The Habs had themselves a playoff run that few were expecting, making it to the Eastern Conference Final. Now, let’s look back and evaluate their performance with some report cards, starting with the forwards.
Players must have played in at least five games to receive a grade. They are graded on performance relative to expectations.
Alex Newhook: A-
Every good playoff run needs a contributor who winds up surprising with some key goals. Newhook was that player for the Canadiens in the postseason. He scored the winning goal in the first two rounds and led the team in goals altogether. His faceoff play continued to leave a lot to be desired, however, forcing the coaching staff to play a checking centre on the second line which wasn’t ideal. But overall, they have to be quite pleased with Newhook’s performance and he made a good case to garner more regular top-six consideration for next season.
Stats: 19 GP, 7 goals, 3 assists, 10 points, +3 rating, 33 shots, 16 PIMS, 17:14 ATOI
Phillip Danault: A-
I had Danault’s playoff performance from past years in the back of my mind heading into the postseason. In that true matchup shutdown role, he had success but with how things went during the regular season, my expectations were low. He wasn’t quite as impactful as he was with the Kings in their first-round exits, but Danault won a lot of his matchup minutes, killed penalties well, and was Montreal’s faceoff ace. They have to be quite pleased with his overall performance.
Stats: 19 GP, 2 goals, 8 assists, 10 points, +3 rating, 18 shots, 8 PIMS, 16:01 ATOI
Jake Evans: B+
There are some similarities to Danault here. He was a key matchup centre, did well shorthanded, and was strong on the faceoff dot. Evans was also elevated to the second line when Oliver Kapanen couldn’t get the job done while Newhook didn’t look great down the middle. That’s not the right spot for Evans on the depth chart and the lack of offensive creativity showed at times. But, for being pressed into a role that he wasn’t necessarily equipped for, Evans handled himself rather well in the postseason.
Stats: 19 GP, 2 goals, 8 assists, 10 points, +11 rating, 21 shots, 22 PIMS, 16:56 ATOI
Nick Suzuki: B
At five-on-five, Suzuki’s line wasn’t good enough. The Habs needed that line to be the difference-maker, not simply hoping to break even at five-on-five. Still, he had some success on the power play and within the context that playoff scoring is usually below the regular season, he had some success; he led all Montreal forwards in scoring. That makes it hard to go lower than a B here although I think it’s fair to say he didn’t quite live up to expectations either.
Stats: 19 GP, 4 goals, 12 assists, 16 points, -8 rating, 40 shots, 6 PIMS, 22:16 ATOI
Josh Anderson: B
As Marc Bergevin liked to say, there are players who get you to the playoffs and players who get you through them. Anderson falls into the latter category. He elevates his physicality and becomes much more of a force when the postseason gets underway and this year was no exception. I even liked that he was more assertive with his shot than during the regular season. If only he could score on breakaways, he’d have hit another level altogether. Good playoff teams have guys like Anderson in their lineup and I’ll be curious to see if there are any extension talks coming this summer when he’s eligible.
Stats: 19 GP, 5 goals, 2 assists, 7 points, +6 rating, 30 shots, 30 PIMS, 15:23 ATOI
Juraj Slafkovsky: B-
When Slafkovsky had a hat trick in the first game of the postseason, it looked like he was ready to really make his mark. He didn’t get a point the rest of the series and the game-to-game consistency wavered as well. I liked that he was shooting more and deferring less, things that he needs to continue to work on into next season. But you can’t have a top-line forward get held off the scoresheet for six straight games (plus the final four against Carolina) either. They will need more from Slafkovsky for their next postseason run.
Stats: 19 GP, 6 goals, 6 assists, 12 points, -9 rating, 48 shots, 9 PIMS, 19:56 ATOI
Ivan Demidov: B-
When a player is scuffling offensively, a coach will often point out the defensive effort to deflect criticism. But I really liked Demidov’s all-around effort in the postseason. He was more detail-oriented than we saw in the regular season and it allowed him (and by extension, his line) to play a bigger role than expected. The offence started to come around as the postseason went along, too. Expectations were high given his offensive impact during the regular season but while Demidov didn’t quite get to that level, his overall performance was still solid.
Stats: 19 GP, 3 goals, 6 assists, 9 points, -1 rating, 35 shots, 6 PIMS, 17:03 ATOI
Cole Caufield: C+
Caufield’s assessment of his own play this postseason basically said how he felt about his performance. Frankly, he’s probably being a little too hard on himself, although he didn’t live up to expectations. I don’t think many were thinking he’d produce at a 50-goal pace in the playoffs but one goal in nine games to start wasn’t good enough. Caufield’s power play production (10 points) salvaged a decent stat line and saves him from a lower grade but three even-strength points from a top liner isn’t going to cut it. They needed him to be one of their best players and that wasn’t the case.
Stats: 19 GP, 6 goals, 7 assists, 13 points, -10 rating, 43 shots, 0 PIMS, 18:23 ATOI
Alexandre Texier: C
In the first round, Texier was one of Montreal’s unsung heroes. I don’t know if they get through the Lightning without him. But the rest of the way, he wasn’t very noticeable to the point where I wondered if he was going to be scratched if there were plans to try to shake up the lineup. He’s a versatile enough player to fill a few roles for the Habs which is nice to have but at the same time, I think he underwhelmed a bit this postseason overall.
Stats: 19 GP, 4 goals, 4 assists, 8 points, +6 rating, 19 shots, 4 PIMS, 12:52 ATOI
Zach Bolduc: C
Bolduc’s game is styled a bit more for the playoffs compared to the regular season so I was hopeful that he’d find another level. That didn’t quite happen, although he still chipped in with a bit of depth scoring and a lot of physicality. Also, aside from one tough night, he was fairly disciplined, something he struggled with last playoffs against Winnipeg when he was in St. Louis. This wasn’t a performance to lock up a long-term contract as an RFA this summer but it was enough to show that he still should be in the longer-term plans.
Stats: 19 GP, 3 goals, 4 assists, 7 points, -3 rating, 18 shots, 22 PIMS, 11:23 ATOI
Kirby Dach: C
Dach made it through all 19 games which isn’t nothing given his injury trouble. And he was consistently inconsistent, which falls in line with his tenure with the Habs. He had a play that cost them a game against Tampa Bay. He then basically helped win them a game soon after. And by the time the halfway point of the playoffs came around, he certainly looked like he was playing through injury to the point where sitting him probably would have been justifiable.
Stats: 19 GP, 4 goals, 1 assist, 5 points, -1 rating, 19 shots, 20 PIMS, 10:28 ATOI
Joe Veleno: C-
Veleno’s playoff performance was a lot like his regular-season showing. He was there, logged some minutes, and, well, not much else. He brought a bit of physicality and didn’t make too many mistakes. As far as a 12th forward goes, they could have done worse. (With a deeper roster, they probably could have done better, too.)
Stats: 9 GP, 0 goals, 1 assist, 1 point, -3 rating, 4 shots, 0 PIMS, 8:47 ATOI
Oliver Kapanen: D
I was hoping that he might be able to return to being the player he was midseason but the late-season struggles continued. Kapanen looked a bit overmatched in his limited action and quickly lost the confidence of the coaching staff and his mistake in overtime against Carolina in his final game was costly. It wasn’t a great end to his season but while his last few weeks weren’t great, it shouldn’t be forgotten that Kapanen’s rookie season was a solid one overall.
Stats: 7 GP, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, -2 rating, 4 shots, 2 PIMS, 8:20 ATOI