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The Montreal Canadiens team’s second quarter has recently passed by, and was much improved over the first one. This report focuses on the goaltenders and defencemen.

Players must have played in five games to receive a grade. Our writers each voted on a scale of one to ten for a rating for each player; the average rating appears here.

Goaltenders

Samuel Montembeault: Player Rating 7.67/10

Montembeault reversed his 6-9 record from the first quarter to show improvement this quarter. He took on nearly all the starts in December until Dobes was called up which likely started to take a mental toll if not a physical one also. His best performance of the quarter was a 3-0 shutout win at home against Nashville, where he was the first star of the game. However, the lowlight of his second quarter was the start against Pittsburgh on December 12 when Samuel gave up six of the nine goals against. His overall performance was good enough to earn a spot on Team Canada for the Four Nations tournament in February.

Stats: 16 GP, 9-6 record, 2.84 GAA, 0.896 SV%, 1 Shutout

Jakub Dobes: Player Rating N/A

Dobes has begun his NHL career in a truly spectacular way. Not only was his first game a shutout win, but it was against the reigning Stanley Cup winners the Florida Panthers. In his next start, he gave up only one goal in a shootout win to the 2022 champions the Colorado Avalanche, while halting their six-game winning streak. His next start was another impressive 3-2 overtime win against the Washington Capitals. He looks much more poised than a 23-year-old rookie in the nets. He combines good size with great athleticism. Although Dobes is only one inch taller than Cayden Primeau, his style gives him a bigger appearance. He has good hockey sense, knowing when it’s the right time to play the puck or to cover it up. Jakub also has solid rebound control and seems unflappable in goal.

Stats: 3 GP, 3-0-0 record, 0.97 GAA, 0.960 SV%, 1 Shutout

Cayden Primeau: Player Rating N/A

Cayden had a terrible second quarter, to say the least. His last game was December 12 against Pittsburgh, when he relieved Montembeault in a blowout loss, but allowed three goals in around eleven minutes played. His other two starts were poor performances, giving up eight goals in two games. Primeau seemed to struggle with his confidence. Many times in those games he lost track of the puck which led to goals against due to bad positioning or delayed reactions to a shot on goal. His demotion to Laval is the best move for him at this point, to help him find his game again.

Stats: 3 GP, 1-1 record, 5.02 GAA, 0.817 SV%

Defencemen

Lane Hutson: Player Rating 9.50/10

While Lane had a solid start to his career in the first quarter of this season, he did even better in this quarter. His twenty points in twenty-one games are a nine-point improvement. During this segment, Hutson scored his first NHL goal on December 14th versus Winnipeg. On December 7th, Mike Matheson was paired with Hutson, and they have become regular partners since then. On the surface, pairing the team’s two best offensive blueliners did not make much sense. After the next few games, both players adjusted to each other and began to work well together. Lane was also promoted to run the first power play unit in the second quarter and was one of the reasons (along with Patrik Laine) for much more potency with the man advantage.

Stats: 21 GP, 3 G, 17 A, 20 Pts, +5, 10 PIM, 30 Shots, 6 Hits, 24 Blocked Shots, 22:23 ATOI

Alexandre Carrier: Player Rating 8.17/10

Carrier arrived in Montreal from Nashville in exchange for Justin Barron. He came with a reputation as a defensive blueliner, and was paired with Kaiden Guhle to form a balanced right shooter with a left shooter. The two players clicked immediately and gave coach St. Louis a very good shutdown pairing. Carrier is a fearless defender, playing much larger than expected for his 5’11” frame. His veteran presence has helped stabilize a very young defensive corps and helped shift Guhle back to his natural left side. Given the early struggles Barron has faced in Nashville, it’s looking like this trade will become Kent Hughes’ best move as a Habs GM, at least for now.

