The Canadian’s start to the season was anything but easy. Three games in four nights against division rivals plus a visit from the Penguins on Monday.

So far we have to admit that the Canadian is doing well. It’s far from perfect, but he still managed to score four points out of a possible six. Successes are largely due to the work of numerical inferiority.

Twelve times on 13 occasions, the Habs spent the entire offensive two minutes. The only exception came in Boston when the Bruins scored their first goal.

This efficiency of 92.3% is obviously unsustainable. Year after year, the best penalty kill units remain around 85%.

However, we are a long way from the 76.5%, 72.7% and 75.6% of the last three seasons.

“[Stéphane Robidas] does a lot of work to give us indicators and provide video demonstrations. It ensures that we are all on the same wavelength,” argued Kaiden Guhle, one of the important cogs in this unit.

“Yes, there have been some adjustments. We are more aggressive and precise, but I think we are a little more experienced,” he added.

It’s part of the culture

The 22-year-old full-back himself says that he feels more comfortable in this role. An aspect of the game that he has been slowly but surely taming since joining the team in the fall of 2023.

He’s doing a tremendous job. After three games he leads the table with 14 blocked shots. Eight of them came Saturday night at the Senators’ expense.

“Blocking shots is an important part of a winning culture. Particularly outnumbered, the Albertan said. There is nothing worse for a goalkeeper than watching a teammate leave the line of fire at the last minute.”

“Also, Monty [Samuel Montembeault] told me, ‘If you stand there, you’ll better block the shot,'” he added with a smile.

So far, after David Savard, he is Martin St-Louis’ most frequently used defender in this phase of the game (11 min. 47 sec.). That means he is on the ice for more than 22 minutes per game.

Still not bad for someone who missed almost all of training camp due to an appendectomy.

Another try for Anderson

The Canadiens’ outnumbered unit is the regulars like Guhle, David Savard, Jake Evans and Joel Armia. There are also young talents like Justin Barron and Josh Anderson.

This isn’t the first time St. Louis has tried the experiment with Anderson. In the 2022-2023 season, the big winger was one of St. Louis’ trustees for a quarter of a season. The latter remembered seeing him at work with the Blue Jackets. A memory that David Savard also has.

“He was a key member of our penalty kill in Columbus. Not only does he take up a lot of ice space, but he’s also a guy who skates extremely well, Savard said. It puts defenders on their heels and can cause them to shy away from attempting a risky play.

However, if the Habs want to be one of the best shorthanded teams, they need to improve their performance in the faceoff circle. The Montreal centers have only won nine of the 14 face-offs played with one man fewer.

With only three wins in eleven attempts, Christian Dvorak is the one who has won the most. Charlie McAvoy’s goal in Boston came six seconds after one of those lost duels.

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