The two hottest teams in the entire NHL since the Four Nations break met in St. Louis on Tuesday night. The Blues have the best record since the break and the Montreal Canadiens have the second best record.
As a result, both clubs have moved into a playoff spot with a dozen games remaining in the season. However, the lead for both clubs is tenuous, and they both needed a result. The Blues got their result easily 6-1, while the Canadiens struggled.
Wilde Horses
Lane Hutson continued his assault on the rookie record book in his 70th game of the season. Hutson became the leading scoring rookie defenceman this century with point number 54 on Nick Suzuki’s first period goal.
Hutson won the puck all the right wall by faking the Blues checker that he was going to go deep. He bought all sorts of space instead heading to the blue line where he floated a shot that Suzuki deflected.
With the tally, Hutson moved ahead of Quinn Hughes for the highest rookie total for rear-guards in points this century. Remarkable for anyone, but for the 62nd draft pick, it calls to mind the actual acumen of scouts across the NHL. The scouts may care about size a little too much.
With his next helper, Hutson will move to 50 assists in his rookie campaign. Only four rookies in the history of the game managed 50 assists in their rookie season: Larry Murphy had 60, Chris Chelios had 55, Stefan Persson and Gary Suter had 50.
All of those players accumulated their totals in the high-scoring era in the NHL when the final tally was just as likely to be 7-5, not like the era today when 4-2 is the likely final count.
Hutson is a phenom. He is on pace to finish with 62 points. That would put him seventh all-time among rookie defenders just ahead of Nicklas Lindstrom. The latest odds in Vegas have Macklin Celebrini as the Calder Trophy winner at -145 with Lane Hutson in second at +110.
Hutson’s assist was the only positive in the first overwhelmingly negative game for the Canadiens since early February.
Wilde Goats
Where do you start?
Right from the opening minutes when the Blues accumulated the first 11 shots in the game, the Canadiens were second best. They were second on the puck. They couldn’t clear their zone. They didn’t have any legs. Their brains didn’t seem engaged either.
There was no point in the entire contest when it looked like Montreal deserved to be spoken of in the same breath as the Blues. They entered the contest as the top-two clubs in the league in the last month, yet they seemed to have leagues between them.
Samuel Montembeault continued to have difficulty on long shots, but he also got no help on any shot. The Canadiens had been blocking so many good looks, but somehow in this one, they didn’t seem to have the ability to get in front of any shots.
Throw it out the window. That is what the players should do. It won’t help to perseverate on the matter. It is two points gone. The Canadiens are still in a playoff spot. Do better in Philadelphia on Thursday.
Wilde Cards
The Canadiens have brought Kaiden Guhle on their four game road trip. It’s a strong indication that he will soon be returning to the line-up. Guhle is practicing in a contact jersey with the club. Guhle is the most complete defender on the Canadiens at both ends of the ice.
The story now becomes who will leave the active-six as a result. One month ago, this was the easiest call in Montreal. The answer would have been Jayden Struble. However, the best pairing on the team analytically since they were joined last month is Struble with Lane Hutson. It’s especially satisfying for the organization because they learned Hutson could play well on his off-side.
The pairing gets 20 minutes per night. That type of ice-time for a player doesn’t scream press-box.
The pairing of Mike Matheson and Alexandre Carrier are also pulling more than 20 minutes per night. They also have pedigree, so are even less likely to be sidelined than Struble.
The only logical choice is one of the two players on the third pair with only 12 minutes of ice per contest recently. Arber Xhekaj brings a toughness to his game, while David Savard is outstanding on the penalty kill.
The decision does have some degree of difficulty. On 5-on-5 shifts, Savard is showing some weakness with his lack of speed, and inability to neutralize the attack. That makes him more likely to sit. However, should the head coach think differently opting for experience, no one should be surprised.
It may just come down to where Martin St. Louis wants Guhle to play. If he prefers Guhle on the left, then Savard stays playing on the right and Xhekaj sits.
Whatever the choice, the playoff chase gets a massive boost with an important defender returning. The club can only improve, as a result.
Call of the Wilde: Race to the Playoffs
