talk to. He's been he was really, really good to me in our interviews. Um, but I just wouldn't run away with the plot, just like I told people not to run away with the plot at the beginning of the season when Zachary Balzuk started on fire. This is gonna take years and years uh to evaluate. So I just don't know that he would be the kind of player that they would want if or need, sorry, want is a stronger word, need, and I feel like that's where David Reinbacker is probably better suited for what the Canadians are are needing right now, is they don't need another offensive presence from the blue line. Noah Dobson exists, Lane Hudson exists, and to a to a lesser degree. You have guys like Mike Matheson, you have guys like Caden Gooley. What they need is the shutdown defenseman, that's the structured, detail-oriented defenseman. And that's where David Reinbacker is the guy that they have that will give them that leg up uh in the future, you know. Um, whoopsie Daisy, wrong comment. Again, you guys are bringing in all the comments, and I can't get to the one I want.

SPEAKER_03 47:46

Yeah, it's flying left and right.

SPEAKER_01 47:48

I know. Um, at what point do they call up David Reinbacker, get him a taste of the NHL? Carrier is a train wreck. Well, I mean, yeah, Carrie is a more so carrier is the train wreck because he gets hit by many trains coming towards him. No kidding. He's one of the most the biggest human pinballs in the NHL. But uh with David Reinbacker, there's no rush to bring him up. Like I said at the beginning when we were talking about the Canadians needing the necessary cap space to go and bring him into the lineup. They now, by the way, have enough cap space to bring up David Ryanbacher for the entirety of the season and sign Michael Hage. So no more issues when it comes to uh when it comes to salary cap for the Canadians, which is great news. But David Ryanbacher, they just don't want to bring him up too soon because he's just been playing so much better. Yeah, like it's not perfect. Obviously, there are still areas for him to improve, but defensively, he's playing stronger. He's playing with a little bit more of an edge as well. Like, I'm not saying he's bruising guys, but he's not backing down anymore. He you see him be way less timid than he was previously. He's playing uh with a little bit more assertiveness. The confidence is definitely coming, and it's definitely coming with consistency.

SPEAKER_02 49:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 49:02

Um, you know, I liked what I saw from David Reinbacker on Friday. Like, I really did enjoy his game for the Laval Rocket, yeah. And I just continue to come away thinking good strong first pass, good situational awareness, good at tying guys up in front of the net, which is an important aspect, and he's money on the penalty kill with his reach and how he's able to box guys out. I just don't see the rush in having to call him on for a for a lengthy call-up. I consistently kind of bring this point up, but I think he'll get a cup of coffee at the end of the season if the Canadians are able to clinch before the end of the year. That's when I see him getting a call-up.

SPEAKER_00 49:43

Uh and I wonder, too, the fact that you know the Canadians were already comfortable calling up Adam Engstrom, and now that he's healthy playing with with David Rheinbacker, I wonder, you know, should should the bleep hit the fan if Engstrom was probably the guy before before um uh David Rheinbacker.

SPEAKER_01 49:58

And to that point, uh Engstrom just came back on Friday. He played his first game back. So that makes it make it make sense to give him give him a shot, give him a call.

SPEAKER_00 50:07

He played Wednesday against uh Wilkesbury.

SPEAKER_01 50:10

I have new dad brain, so I have no idea. I I'm starting to phase out dates, but I do I specifically watched Friday uh in depth, and I you know he's still got a little bit of rust to his game, I will say, but there's no rush to call anybody up. There's no rush to call anybody up right now, and I don't think they want to take that chance unless they're forced to. Yeah, um, but what I would say though is you have those two guys that the Canadians are gonna are going to want to bank on, and they're gonna play a huge role for the Laval Rocket down the stretch. The fact that the Laval Rocket have clinched a playoff spot and look well primed to be the top team in the North Division in the American Hockey League. I think eventually that one of them does get a cup of coffee with the team.

SPEAKER_00 50:50

Uh a couple of Fords are playing well. Speaking of the Laval Rocket, uh, considering we're we're we're on this topic, Samuel O'Blais playing some really strong hockey for Laval, and Florian Jackey has leveled up in a big way deeper into the American Hockey League season, scored another goal in the third period in Friday night's 4-1 win over Springfield. So a couple of couple of depth forwards, one veteran, one on the come up, um, are uh having a nice look to their games. And the even Owen Beck.

