Phillip Danault may not be one of the Montreal Canadiens' star player, but he certainly starred in the Habs 6-3 win on Thursday night.
In the Montreal Canadiens’ 6-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night, there were many heroes. Jakub Dobes bounced back after a shaky start, Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky put up three points each, Cole Caufield found the back of the net at even-strength, and Ivan Demidov finally scored. Another performance was largely undetected: Phillipe Danault’s.
Some might have noticed that he missed a golden opportunity to score a big goal when the puck got to him in the slot, but he largely made up for it. Not only did he provide two assists on two of the first three goals, but he had a fantastic night at the faceoff dot.
Nobody took more faceoffs for the Habs in that game than Danault. The Quebecer took a total of 18 draws and won 14 of them for a 77.8% success rate. When Kent Hughes decided to acquire the struggling center from the Los Angeles Kings before the Christmas roster freeze, he didn’t do it to increase offensive production; he did it because he was fully aware of how important winning draws can be.
In the Canadiens two other wins over the Sabres, the centerman had a 66.7% success rate in the faceoff department. He took 15 draws in Montreal’s 5-1 win in Game 2 and nine in the Habs 6-2 win in Game 3.
The Victoriaville native has played a key role for the Canadiens all through the first two rounds, not only because of how good he is in the faceoff department, but also because of his responsible two-way play. After 12 games, he averages 16:13, has won 61.9% of his faceoffs, has five points (all assists), and a plus-six rating, on top of playing big minutes on the penalty kill.
When the Canadiens are protecting a lead, Martin St-Louis often sends the 33-year-old veteran center onto the ice with Nick Suzuki, giving him two centers to take draws. If the linemen kick one out, the other one can take charge. Whichever way you look at it, Danault’s acquisition by Kent Hughes was a masterstroke; he has been more than worth the second-round pick he cost.
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