The Montreal Canadiens held practice today, their third non-game day of the week. The club is on its second two-game win streak of the season. It will not play again until Saturday night against the Vegas Golden Knights, but it remains humble about its current situation. There are still plenty of unanswered questions about Kirby Dach, but the most pressing in this rebuild is whether he is a center. Following practice, captain Nick Suzuki [https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/s/suzukni01.html]told reporters that the team is taking it one game at a time and is not thinking about breaking through to secure their third straight win, which Montreal did not achieve during the 2023-24 campaign. Suzuki also said they have been playing good hockey lately, and their performances have been good enough to win games. Realistically, he's not wrong, as the Canadiens are 3-1 in their last four games, a drastic turnaround following a six-game losing streak. Meanwhile, Kirby Dach took questions, and unfortunately, the Canadiens center continues to have to answer about his sluggish start to the 2024-25 season with just one goal and eight points through 19 games. After returning from a significant knee injury, Dach, a former third overall pick, has only 48 points in 79 games with Montreal since coming to town ahead of the 2202-23 season. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAxOTAwNTY3MTM0NDc5NTE5/usatsi_21560219.jpg] Considering the pressure of playing in front of the Canadiens faithful, overcoming a severe knee injury [https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/how-dach-canadiens-are-keeping-injury-from-becoming-wasted-development-opportunity/] is just as daunting. It's still early in the year, and Dach has a chance to reach 30 or even 40 points, which would be considered underwhelming but is still a step in the right direction for him. Additional news of this morning's practice: the Canadiens forwards went through another faceoff clinic with Marc Bureau. Two weeks ago, the club brought in the former NHLer [https://montrealgazette.com/sports/hockey/nhl/hockey-inside-out/canadiens-bring-in-former-nhler-marc-bureau-to-help-with-faceoffs] to help their young centers in faceoffs, where Montreal ranks 26th in the league, winning only 47.7% of draws. No one has a winning percentage out of all players who have taken over 200 faceoffs, with Jake Evans (137-143) as the leader at 48.9%. However, Christian Dvorak is closing in on his 200th draw. With a 92-87 record, good enough for a 51.4%, he tops the team with over 25 draws. As mentioned, the Canadiens don't play again until Saturday night, when they host the Vegas Golden Knights at the Bell Centre. The Golden Knights lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night and play the Ottawa Senators on Thursday. Their tilt with the Canadiens will be their third contest in four nights, giving Montreal an advantage as a rested team. Last season, Vegas swept the season series but won each game by one goal. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bookmark THN's Montreal Canadiens [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/] site for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and more.
