The Montreal Canadiens have lost five games in a row, but there's a new concern to look at, the top six production has dried up.
While a couple of issues have been pretty obvious about the Montreal Canadiens since the start of the season, a new one has emerged of late that they cannot afford to have. One of the few bright spots so far this season has been resident sniper Cole Caufield scoring at a torrid pace, but in the last three games, he hasn't found the back of the net, and when he doesn't score, it becomes even harder for the Canadiens to win.
Montreal has got four wins so far and in every single one of those wins, Caufield found the back of the net. Lately, instead of having Juraj Slafkovsky on the top line, Martin St-Louis has had Kirby Dach in his spot. While getting Dach going would be great, the Canadiens cannot afford to put the one thing that was working on hold in the hope that it may spark the returning sometime center, sometime left winger.
As things stand, Slafkovsky is looking out of place on the second line while Dach, through no fault of his own, is dragging the top line down. While Martin St-Louis has made a lot of experiments so far this season, he has yet to give the often injured Dach a shot on Jake Evans wing.
Common sense dictates Evans shouldn't be a top six player, but right now, he is the Canadiens' second best center and he has earned his spot there. Alongside him, Alex Newhook had his best game of the season last night, not just because he scored two goals, but also because of what he looked like. His body language showed a player who was sparked up and full of energy, something we hadn't seen from him up to that point.
Putting Slafkovsky back on his usual line appears to be something that's worth exploring. It's been said time and time again, the Habs need more than one solid offensive line, and that's why getting Dach going is important, but right now, having him on the top line means, that line is underperforming.
While having two productive top lines would be ideal, having at least one is essential and in the last three games, Nick Suzuki and Caufield have been completely kept off the scoresheet, just like Dach for that matter. That's not a recipe for success and there's no two ways about it.
Whether Evans is a "real top six player" or not is not the issue, he's working tirelessly and providing results so he deserves to be there end of discussion. If he could somehow spark an awakening from Dach and have him "up and running" by the time Patrik Laine returns, Montreal would find itself in a much better spot.
His return will of course bring another question, as to where he should play and who he should bump so to speak. If Dach and Newhook are still playing on the wing by then with Evans as their center, it will be tough to put either one of them back in the middle to accommodate Laine on the wing.
However, if Dach finds both his game and confidence back, he might be able to transition back to the center and be ready to lead a trio completed by Newhook and Laine, but significant progress is needed before the idea can be entertained. We've heard St-Louis say quite often that Dach needs time, but time waits for no man and nor does the NHL schedule.
The Canadiens will be taking on the Maple Leafs on Saturday night and it will be interesting to see if St-Louis will chose to keep the same combinations up front. We won't know one way or another until Saturday's morning skate (scheduled for 11:30 AM) since the players have been given a day off today.
