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The Habs finally got themselves back into the win column with a pair of victories sandwiching the seemingly annual loss in Minnesota.  However, it certainly feels like something needs to change with backup goaltender Cayden Primeau.

The Week That Was

Nov. 11: Canadiens 7, Sabres 5 – After the offence scuffled for a couple of weeks, they made that up basically in one game.  To put it nicely, this was not a game for the goalies as neither starter made it to the end of the game.  Meanwhile, they got a good mixture of scoring from the top players and depth pieces as both Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield scored twice while Josh Anderson, Emil Heineman, and Christian Dvorak rounded out the scoring.  Caufield’s second was the game-winner, a power play marker scored with seven minutes left in regulation.

Nov. 14: Wild 3, Canadiens 0 – In what has basically become ‘annual loss night’ when the Habs travel to Minnesota, they kept it close against one of the better teams in the West.  For most of the game, they played well in the defensive zone, a stark contrast to what they’ve shown for most of the season.  But it came at the expense of their offensive pressure which was non-existent for the most part.  Matt Boldy’s first-period goal held up as the winner.

Nov. 16: Canadiens 5, Blue Jackets 1 – Mike Matheson finally picked up his first goal of the season in this one but it was once again the supporting forwards that were difference-makers in this one.  Lucas Condotta scored his second career goal while Jake Evans and Anderson also scored in the third, turning what was a close game into a bit of a blowout at the end.

StatPack

Skaters:

Goalies:

Team Leaders:

Goals: Cole Caufield (12)
Assists: Hutson/Matheson/Suzuki (11)
Points: Nick Suzuki (18)
+/-: Lucas Condotta (E)
PIMS: Mike Matheson (27)
Shots: Cole Caufield (45)

News And Notes

– Mike Matheson has been on the ice for the most goals allowed league-wide this season with 35.  This includes special teams goals.  He sits two ahead of Pittsburgh’s Marcus Pettersson in that category.

– David Savard was a late scratch from Saturday’s game due to an upper-body injury.  There was no immediate word from the team about how long he might be out for.

– Jayden Struble’s next game will be an important one for him.  He’s currently at 69 career NHL games played; when he gets to 70, he’ll become waiver-eligible.

Last Game’s Lines

Slafkovsky – Suzuki – Dach
Newhook – Evans – Caufield
Anderson – Dvorak – Gallagher
Heineman – Condotta – Armia

Hutson – Matheson
Matheson – Barron
Xhekaj – Struble

The Week Ahead

Monday vs Edmonton – After another sluggish start to the season, the Oilers have turned their fortunes around in recent weeks with their top duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl leading the way.  They’re dealing with a couple of recent injuries with Viktor Arvidsson missing the last couple of games while Darnell Nurse left Saturday’s game early after taking a hit to the head.  Stuart Skinner is off to a bit of a tough start in goal, however, posting a .877 SV% in his first 12 starts.

Saturday vs Vegas – Unsurprisingly, the Golden Knights are one of the top offensive teams in the NHL which has helped propel them to first place in the Pacific Division early on.  Jack Eichel has found another gear offensively while Mark Stone was off to his best start before being sidelined with a lower-body injury.  They’ve even received decent production from Tanner Pearson as the former Hab has seven points in 17 games with his new team after earning a contract off a PTO.

Final Thought

Let’s get it out of the way quickly – Cayden Primeau is not having a good start to his season.  He has the lowest save percentage in the league for anyone with at least five starts, checking in at .845.  There’s no sugarcoating that, even with the league average save percentage is at its lowest point in a long time. 

But I don’t think he’s getting the best situation to succeed in either.  Look at last season early on when he was sporadically playing.  He struggled, resulting in less playing time where he then struggled some more.  If the Habs are going to repeat that with him, giving him a start every two or three weeks, what do you think is going to happen?  He’s going to struggle.

Meanwhile, Samuel Montembeault is tied for the league lead in appearances with 14 already.  His career high is 41 and he’s on pace for 64.  This is an unsustainable rate for him in an era when most starters are in the low-50s.  He has tired before at the end of seasons before; if he stays at this rate, he’ll start to run out of gas in January.  Something has to give.

That something is playing Primeau more.  Yes, it will likely result in another clunker or two before too long but if Primeau getting some game reps gets him sharper, they’re probably better for it in the end.  Look at last season, he played better once Jake Allen was traded, resulting in more consistent playing time.  The goal should be to get back toward that before too long.

Unfortunately, with a light schedule this week, Primeau’s next action will probably come in Montreal’s next back-to-back set where he’ll have gone more than two weeks between starts.  I’m a believer in Primeau but knowing he doesn’t do well with long layoffs between outings, I’m already not overly confident about how that one’s going to go.

Is Primeau a long-term option in goal for the Habs?  In the final year of his contract, it feels like they need to find that out.  Sporadically playing him isn’t going to help answer that question.  With the playoffs already looking unrealistic, they need to see what they have and that means playing him more often, not less.