Why Day 1 isn't too soon to read into Canadiens' forward lines

BROSSARD, Que. — We’ll just throw caution to the wind and read far deeper into Day 1 line combinations than Martin St. Louis wants us to — and not just because it’s fun, but also because they make sense.

At least the first two do.

We’re fairly confident Brett Berard won’t be filling out the third line with Alex Newhook and Jake Evans over Zachary Bolduc or Alex Texier when Sept. 29 rolls around. And while Florian Xhekaj has a chance to stay where he practised Thursday — with Phillip Danault and Josh Anderson on the fourth line — he’s still an underdog to unseat Kirby Dach or whomever of Bolduc or Texier is cut from the third.

But Chris Kreider taking his first strides as a Montreal Canadien next to Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki was predictable to us — just as reuniting Juraj Slafkovsky with Oliver Kapanen and Ivan Demidov was for many more reasons than we outlined in Wednesday’s lengthy training-camp preview.

Familiarity is one — because Caufield and Suzuki have so much of it with each other and are such prominently featured players, just about any winger who’s seen highlights of them playing together would know how to provide the right complement.

Even from afar, Kreider has definitely seen enough of them to be that guy. And considering he’s made a living of bringing the exact elements the ideal linemate for Suzuki and Caufield would, he’s a natural fit.

“Obviously, he’s got everything,” Caufield said after the trio’s first practice. “He’s heavy, wins a lot of battles, good in front, helps our team depth-wise, too. And obviously, he has that experience, too. I think he’s played everywhere in the lineup, and he can help Nick and I out.”

It’s what Kreider’s been doing for his linemates through 958 games in the NHL.

He’s always been a driver but has never been considered the driver of his line. Even when he scored 52 goals with the New York Rangers in 2021-22, he was largely the complement to Mika Zibanejad and a combination of Alexis Lafreniere, Kappo Kakko, Frank Vatrano and Barclay Goodrow.

Similarly, he was just that to Zibanejad and Pavel Buchnevich over other seasons, and to Leo Carlsson and Troy Terry through most of last season with the Anaheim Ducks.

Playing with Caufield and Suzuki will be a new experience for Kreider, but the role should feel anything but that to the six-foot-three, 232-pound power forward.

The familiarity factor also enables the assembly of Slafkovsky, Kapanen and Demidov straight off the hop. The trio had a very strong run as Montreal’s second line for close to half of last season, producing 25 goals and allowing only 18 in close to 364 five-on-five minutes together in total. And while the line's underlying numbers left something to be desired — 46 per cent in Corsi and expected goals — much of that was simply due to Kapanen and Demidov being rookies.

Considering how both players have gained valuable experience, those numbers could spike.

Kapanen and Demidov both believe they will as they build on their already impressive chemistry with Slafkovsky.

“I think everyone knows his role and just being in the exact spot that the other guy wants him to be,” Demidov said, “so that’s probably (why it can work).”

Another reason is Kapanen fits the exact description St. Louis gave for an ideal second-line centre when he spoke with media members Wednesday.

“Guys who habitually play centre, they have to have a good computer, have to be able to complement other players,” the coach said. “What I want out of a player who plays centre with players who might be more offensive is that he has a game that’s balanced and that’s capable of doing pretty much anything on the ice.”

That was Kapanen for most of last season, until he admittedly hit a wall.

The 23-year-old Finn said the grind of his first 82-game schedule, which was compressed by a trip to the Olympics, physically wore him down by April.

But the disappointment of sitting out playoff games in May shouldn’t overshadow all the success Kapanen enjoyed from October to March. We shouldn’t forget he scored 22 goals and 39 points as a rookie.

Especially since he hasn’t.

“The end of last year wasn’t what I wanted, but I feel like I had a good year if I don’t take those couple last months into it,” Kapanen said, adding that the comfort of knowing what to expect, now coupled with the preparation over “a great summer” of training in Finland, sets him up to learn from the few failures and build on the many successes.

Demidov showed few blemishes in scoring 62 points — more than any other rookie — but also learned key lessons that he believes set him up for an even better sophomore season.

The 20-year-old Russian said he paced out his summer training because he learned that it’s better to be prepared for September rather than August. He said last season taught him to manage the work-to-rest ratio. And when he wasn’t resting, he said he spent his summer working out some of the finer details of skating and puck possession.

Demidov bringing those elements consistently and employing them with the top-tier skill he possesses will only help elevate Kapanen and Slafkovsky, who’s taken incredible strides since being drafted first overall by the Canadiens in 2022. That’s the plan, at least.

The plan also appears set for Kreider’s experience and skillset to keep Suzuki and Caufield at a level few other forwards in the NHL can match. The former scored 101 points and won the Selke Trophy as the league’s top defensive forward while the latter tallied 51 goals, and their potential to match that success feels just as strong next to a player who had 22 goals and 50 points last season.

They could do even better when you look a that top-six composition. You can envision two lines not only pushing each other but also taking pressure off each other. The potential of both lines commanding so much attention from the opposition would only have a trickle-down effect of freeing up the bottom two lines to provide depth scoring.

Perhaps that would all still prove true if Slafkovsky and Kreider switched spots, but we don’t see that happening too soon.

Maybe St. Louis would say we’re getting ahead of ourselves, but we don’t expect him to tinker with these combinations while Kreider’s also adjusting to the city he just arrived in on Sunday. As Caufield pointed out, “He’s got a lot of other issues to kind of figure out with living and stuff,” so throwing him new linemates after just a couple of skates with the top guns wouldn’t make much sense.