Stats: 10 GP, 0 G, 5 A, 5 Pts, +1, 2 PIM, 13 Shots, 11 Hits, 15 Blocked Shots, 20:07 ATOI

Kaiden Guhle: Player Rating 8.17/10

Before the arrival of Carrier, the left shooting Guhle was moved to the right side of the ice to help rebalance the defence. Although he adapted pretty well, this type of move always limits a defenceman’s usefulness. After the trade for Carrier, Guhle and his new partner have formed their most effective defensive duo on the team and freed up Guhle to move back to his natural position. Kaiden is continuing to show prowess blocking shots, leading his team in that statistic this quarter.

Stats: 20 GP, 1 G, 3 A, 4 Pts, -4, 15 PIM, 20 Shots, 33 Hits, 44 Blocked Shots, 21:08 ATOI

Mike Matheson: Player Rating 8.0/10

When Mike was paired with Hutson, he moved to the right side of the ice. With both defencemen being left shots, the veteran was paired on his off side but his experience has helped him adjust to it well. Matheson was moved down to the second power play unit and his offensive production dried up to one point. He scored six even strength points, which is the same number in both quarters. Matheson is a true team player, willing to accept a move to his off-side to accommodate Hutson, and also agreed with the coaching decision to move to the second power play unit; each move was done without any complaints.

Stats: 19 GP, 1 G, 6 A, 7 Pts, +6, 6 PIM, 47 Shots, 17 Hits, 33 Blocked Shots, 25:01 ATOI

Arber Xhekaj: Player Rating 7.0/10

Arber continues to maintain his role as the team’s “tough guy” while still holding down a regular shift. After becoming Savard’s regular partner, Xhekaj has settled into a third pairing role. As expected, he leads his team in penalty minutes; the majority of that time in the box is from fighting. Arber has shown more discipline than in past seasons, although he will still draw some minor penalties due to aggressive acts that continue to catch the eyes of the officials. There are some finer points to his game that could use work, like his pivots and his passing. It’s difficult to say if Xhekaj will stay at this level in the depth chart, or perhaps rise up to a second pairing.

Stats: 21 GP, 1 G, 3 A, 4 Pts, +3, 36 PIM, 29 Shots, 58 Hits, 21 Blocked Shots, 16:13 ATOI

David Savard: Player Rating 6.0/10

The elder statesman of this blueline, Savard showed improvement this quarter. I believe a great deal of that was tied to his pairing with Arber Xhekaj. This duo has been the team’s third blueline duo for most of this quarter, and their chemistry is much better than what Savard and Matheson have shown before. In addition, Savard improved his offensive production by two points, despite missing games from an upper-body injury.

Stats: 16 GP, 1 G, 5 A, 6 Pts, +6, 18 PIM, 11 Shots, 13 Hits, 40 Blocked Shots, 18:30 ATOI

Jayden Struble: Player Rating 5.17/10

The Carrier trade also negatively impacted Struble, who was relegated to the seventh defenceman’s slot on the team’s depth chart. Jayden appeared in only a few games this quarter to fill in for other injured or sick players. His versatility to play either the left side or the right has benefitted him. With the rest of the team’s blueliners playing so well for most of the quarter, it’s going to be difficult for Struble to crack this current lineup.

Stats: 11 GP, 1 G, 0 A, 1 Pts, -4, 10 PIM, 7 Shots, 25 Hits, 12 Blocked Shots, 13:24 ATOI

Justin Barron: Player Rating N/A

As previously mentioned, Barron was traded in December for Carrier, but Justin should still be mentioned since he played above the minimum games required. At the end of his Habs career, he actually was playing better than he did previously. His focus on his defensive game was better, but he provided literally no offence during his last eight games. Barron was well-liked by his teammates, but appeared to lack confidence on the ice at times. The coaching staff lost confidence in him, and his last few games were meant to showcase him to Nashville to facilitate the trade.

Stats: 8 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 Pts, +1, 2 PIM, 6 Shots, 3 Hits, 11 Blocked Shots, 13:36 ATOI