We kick off our early-season first-round rankings with the players ranked 25 through 32. Depending on what happens with the pick acquired from Calgary in the initial Sean Monahan deal, the Habs could have a selection in this range.
Over the last couple of weeks, the Habs have shown some improvement in the defensive zone. That continued on Monday as some strong defending helped lead Montreal to a 3-0 win over Edmonton.
Our early-season draft rankings begin with the second round. The Habs currently hold two picks in that round, their own plus Pittsburgh’s, a pick that might land earlier than anticipated given their early-season struggles.
The Habs had a decent road game on Thursday in Minnesota, particularly on the defensive side of things. However, they couldn’t muster up much offensively, allowing the Wild to get the 3-0 victory.
Montreal took the lead early in the third period on Tuesday against Calgary but they weren’t able to hold on. Matt Coronato tied it up late and then added the winner just seconds into overtime to give the Flames the 3-2 win.
Sunday’s game in Philadelphia was a lot close than it should have been thanks to the Flyers scoring a pair of late goals to make it interesting but the Habs were able to hold on and win their second game in as many nights.
Tuesday’s game against the Rangers started off badly and things pretty much only got worse from there. Samuel Montembeault got the hook before the midway mark of the first and New York picked up an easy 7-2 win.
The Habs were tied with Pittsburgh heading into the third period on Monday night but some defensive zone miscues proved to be too much to overcome as the Penguins picked up the 6-3 win.
Tuesday’s game was far from action-filled with Montreal icing a mostly different lineup and New Jersey bringing far from their best. However, Michael Pezzetta led the way offensively with two goals as the Habs picked up the 3-0 win.
The Habs showed a new aggressive approach in their preseason opener which was fun to watch. It suited a large number of new faces on the roster and the Habs used it to ride a third period wave of offence to a 5-0 win.