SPEAKER_01 51:16

Even Owen Beck, I would say, is is really kind of moved. Like, I think next year you're gonna have a serious conversation about where Owen Beck. If he's not traded, you're gonna have a serious conversation about where Owen Beck fits because I think he's that much better down this stretch right now. You're seeing him be more assertive. Uh, the two-way game is there, he's playing with a little bit more physicality, the passing game is on point. So I like what I'm seeing from him as well, and I'm very interested to see how he's able to elevate in the playoffs because that'll be extremely determinant in figuring out how he's going to play uh and where he's going to play next year. And then lastly, Joshua Hua has been on a little bit of a tear as well.

SPEAKER_03 51:58

Yeah, indeed.

SPEAKER_01 51:59

Playing with a little bit more assertiveness, going to the high danger areas, making, you know, like playing a smarter game. He's not necessarily beating guys with speed. That's never been his forte. But I think, you know, the way that he's been playing down this stretch of late, you see he's turned the corner in his game.

SPEAKER_00 52:16

Uh the Montreal Canadians back in action Tuesday and Thursday. They host Carolina and Columbus, a massive week on tap for the halves. And Star Domico will be here to uh cover it like a blanket. So make sure you hit that like and subscribe button. By the way, we are one subscriber away from 14,200 on the channel. Can I get a hay now? So if you haven't subscribed, um if uh if you wouldn't mind, that'd be great. We appreciate it. Um, interesting question, you know, from Hugo about Sam Montabeau's future. You know, we spoke about him uh five minutes or so ago, but pending UFA, I mean, you know, the landscape of the National Hockey League, it kind of is what it is, isn't it, when it comes to Sam Montebot and his future in Montreal?

SPEAKER_01 52:59

Look, I can't I can't really speak on that because the Canadians say that Samuel Montebeau isn't on the market even up until the trade deadline. So we'll see what their plans are for Montabeau this summer. But I just feel like you're reaching a point in the Canadians rebuild where you can't leave things up to chance and maybes. And so do I think he has any trade value? I don't think goalies have very high trade value to begin with. The goalie market was so saturated this uh this trade deadline that you know, I just don't feel like you were gonna get value for goaltenders. But I do think you know, at the end of the day, I do think that the Canadians are gonna have to make a very difficult decision because they like the individual. But if the play doesn't isn't following, then you gotta make a call because you know, again, we've talked about this. If the Canadians had consistent goaltending, you know, they wouldn't be in this situation right now, they would be comfortably near Buffalo at the top of the Atlantic division standings.

SPEAKER_00 54:00

I would imagine the vibe was strong in the locker room last night. Who's in charge of the music? Do you know that? Who's who in charge of the uh music?

SPEAKER_01 54:09

Uh I don't. I will find out the next time I'm in the room.

SPEAKER_00 54:12

I forget.

SPEAKER_01 54:13

I but I'm uh I'm a hundred percent fields. I think I don't know who it is. I really after Joel Edmondson got traded, I have no idea who it is, but I think it is Cole Caulfield. I'll have to double check. Um, one thing I will say though, when it comes to the the vibe in the room, even when they lose, unless they get absolutely demolished, like we saw in the month of December, there are those 7-1 and uh uh six three games there. I uh oh, here we go. We got Hank.

SPEAKER_00 54:43

The people the people want him, Marco. The people want him.

SPEAKER_01 54:46

Yeah. Man, that's a good boy. Um yeah, but the the room was definitely hopping yesterday, and you know, everybody was talking about Caulfield, and Caulfield was trying to talk about Slavkowski. So just goes to show you uh exactly what kind of a room they have, and you know, they were really, really pumped to be there and really pumped to to to have played the game that they played, and the response that they felt from them from the Bell Center crowd was you could still feel the adrenaline. Uh Uri Slavkovsky's hands were like going like this as we were talking.

SPEAKER_02 55:18

It was great.

SPEAKER_01 55:19

Um, but yeah, he's uh he's a fan, you know, it I think that that is a special room when the Canadians are going. It's it's it's very difficult, it's very different, uh, very open, very transparent from the players. And they give you, you know, they they they tell it to you straight. Uh, they don't hide behind excuses. And that's one of the things I've always uh kind of had a respect for is this core doesn't like really play around. Like they'll you ask them a tough question, they'll give you a tough answer. And last night there were not many tough questions other than what comes after 43. Um, Cole Caulfield obviously tried to make a couple of jokes there, but you know, tried to deflect and point out how great of a game you know his linemates also played because Suzuki and Slavkowski both had four points.

