The Buffalo Sabers came to Montreal Tuesday night, riding a 10-game losing streak. For the Canadiens, it was almost a can’t-win night. A win was expected, so anything less than a shellacking would not be met favourably.
Knowing that, Montreal did just that. They laid out a shellacking on the hapless Sabers 6-1.
Wild Horses
The Canadiens started the game with authority. The Canadiens fired nine shots before the five minute mark. It was ten minutes before Buffalo got a shot, and they were already down two. It was Montreal’s best start of the season.
They opened the scoring only 19 seconds in as Joel Armia counted on a rebound. It was an interesting decision to start the Jake Evans line to open the game, but it was a good one by the head coach as they roared out of the gate and into the lead.
Montreal didn’t stop, either. Trying to kill a penalty, the Sabers overloaded a zone with catastrophic results. Nick Suzuki passed it to the left side where Laine shot so fast it was in and out before anyone was within 25 feet of him.
The first period also featured another classic moment. It was another occasion where a giant of an NHL player could not believe what was happening to him against Lane Hutson. Tage Thompson is one of the strongest players in the league. Hutson is nine inches shorter and gives up 60 pounds to Thompson.
Hutson not only won an open-ice puck battle, he did it so cleanly that he drew a penalty on the play. Thompson won’t assume that’s an easy battle against the rookie again.
It was excellence from Juraj Slafkovsky in the second period. True intelligence for his third goal of the season. He saw that the goalie had lost the near post and was out of position, so Slafkovsky fired it off his back and in. Now that is some hockey sense.
The night was a long list of highlights, but the best hadn’t even been a twinkle in anyone’s eye yet. In the second period, Laine did it again. It was another unstoppable shot. It seemed to be in the net before it was on his stick. Top corner for his second goal of the night.
One minute and 10 seconds later, Laine did it again. It was a repeat of the first two goals — a slap shot from the left side from 20 feet and, once again, it was completely unstoppable. Laine’s shot looks like not a bullet in the common hockey vernacular, but an actual bullet.
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Laine has six goals in seven games. While Laine sat at the bench, the fans completed their favorite trilogy in the cathedral: a standing ovation, hundred of hats raining down, and chants of “ole” and “Laine”.
Fans embraced the special moment. They know they just witnessed the world’s best shot. It was hard not to think about what might have been this season, if the Canadiens had that shot to rely on all season.
Wild Goats
The Canadiens were so strong in this one that there are no goats. Everything was rolling. In the first period, they held the Sabers to three shots. That set the tone for the contest.
This one was a coach’s dream.
Wild Cards
Rebuilds take time. Let the sad story of the Buffalo Sabers be the warning shot to the Canadiens for the amount of patience that is required to do this right.
The Sabers are going to miss the playoffs for the 14th straight season this April. The Canadiens are on season three of their rebuild and the impatience is already building in Montreal among media and fans.
Getting impatient would be the absolute worst thing that could happen. Impatience leads to firings and firings lead to someone new trying to put their personal stamp on changes. Since the Sabers last made the playoffs they have had eight coaches and four general managers. That instability has led to stupidity.
The popular opinion is the Sabers haven’t acquired good enough players. The truth is they have gotten rid of their best players.
They had Ryan O’Reilly, who won a cup in St. Lewis. They had Jack Eichel, who won a cup in Vegas. They had Sam Reinhart, who won a cup in Florida. Not only did they win, they were a huge reason they won.
In net, they had Vezina winning Linus Ullmark, who they also gave up on too early. Looking simply at who the Sabers were impatient with, it is easy to see that they actually had a foundation for success.
Everyone is looking for the magic formula to a successful rebuild. There may not be a sure-fire 100-per cent to-do list, but there is a sure-fire don’t-do list. The Sabers hit their mark every single time.
Don’t fire coaches and GMs every two or three years because as is human nature, the new guy wants to start over. In fact, he’s hired to start over. So he does. And the cycle rolls over and begins again.
What mistakes could the Canadiens make like the Sabres?
Get impatient with GM Kent Hughes and fire him. That would be so asinine. Hughes has only had two of his draft picks in three years managing actually on the senior team. Firing Martin St. Louis at head coach would be a disaster. It would upset stability and culture tremendously.
Giving up on Kirby Dach would be a horrible idea. For one, because his stock is so low there would be no return. Also, because his stock was once so high. He must be given time to recover from surgery.
In fact, giving up on any young player is always a bad idea. It’s the single greatest reason the Sabers are incompetent. The worst idea is always to give up on a young player only to see him break through 80 games later somewhere else.
Patience. Preach it to the mountain tops. Let the draft picks arrive. Let the players mature. Let the management ideas bloom. It’s hard to imagine three more years of this in Montreal, but impatience would encourage the tragedy that is Buffalo.
Next season, the Sabers will be trying to break their playoff drought before it is year 15.
Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sports writer, brings you Call of the Wilde on globalnews.ca after each Canadiens game.
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