Canadiens Could Use Hage Now More Than Ever

The Michigan Wolverines had a great weekend. On Friday, they beat Penn State 6-3, and on Saturday, they did it again, this time 8-3. In the first game, Montreal Canadiens prospect Michael Hage grabbed two assists; in the second, he scored and added three assists. Five of those six points came on the man advantage, and the Wolverines' power play now has a 33% success rate.

Meanwhile, the Habs' power-play efficiency stands at just 13%, and they are second-to-last in the league. Of course, having Ivan Demidov back would certainly help, but they could also use a player like Hage. He won’t be the power play’s saviour; he’s only scored two power-play goals himself, but he is a great setup man and could certainly help energize the Habs’ second man-advantage unit.

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On Saturday night against the Colorado Avalanche, the Habs' man advantage not only failed to score, but they also struggled to get shots on goal. In two power plays, they mustered only four shots, and not the most threatening ones either. Once they establish possession in the offensive zone, they seem to pass the puck around without enough aggression; they stay on the periphery, which is exactly what the penalty killers want.

The only way to score is to attack the net; granted, they are teams that will find the back of the net on the power play with big shots from the blueline, but as things stand, the Habs’ big shot on the blueline is Noah Dobson, and he’s struggling to even get a shot on goal these days. Not that he’s not trying; he had nine shot attempts on Saturday, and none made it to the net.

For whatever reason, the Canadiens seem reluctant to use the man who’s in the bumper spot. They’re forever looking for the one-timer out on the wings, but there’s more than one way to score on the man advantage. Martin St-Louis often says he doesn’t want to overcoach his players and tell them when to shoot, but with the power play in such a dire state, perhaps it’s time to go back to the X’s and O’s and draw up set plays that don't center on the wingers. Hage may not be playing in the NHL, but he has a knack for getting the puck into the right areas and attacking the net; hopefully, his skill set translates well at the professional level.

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