SPEAKER_00 56:04

I I mean, aren't you? I mean, you've been watching this team for a long time. I mean, you've seen a lot of things.

SPEAKER_01 56:09

Not as long as you.

SPEAKER_00 56:11

Yeah, when you watch him with relevant, he makes it, Marco, look so easy. I mean, that those angles that he's scored goals from, and he did so again yesterday. He makes it look so easy. The celebration with the tongue wagging, tribute to Michael Jordan was just awesome stuff, it was a great visual. Um, he's going to go down, and we spoke about this before, like when you and I spoke last week about who's your favorite goal scorer. For I mean, he is going to go down as as for for a segment of this fan base, the greatest Habs goal scorer they've ever seen, and there's really no debate.

SPEAKER_01 56:50

I mean, unless you were conscious and watching hockey in 1989, 1990, yes, yeah, he has the greatest goal scorer to put on a Montreal Canadians jersey. Period. So, you know, you have to go back. I'd say a general, like an average individual starts to remember from their past age of six or seven. So you'd have to have been born in like 1983 to remember a better goal scorer than Cole Caulfield. That's crazy.

SPEAKER_00 57:21

It is crazy. I mean, to your point earlier, right? Where this team was for so long, like park the bus, goaltending, goaltending, you know, uh, counterattack, counterattack, counterattack. Interesting too. And I saw your comment, I think, on uh on Twitter yesterday. Uh, some some taking issue with the fans booing Matthew Schaefer. I mean, why is it so hard to understand that it's a tribute? It's kind of a common, it's a backhanded compliment. You're so good we hate you because you make us nervous every time you have the puck.

SPEAKER_01 57:50

Yeah, I was talking to a couple of uh Islanders journalists yesterday, and they were like, Why I've never seen this. Why would the Canadians boo Matthew Schaefer? And I was like, Well, listen, maybe it's because you haven't had a player on your team worth booing up until now. It's been a while since Tavares left. I'll give it to you.

SPEAKER_02 58:09

Yeah, no kidding.

SPEAKER_01 58:10

But you know, obviously, I do very much appreciate Matt Barzell. It was a it was a good joke, but yeah, um, you know, the bell center is the bell center is gonna bell center, man. Like, I'm not gonna fans that ole, ole, ole, when the Canadians are losing. Yeah, you know, like they do wacky things. What are you gonna do? You're not gonna tell a fan how to fan. Um, I sure as heck won't. You guys do what you guys want to do. Yeah, that's right. I'm I'm I'm definitely gonna giggle, which I did when you know, I don't I think it's very hard to hate Matthew Schaefer or dislike Matthew Schaefer in any way, shape, or form. Like he's not a dirty player on the ice, he's not a dirty, he's not uh larger than life kind of individual that soaks up the the spotlight. The spotlight finds him.

SPEAKER_03 58:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 58:54

So I'm okay with Matthew Schaefer. He's great in my books and he's a gentleman and a scholar. So yeah, I'm good with him. Uh what I would say go ahead. What I would say is it's just a joy to watch that guy play right in front of you.

SPEAKER_00 59:06

You know what's a joy to watch? You know, I think I've mentioned this before. I am a lifelong Patrick Waugh fan. You know, I'm an I'm born in 1978. I I'm lucky enough to to see Patrick Waugh in 86 and 93. Uh, I had his jersey, I had his posters on my wall when I was a little boy living at home. And um obviously I was at the Montreal Forum in his final game as a Montreal Canadian. I had standing room-only tickets with my friend Oscar um when history was made and Mario Tremblay and Ronald Corey, and that was the last game he'd ever played for the Canadians. I was there for that, coincidentally. But uh made my heart warm to see his facial expressions watching watching his team get bumped multiple times in the third period with the number one line. Uh combined.

