Perhaps the most important development in the Montreal Canadiens’ 3-1 win against the Florida Panthers on Saturday night was the fact the “second” line of Alex Newhook, Patrik Laine and Joshua Roy got a shift in the final five minutes of the game.
Martin St. Louis has not felt very comfortable using that trio late in games he is leading, especially on the road. Still, against an opponent like the Panthers it was a serious endorsement of how that line played over the first 50 minutes of the game.
“It was better,” Laine said after the game. “We’ve talked about it for a while now. I think it’s pretty solid defensively, didn’t have too many breakdowns or anything. It was trending in the right direction.”
One game, of course, does not a trend make.
Heading into the game, St. Louis was asked after practice Friday what he thought made the Newhook line work.
His initial reaction was to shrug.
Then on Saturday morning, when St. Louis was asked about his team’s ability to correct itself in-game, he talked about the need to regulate, and then mentioned how the Jake Evans, Christian Dvorak and Nick Suzuki lines had the ability to do that. He didn’t mention the Newhook line.
It’s pretty clear this is St. Louis’ land of misfit toys line. He likes his three other lines, he trusts them, and these are just the three other forwards he has available to him. This “second” line has been an issue all season, whether it was Kirby Dach in the middle or now with Newhook in the middle.
St. Louis has spoken positively about Newhook for weeks now, repeatedly noting how he is using his speed on both sides of the puck and realizing how effective his quickness can be defensively.
As for Laine, St. Louis made it clear this will be a long process in terms of gaining his trust.
“I talk to Patty about this a lot,” he said. “We know what he can do offensively. But you have to be predictable defensively, I have to know he’s going to have defensive intentions. And that’s not just in our zone. It’s not a case where he was good that period, so he’s there. Every day, in practice and everything, you need to have defensive intentions.
“I need to have confidence in what he does on the defensive side of the puck to use him in a tight game when points are so important right now.”
Laine scored a power play goal Saturday night, his 13th of the season, tied for third in the NHL despite him playing only 36 games. Had he played all 67 Canadiens games so far, he would have 24 goals on the power play alone assuming he maintained the same pace. That is nearly a 30 power play goal pace over 82 games, which is absurd.
That will keep Laine in the lineup, but to keep him on the ice late in tight games as the Canadiens head down the stretch, he will need the engagement without the puck he displayed against the Panthers more regularly.
The Lane Hutson shooting issue
You will regularly find Lane Hutson on the ice long after Canadiens practice has ended working on his shot. He knows his shot is not effective against NHL goaltending, but the problem is his opponents know it as well.
This play in Calgary led to a conversation with Hutson about it in Vancouver.
HUTSON 😩👌 pic.twitter.com/tzLvwnKlct
— TVA Sports (@TVASports) March 9, 2025
Look at that play closely and you’ll see Cole Caufield has decent position on his man close to the net, Nick Suzuki is in the neighbourhood as well. If Hutson were able to get a shot to the net, one of them might have scored. But if he had to do that again, he would have passed it off to David Savard again.
“I think there’s a time for it,” Hutson said. “But I don’t think my shot’s at a stage right now where I can pick a goalie apart, whereas some other guys can. Right now I think I trust the other guys’ shots a little more, like Patty, Cole, Suzy. Getting those guys the puck is important because they’ve done it.”
Of the 79 NHL players with at least 50 points this season, Hutson is last with 73 shots on goal, pretty far behind Anze Kopitar’s 84 shots in second-to-last. If Hutson never shoots, doesn’t that make him more predictable and at least somewhat easier to defend? Those shot fakes become a bit less effective when the whole league knows you’re not shooting the puck, no?
“I think I’m trying to find that balance where I’m getting some stuff down so it keeps them honest,” he responded. “But I also want pucks to go in, and I want them to go in every time. So it’s tough to want to put it down there, because my chances of scoring from out there aren’t as great as me getting it to a guy who’s on a flank who I know is a good shooter.”
Then, on Saturday night, Hutson proved what he said in Vancouver.
I mean, this is a pretty good spot to shoot the puck from.
At some point, all those extra minutes after practice will give Hutson the confidence to not only let a shot go from time to time, but to actually shoot to score. In the meantime, he might need to realize that his shot is currently probably better than he thinks it is, and if he never lets it go it will limit his ability to make the dynamic plays that have defined his rookie season because defenders will have one less thing to worry about.
A little example of Christian Dvorak’s details
This was a nothing play from the Canadiens’ game in Vancouver that is easy not to notice, but it is the type of thing Christian Dvorak does regularly that endears him to his coaches and teammates.
Keep an eye on the bottom of the screen.
That is Nils Höglander receiving a puck against the near boards and immediately being met by Dvorak, who is on the defensive side of Höglander and doesn’t give him time to move or do anything productive with the puck. But most importantly, it allows his teammates to either stay in good position, or recover back to good defensive positioning, which meant the Canucks were trying to attack a much more structured group of five. They turned the puck over shortly afterwards.
