In Saturday night’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks], Montreal Canadiens [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens] winger Zack Bolduc scored another goal, giving him three goals in as many games since he started playing for the Tricolore. He won’t keep up that torrid pace all season long, but he nonetheless became just the 6th player to score in his first three games with the Habs in the NHL. Who were the other five? Joe Malone (1917), Leo Gravel (1946), Brian Bellows (1992), Pierre Turgeon (1995), and Yannic Perreault (2001) (TSN’s Statscenter). If we go back to the last season, he scored 16 goals in 29 games. Projected over the course of 82 games, that’s a 45-goal-per-season pace. That’s hardly likely to remain the case, but it nevertheless shows great scoring instinct. What’s even better is the fact that he scored his goal from the front of the net in a spot where players usually are covered closely. The 22-year-old has a knack for getting his stick free. Canadiens Get Big Power Play Practice In Saturday Night Feisty Game [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-get-big-power-play-practice-in-saturday-night-feisty-game] Canadiens Veteran Forward Impressing Early On [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-veteran-impressing-early-on] Canadiens Prospects Posting Strong Numbers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-prospects-posting-strong-numbers] According to the NHL Stats account on X, Bolduc is also climbing up the longest goal road streak to start a season with the Canadiens. Since 1967-68, the longest such streak belongs to Cole Caufield and Steve Shutt, who both had four, with his third on Saturday. Bolduc joined Tomas Plekanec (who had done it twice), Lucien Deblois, Guy Lafleur (who had done it three times), and Yvan Cournoyer. Will he join Caufield and Shutt? We’ll know when the Canadiens get back on the road with a game against the Calgary Flames [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/calgary-flames]on October 22. Saturday night’s game was Bolduc’s 100th in the NHL, and he now has 27 goals and 22 assists for a total of 49 points. The Quebecer was picked 17th overall at the 2021 draft, and it’s starting to be rather obvious why. In his first season with the Rimouski Oceanic in the QMJHL, he scored 29 points in just 27 games. Then, in his second season with the Quebec Remparts, he recorded 99 points in 65 games, followed by 110 points in 61 games. That kind of productivity doesn’t always translate to the NHL, but so far, so good for the youngster whom the team named player of the game Saturday night. Giving him the “player of the game sunglasses,” veteran defenseman Mike Matheson called him “the pride of Quebec,” and judging by the activity on social media, that’s quite accurate. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Follow Karine on X @KarineHains [https://x.com/KarineHains] Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/karinehains.bsky.social] and Threads @karinehains [https://www.threads.net/@karinehains]. Want to ask Karine a question? Drop it in this community post [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/community/mailbag-time] and it may feature in the next mailbag article! Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/] for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens. Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens] on The Hockey News.
