January 27, 2025 | 9:45pm ET
By David Calabretta, TheFourthPeriod.com
HABS AT 49: BEYOND JUST IN THE MIX
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Patrik Laine, forward
MONTREAL QC — The Montreal Canadiens headed into the Christmas break sitting 15th in the Eastern Conference, and 27th in the overall league standings. Since then, the Habs have become one of the hottest team’s in the NHL and not only sniff a playoff spot, but have a legitimate chance of playing post-season hockey for the first time since 2021.
The Canadiens are 10-3-2 since Dec. 27, and currently tied for ninth in the Eastern Conference, just one point away from a wildcard spot.
Stanley Cup Champion Tour
Throughout this stretch, the Habs have had one of the hardest schedules since coming back from the Christmas break. Picking up wins is great to see, but it’s the teams they are beating that make it even more impressive.
With victories over the likes of Vegas, Florida, Tampa (x2), Washington and Colorado, the Habs have beaten the last five Stanley Cup Champions throughout this run. However, the schedule won’t get any easier coming up, with the first-place Winnipeg Jets in town on Tuesday, and Kirill Kaprizov and the Minnesota Wild on Thursday, before going on to their California trip against the Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings.
Laine’s presence spoke volumes
Many knew that the addition of Patrik Laine would bolster the Canadiens’ offence, however I don’t believe many expected it to get the type of jolt it really did since his addition – it is like night and day.
It took no time for the 26-year-old Finnish sniper to get back to his scoring touch, with 12 goals in 21 games so far this season, 10 of them being on the powerplay. Before Laine came along, the Habs posted record 8-13-3; since then, they have gone 16-7-2 since he made his Canadiens’ debut. Many may ask where the Habs would be if he had played the whole season.
Kicking off this hot start was due to the Canadiens’ fourth line consisting of Emil Heineman, Jake Evans and Joel Armia. This line played a pivotal role in the Habs’ wins, matching up against top competition along with some crucial game winning goals from Evans especially.
Evans, 28, is a pending unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and will garner lots of trade interest at the deadline, however Habs GM Kent Hughes intends to continue negotiations on a potential extension before a trade occurs.
“Jake brings a sense of calm to the ice,” said Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis. “When he’s on the ice against the other teams’ best lines, or he’s on the penalty kill, you know he’s always going to do the job. He’ll get a bad bounce once in a while, like everyone else, but he’s always there to do the job.
“I think that kind of role that he has right now, you kind of build that up over time. He’s done that, and he’s kind of added an offensive side to his game on top of the role he’s been really counted on for.”
Unfortunately, their run ended premature because of an unforeseen incident in Utah, where 22-year-old rookie Heineman got hit by a vehicle as a walking pedestrian. Heineman suffered a broken wrist and has already been out for two weeks now. It’s possible he makes a return before the 4 Nations Face-Off, however that is doubtful.
Heineman has 17 points in 41 games this season and has been a crucial forechecker on this Canadiens team. The rookie has already made himself one of the guys St. Louis can rely on at such a young age, whether it’s on the powerplay or 5-on-5 versus top competition.
“It’s unfortunate; he was really having a great run this year. His play was very consistent, and he brought a lot to the team, but I don't think he'll be out for very long,” St. Louis said. “But we keep going!”
The Emergence of Jakub Dobes
While many Habs fans were awaiting on 2023 third-round pick Jacob Fowler to conclude his season at BC, many people had written off another goaltender who has been developing in the AHL, and his name is Jakub Dobes.
All it took for him to finally get noticed was a shock call-up ahead of the Florida trip at the end of December, and the demotion of Cayden Primeau.
Dobes has had one of the most perfect starts to his career any goaltender can ask for, with a 5-0-1 record and a .933 save percentage in his first six career starts. Those five wins you may ask? They were against the Florida Panthers, Colorado Avalanche, Washington Capitals, Dallas Stars and the New York Rangers. He had suffered his first defeat in overtime fashion on Saturday versus the New Jersey Devils.
Dobes’ hot start to his career and unleashing confidence will allow Sam Montembeault to play less games, allowing more rest between both goaltenders and ultimately getting better results as seen over the last month.
TO COME
The Canadiens have two games this week, both at home versus the Jets and Wild, a tough test, but nothing they haven’t faced throughout these runs of games where we saw success in this team. The Habs sit three points off a divisional spot in the Atlantic Division, and two points off a wildcard spot, with two games in hand on the Boston Bruins, who sit in wildcard one.
The big wildcard the Canadiens are given will be how well they end off their final divisional games. With 12 games left within the division, ideally Montreal will have to play .500 hockey if they want any chance of a taste of post-season hockey. Ultimately, the Canadiens are right where they want to be at this stage of the rebuild, playing meaningful games near the end of the year and seeing success in the youth. So far, so good, and the vibes are really high in the mecca of hockey.