SPEAKER_01 59:50

I still find it hilarious. I still find it hilarious, though, that he went to video review on Bunzik's goal. Yeah, that was so mean. That kid worked so hard for that goal, and nope, that was offside by a centimeter.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:02

You're on, yeah, you're out. And you know, they're never wrong, eh? Those offsides, they're never wrong.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:06

I mean, they got just people watching those things like a well, I mean, he didn't really there were no consequences at that point just because no, you know, the game was already over. But yeah, I I I will say it was it was kind of hilarious. Um, there was a question that came up that I'd like to address here.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:21

Yeah, good. Okay, I was just about to put that up myself. Okay, good.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:24

Oliver Pov uh uh Palevsky asks, you know, hey guys, sorry you just started watching, but as good as a win as last night was, I don't think it's sustainable to have all your scoring driven by one line. Maybe put Slaugh back on two. Listen, this is something that I've brought up that I think would be necessary, uh, maybe in a playoff situation. But counter to that, the Canadians got offense from three of their four lines, almost four of their four lines, but it got revoked last night. Yeah, and two of three of those goals from the top line came on the power play, right? So did they only scored one at even strength, if I'm not mistaken. So I don't necessarily think it's problematic that they score in bunches together because they play together on the power play as well. But I did agree that prior to last night's game, the second line uh with Demidov, Kapanin, uh, and Newhook woefully insufficient. And I felt I still feel like that lineup needs some sort of that line needs a change. Maybe swap uh New Hook with Texier and see how that line goes. Um, maybe Balzuk the way he's been playing, but I just you know, obviously Newhook just scored, so I'm gonna look crazy saying this, but I just don't I don't know that that line has the has the chemistry that it once was. Maybe it's a confidence thing, right? Like I always hear from former players when they come back from injury, they're on fire for the first couple of games, and then it's it's more difficult to find your legs after that. Maybe that's what Alex Newhook is was going through a little bit. Um, but now we're seeing, you know, hopefully he gets confidence from from that goal and he's able to uh continue to elevate his game. Um, but yeah, we're definitely gonna have to see more from that line because as Oliver points out, it it's unsustainable to have one scoring line really pop off because then what happens when you get in, you you play better defensive teams? Well, they make an entire matchup, and that matchup is to counter that player or counter that line. Right. And that's what's gonna be on everybody's game plan moving forward.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:26

Uh, the New York Islanders, by the way, uh, as we take a look at the out-of-town scoreboard, they're back in action, they're at home tonight. Massive implication game. Uh, the Columbus Blue Jackets are at uh New York to play the Islanders at seven. Uh, the Buffalo Sabres, they play in Southern California against Anaheim tonight at eight o'clock. And I want to put this comment on the board because the Tampa Bay Lightning put the boots to the Edmonton Oilers. And there are a couple of things, Marco, I want to get to as we dip out of the market for just a second. The the Oiler market went into a frenzy with Leon Dreisidal's Sky Sports interview where he was talking about his injury and getting some treatment. He's back in Germany seeing uh seeing a doctor that Austin Matthews saw not that long ago for his own injury. And the timeline for Dreisidel is end of the regular season for the playoffs. He should be good to go. But Melo comes in Mello comes in from the top rope. Do you think Dreisidel will be available if McDavid asks for a trade? Because McDavid stirred the pot with his postgame after his team lost to the Oilers. Very complimentary about the structure and the coaching style of the Lightning, and many people choosing to read between the lines, Marco, that he's taking a shot at his own head coach by complimenting the system that the Tampa Bay Lightning play under.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:38

Yeah, but they brought in No Block for McDavid.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:41

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:42

Yes, that's his guy. So, like I okay. Um, listen, you know, do I think I don't think that the Oilers would blow it up even if McDavid left. Yeah, I think the return that they would get from McDavid would be so significant that they would be able to continue with Leon Dreisidel as their number one center. That's my two cents. That being said, if McDavid doesn't ask for a trade and just becomes a free agent, Montreal would be one of those markets, man. I don't think he'd sign in Montreal personally. Yeah, Montreal would be one of those markets.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:20