A little example of the Evans line playing a deep game
Again, a detail that emerged from the Canadiens’ game in Vancouver. St. Louis often talks about playing a deep, forechecking game, but also setting up the next line to come on the ice in a favourable situation.
This was a great example of both.
The Jake Evans line with Joel Armia and Emil Heineman were on the ice protecting a one-goal lead with four minutes left in regulation and the puck deep in their own zone. Watch how efficiently and, more importantly, safely they get the puck up ice in gradual increments and wind up establishing themselves in the offensive zone.
Toward the end of that clip, you can see Cole Caufield replacing Heineman and entering the play as the Canucks attempted to clear the zone. They failed. Nick Suzuki’s line spent their entire shift playing in the offensive zone, far from their own net, with the seconds ticking down.
When St. Louis talks about the Evans line’s ability to set up what’s coming next, this is what he is talking about.
The concept of stick on puck and the physical game
In speaking about Arber Xhekaj on Friday and his ability to be physically punishing, St. Louis revealed a piece of his defensive priorities.
“To me the main principle of defending is you’ve got to kill the puck,” St. Louis said. “So being physical is part of it, but you can’t just be physical and leave pucks available to be killed. It’s got to be together, and I think he’s learning that. And I feel like when he’s at his best, that’s what he does.”
The Canadiens prioritize stick-on-puck defending more so than physically eliminating opponents. As St. Louis mentioned, you can have both, but the puck is the priority, and getting your stick on that puck makes it more difficult to physically eliminate an opponent at times.
Jayden Struble is another defenceman looking to strike that balance St. Louis mentioned with regards to Xhekaj. He has talked about wanting to get a bit of Jacob Trouba’s game into his, but it has to happen within the principles St. Louis has prioritized. And it can be difficult to concentrate on getting your stick on the puck while also concentrating on timing and delivering a punishing hit.
“I think it’s more the free hits, you’ve got to take all of them,” Struble said. “If you’re going into a corner, someone’s getting hit. Coming down the wall, same thing. It’s not necessarily getting yourself out of position when if you can finish a guy, you finish a guy. I think those are the ones I’m more focused on, where you can try to get some skin on this guy, try to make it hurt. I think that doesn’t get you out of position.”
Struble noted that if you are defending the rush, you can do both, get your stick on the puck and then physically engage an opponent. But in a situation where there is a 50/50 puck along the boards, the physical part has to take a back seat to the team’s main priority.
“Yeah, you’ve got to go stick,” Struble said.
This also applies on the forecheck. Watch these two Slafkovský forechecks on Seth Jones from Saturday night. First, a somewhat passive one, but one where he attempted to get his stick on the puck.
Now watch later in the game where Slafkovský again makes sure to get his stick on the puck but also delivers a punishing hit on the play.
When asked about the harder hit later in the game on Jones, Slafkovský pointed to a cut above his left eye. That cut came from Jones.
“I was on him all night after that,” he said.
And so, that’s the secret to going stick-on-puck and being physical all at once. It’s anger.
Struble’s life as Hutson’s partner
Struble has been playing some of his best hockey of the season as Hutson’s linemate. When he was first asked about it a few weeks ago, Struble mentioned how it’s easy to look good playing next to Hutson. In a way, that is true because you are likely to be playing in the offensive zone more often than not.
But in another way, it isn’t because it takes a heightened sense of anticipation to play with Hutson because of how unpredictable he can be with the puck on his stick.
However, Struble has an interesting take on how playing with that unpredictability factor next to him has actually helped him address something that was holding him back a little earlier in the season, which was his defensive awareness.
Struble doesn’t deny that Hutson can be unpredictable, but that aspect of his defence partner heightens his general awareness level in the game.
And that has been a far bigger help to his game than a hindrance.
“You know that he’s maybe going to do some things that you’re not expecting, so you expect that,” he said. “It keeps you more mentally sharp because you never know what he’s going to pull off, so I’m always alert and watching him. I think that just helps my own game when it comes to attention to detail.
“It definitely hasn’t been hard, he’s made it easy.”
Struble wanted to make it clear the unpredictability of Hutson’s game is something to be celebrated. Basically, he didn’t want to make it sound like he was complaining about playing with Hutson, and who could blame him? St. Louis is happy with how he’s been playing and someone who struggled to crack the lineup after the arrival of Alexandre Carrier is now a mainstay in the top-four thanks to his partnership with Hutson.
“He plays inside our principles, it’s just with the puck and stuff, we’re watching him, and you never know which way he’s going to go,” Struble said. “It’s what makes him such a good player. But yeah, you’ve definitely got to pay attention.”
(Photo of Martin St. Louis: Richard A. Whittaker / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
