Call Of The Wilde: Montreal Canadiens fall to the Columbus Blue Jackets - BERITAJA

The Montreal Canadiens played the last location crippled of an outstanding 41 successful the 2025-26 season, a twelvemonth that featured immoderate of the about breathtaking moments for the franchise this century.

The Canadiens are a thrilling, high-scoring nine providing memories of the highest bid for their fans. They wanted to decorativeness the location play pinch different bully memory. The Columbus Blue Jackets didn’t conscionable want to ruin that hope; they needed to ruin it. The Blue Jackets are fighting to enactment live successful their playoff hunt, and they did pinch a 5-2 win.

Wilde Horses 

Cole Caufield scored different extremity that possibly only Caufield could score. It was a changeable that didn’t look to person the slightest chance. It was from a horrible angle, but he fired it anyway, hitting the associated successful the crossbar and the post. That’s 51 connected the play for Caufield.

He’s successful the conflict for the Rocket Richard trophy down only Nathan MacKinnon who has 52 connected the season. The Canadiens person 2 games left. The Avalanche person 3 games left.

Nick Suzuki had an assistance connected the goal. He now has 99 points connected the play arsenic he tries to go the first Canadiens subordinate to get 100 points since Mats Naslund successful 1986.

Wilde Goats 

It was ever going to beryllium a letdown nighttime aft the events of Thursday against Tampa Bay. It’s an utmost situation to not suffer power and attraction aft Caufield scored 50 goals, Juraj Slafkovsky scored 30 goals, and the nine hit the Lightning successful what felt for illustration a grudge match.

There were mediocre performances from players connected the cusp of trying to go regulars.  It’s difficult to beryllium beardown each azygous game. The Canadiens person relied  connected Jayden Struble and Arber Xhekaj a batch lately owed to injuries to Kaiden Guhle and Alexandre Carrier.

Struble and Xhekaj person handled the situation rather well. They’ve upped their games. However, keeping it going nighttime aft nighttime is difficult. Xhekaj had problem connected the first goal. Struble fundamentally passed to the Blue Jackets connected the 4th goal.

Another subordinate who had a difficult nighttime was Alexandre Texier arsenic he tries to move from bubble subordinate to regular. Texier has played immoderate soft minutes recently. He’s not an effective first forechecker arsenic he doesn’t bring the body. The NHL playoffs are angry and dirty, and what’s coming whitethorn not beryllium to Texier’s liking.

It was besides possibly a small excessively overmuch of the nett for Jakub Dobes, who had his first reliable crippled successful 3 weeks. He had been awesome for 9 consecutive games, but taking complete the net, and not sharing it, is simply a different communicative for a goalie. The attraction required is intense.

That’s not a sound against Dobes. Every goalie needs a break now and then, moreover Carey Price. When the Blue Jackets rolled successful to municipality 2 weeks ago, they about apt deserved a amended destiny than the nonaccomplishment they registered, truthful immoderate adjacent equity was successful bid arsenic well.

This nonaccomplishment will spell a agelong measurement to not capturing 2nd spot successful the Atlantic Division, but location shouldn’t beryllium excessively overmuch consternation. No squad will person the required strength for 82 games. The nine that perfectly has to triumph to support its playoff hopes live is apt to beryllium much focused connected the task. That was the Blue Jackets. They had to person a result, and they sewage it.

Not a calamity to suffer against a quiet team.

The existent interest about the mahogany array successful the statement isn’t the people Saturday; it’s the 2nd line. It doesn’t person a centre that could thief Ivan Demidov play much of the crippled successful the violative zone. They tried Texier pinch Oliver Kapanen and it was much of the aforesaid — mediocre hockey.

This nine is lacking a 2nd line, and it is the biggest interest for the playoffs. One could show this because they support changing the combinations each game. They’re struggling to find thing that works.

Wilde Cards

An absolute shocker from Michael Hage this afternoon. Expectations from everyone progressive were that Hage would motion pinch the Canadiens aft getting eliminated successful the Frozen Four connected Thursday. Hage, however, has decided to return to Michigan for a 3rd season.

This is simply a prime that is highly difficult to understand. Hage has thing much to study successful assemblage lucky aft dominating for 2 seasons. His numbers successful his sophomore play are world class, and different play location doesn’t guardant his career.

Hage should move pro. If he made the Canadiens correct away, that would beryllium monolithic for his improvement nether Martin St. Louis. If he played initially for Laval, that would besides guardant his profession to play against pros and acquisition the grind and the learning acquisition that is the American Hockey League.

Playing different play astatine Michigan is much of the same. It won’t guardant his profession successful immoderate capacity to play against the aforesaid players and listening to the aforesaid voices down the bench.

Three aspects travel to mind successful trying to understand Hage’s motivation. First, he whitethorn attraction about his acquisition and wants to get person to an existent grade astatine immoderate constituent successful his life.

Second, his relative Alex is simply a Michigan-commit for adjacent season. Alex is smaller than Michael and will not apt person an NHL career, truthful this would beryllium Michael’s only opportunity to play pinch his brother.

Third, the money that assemblage athletes could make successful name-image-likeness agreements — NIL agreements — is really higher than insignificant convention money, and, for immoderate players, moreover higher than entry-level NHL money.

It could go a existent rumor for the NHL 1 day, if NIL is truthful important that a subordinate doesn’t take the NHL. The NHL must beryllium the highest-paying league. That can’t beryllium a debate. Otherwise, the convention is compromised.

Many will statesman to interest that Hage is willing successful signing arsenic a free supplier pinch different NHL squad by allowing the Canadiens authorities complete him to expire. Montreal has his authorities until Aug. 15, 2028.

Even erstwhile Hage reaches the conclusion of his inferior play adjacent April, the Canadiens will still ain his authorities for different year. If he wants full free agency, he would person to play his elder play successful Michigan arsenic well. Not wholly impossible, but nary 1 thought this script was imaginable either.

If the Canadiens want to go a bona fide Stanley Cup contender adjacent season, they are 100 per cent short a 2nd statement centre who could transportation the puck up crystal and triumph violative area clip to get the about retired of Demidov.

The subordinate who suffers the about pinch this determination is Demidov. He’s spending excessively overmuch clip successful his ain area because his statement doesn’t person a centre to thrust the play. If the Canadiens large woody that didn’t hap astatine the trading deadline was a centre, they will surely beryllium revisiting that woody now.

Alex Newhook, Kapanen and Demidov had a 43 Expected Goals stock this season. That won’t triumph a cup. The 2nd statement centre hunt conscionable became a monolithic storyline for adjacent season. It is wrong a percent constituent of the worst statement connected the squad this season. An upgrade is needed. An upgrade that is now not Michael Hage.