And the center nine. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:23

Bob, man, oh man. I just you look at the Tampa Bay Lightning. The reason why Tampa is so strong is because they signed guys to value contracts as quickly as possible. And they got strong, like complementary players to be around that team and to continue to help that team elevate. And I think one of the biggest differences is in net Vasilevsky, just really strong player, but then the overall depth of their defense, like Hedman was out for most of the season, and they played without him, you know. Uh, Ryan McDonough was out for a while as well. JJ Merger was the number one defenseman. The def the the next man up mentality in Tampa Bay is insane. You look at a guy like Darren Radish, came out of nowhere. Oh, what a season. Phenomenal season. What a season. That guy's gonna price himself out of Tampa if he keeps this up, you know. So it's always the next man up, and Tampa's done a really good job of having an established core and then adding the elite complementary players to that core, which allows them to continue to be uh effective and productive as they continue uh along you know this core's window. And I feel like if that excites you when you look at the way that Tampa Bay is, then you guys really need to tune into tomorrow's video because we're gonna point out why Montreal is setting themselves up the same way that Tampa did about six or seven years ago. Um, you know, something to keep an eye out on because yeah, it may be frustrating right now with the Canadians because you're gonna go through these growth. Growing pains for some of these younger players, but they're entering their window in the next year or two. And what's going to help them is what we're going to talk about in depth tomorrow.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:11

So make sure you hit that like and subscribe and notification bell so you um you won't miss any drops. And we're going to be here all week on a massive week on the Star and Domico show. Uh, thanks so much for being a part of the community. The chat has been outstanding today. And Marco, just before we say goodbye, we're over 1200 live viewers on this Sunday morning, 66 minutes into the show. Thank you everybody for being here. And just a reminder: smash that like button today. It just helps spread the word and we continue to grow collectively as a Habs community here on this channel. And of course, wherever you get your audio podcast. Um, I couldn't help but notice, you know, I'm on social media quite a bit, and I couldn't help but notice a sense of people have their own expectations. You know, what the team has, the Canadians, what they've accomplished this season, maybe how it's changed their own minds of what they thought. I saw some media, some media members going back and forth about um Stefan Robidah's a bum. He should be fired. Martin St. Louis ego is too big. Um, and that's why uh Robida still has a job, so on and so forth. What kept going in the back of my mind was what did you think this team was going to look like? What did you expect? Not now, what did you expect in October? And what do you think about the team now? It seems like a very dramatic overreaction. I'm just curious about how you interpreted expectations, you personally.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:30

Are there valid critiques of the Canadians' defensive structure? Absolutely. Yeah, I think they're way too passive. But this is exactly where I thought they were gonna be at the beginning of the season. We have the receipts, third in the Atlantic, first seed in the wild card. That's exactly where I thought they were gonna finish. So that's where they are right now. Now let's see if they can they can withstand that. But if they don't make the playoffs, then absolutely it's time for a reevaluation of how things look like when it comes to their defensive structure and the way that they go about playing teams of you know note. Because again, last night, one of the biggest things, one of the one of the reasons I felt like they had success, they were aggressive on the offensive team, they were aggressive in the defensive zone. Now I just like to see them be a little bit more aggressive on the penalty kill, and you get no complaints from me.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:24

Sometimes just chill, man. Enjoy the ride, enjoy the ride. And and as always, the law of expectations applies. That's all. Um, and I think you know, I'm proud of uh of of what we do in terms of kind of keeping it keeping it even keel, some solid analysis, no wild you know takes or projections for the most part. Like kind of what's in front of us is what we see, and and I hope that we communicate those thoughts clearly to the majority of everybody. All right, good stuff, brother. Um, go see your son. Enjoy Sunday, stay out of the snow. Go shovel. You're a shoveler, you're shoveling, you got to shovel multiple times today.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:00

I have a tempo, so I'm kind of okay, but I do have to shovel my steps.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:03

You got tempo town, tempo town.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:06

Um, I wouldn't be a Montreal Italian if I didn't have a tempo.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:10

Uh, come see Marco and I. We're gonna be live at McLean's pub on Peel Street. It's the real deal. Uh Sunday afternoon starting at four o'clock. Uh, hope to see you out there. Uh, drinks on Marco, by the way. Okay, I'm just kidding. I don't want to I don't want to put him into put them into bankruptcy.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:23

Drinks on you.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:24

All right, everybody. Enjoy your Sunday, enjoy your families, and uh, we'll see you back on the channel tomorrow at 10 a.m. Thanks, everyone.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:30

You know how much diapers cost, Sean?

SPEAKER_00 1:09:34

I don't know. I don't know. Hank Hank Hank poops outside. I pick it up at a poopy bag. They're not that expensive.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:40

And that is brought to you by Star and Demico. Have a good day, everybody. Peace.