The Montreal Canadiens were back at work this morning in Brossard and after a bag skate on Friday, they had a different kind of practice.
Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St-Louis finally had enough Thursday night after his team lost 6-3 to the Washington Capitals. As a result, he cracked the whip and put his men through a tough practice that included a lot of skating and very few pucks, a bag, if you will.
This morning, after a day off, the Canadiens were back to work, and after being punished on Friday, they went back to school. An hour and a half before the team practice started, Justin Barron, Arber Xhekaj, and Jayden Struble stepped on the ice, joined by skills coach Adam Nicholas. Lane Hutson joined them a few minutes later.
Up front, the centers were treated to a faceoff clinic courtesy of a guest coach, alumni Marc Bureau. During his 11-year NHL career, his main expertise was winning faceoffs and killing penalties. According to QuantHockey, faceoff-winning percentages were only calculated in the last four years of his career, and over those four seasons, he won 1335 of a total of 2,500 draws, for an impressive 53.4%.
According to St-Louis, it was GM Kent Hughes' initiative to bring Bureau into the fold, which shouldn't be surprising considering how dedicated he was to helping his clients improve when he was an agent. Nick Suzuki, Alex Newhook, Kirby Dach, Jake Evans, Christian Dvorak, and Oliver Kapanen were all part of Bureau's faceoff clinic, which was much needed considering the Canadiens currently have a 47.6% collective success rate at the dot in 12 games.
The organization said before the start of the season that they hoped to be "in the mix" this season. Considering how little change was made to the lineup, however, that expectation was mainly based on organic growth, on how much the players improved over the course of those last three seasons.
Hughes banked on that growth as well when he traded away Jordan Harris and Jonathan Kovacevic, making room for new rookie defenders and hoping those who had been there for a couple of years, such as Justin Barron and Arber Xhekaj, who have taken strides which would allow them to play a bigger part.
Up front, it was hoped Kirby Dach would pick up right where he left off when he was injured and consolidate his claim on the second center role. Some even believed he could challenge Suzuki as the first-line pivot.
Not all best-laid plans come to fruition, though, and the Canadiens might have overestimated how much progress their young core had actually made. Xhekaj, Struble, and Barron still need a lot of reps on the blue line. Dach and Newhook are struggling to find their game so far, and questions are starting to be asked, but it doesn't mean the rebuild is a bust. It does mean, however, that perhaps expectations should be reevaluated.
Interestingly, after practice, the coach was asked what his biggest concern was about the team. After thinking it over, he replied, "I don't have a concern, honestly. We're just learning how to win." St-Louis believes the Canadiens' current predicament is all part of growing pains and learning how to win.
The bench boss says that, like the team, he's going through a transition as a coach. From focussing on development and not results, the Canadiens have now moved on to learning to win and attempting to be in the mix, which explains the "harder side" of the coach we've seen of late.
Still, concern or not, St-Louis had once again made significant changes to his lines at practice:
Cole Caufield-Suzuki-Dach
Newhook-Evans-Slafkovsky
Josh Anderson-Dvorak-Brendan Gallagher
Emil Heineman-Kapanen-Joel Armia
Pezzetta (13th forward)
Both Dach and Newhook's playing on the wing could be seen as a concern, although the coaching staff might just want them to find their game without worrying about the responsibilities that normally fall to a pivot. Still, Evans on the second line raised more than a few eyebrows, with a majority of people thinking he is not second-line material.
While he may not put up many points, he has been and is by far the Canadiens' second-best, if not the best, center this season. He's not a risk-taker, but he can still contribute offensively, and perhaps his presence between Newhook and Slafkovsky will provide them with the defensive safety net they need to take flight. St-Louis has nothing to lose by giving that combination a shot, really.
One thing is clear for now: the rebuild is not over—no one ever said it was—but by talking about raised expectations thanks to growth from within, Hughes and co. have put a bit of pressure on the team to produce results that have yet to come. It doesn't mean they won't, though; it just means more fertilizer is needed.
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