GDT Game #34 Habs vs Columbus 7pm Monday Dec 23 2025

[BCHabnut]

How? Dach is snake bit.

[Helmethead]

Oh Kirby 🤬

[xXx..CK..xXx]

Dach will never score again

[BCHabnut]

Dagger of a goal. Beauty shot. 

[Commandant]

This game is why we need a backup.  Can't ask goalies to play 3 in 4 nights 

[Prime Minister Koivu]

Montembault made several really great saves, too bad about the last one. 
 

Dach played a good game and this is his third game in a row doing that. 

[Prime Minister Koivu]

Evans, Armia, Heineman continue to shine. 
 

Mike Matheson finds himself on the bottom of the stat page again. He has played poorly for a while and I wonder if he is headed for a Petry level of decline. 
 

 

[BCHabnut]

1 hour ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

Evans, Armia, Heineman continue to shine. 
 

Mike Matheson finds himself on the bottom of the stat page again. He has played poorly for a while and I wonder if he is headed for a Petry level of decline. 
 

 

The right side isn't doing him any favors. A couple of those goals against were just great plays too. The marchenko goal in particular.  But he hasn't looked great overall. You're right.

[DON]

6 minutes ago, BCHabnut said:

The right side isn't doing him any favors. A couple of those goals against were just great plays too. The marchenko goal in particular.  But he hasn't looked great overall. You're right.

Matheson has some nice brain cramps in his own end every game, but at least no stupid blind back-passes in this game i suppose.

 

"I guess Mike Matheson didn’t want Johnson holding the title for dumbest play of the period because he just tried to … glide the puck through a player when he was the only defencemen among three attackers."

Top Six Minutes: The Canadiens’ winning streak ends

 

10 Thoughts: Habs Uneven in Loss to Blue Jackets – HabsWorld.net

 

1st Star – Emil Heineman 

I understand the coach not wanting to mix things up with the team playing so well of late. When things get stale and the blender needs to come out, Heineman really has done everything required to be the player that gets the next look in the top six. He’s consistent on the forecheck, his shot is a weapon, and he’s starting to make little plays like on the Evans goal that make the game easier for players around him. 

Stats: 1 goal, +1, 1 shot, 2 hits, 11:43 T.O.I.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

4 hours ago, BCHabnut said:

The right side isn't doing him any favors. A couple of those goals against were just great plays too. The marchenko goal in particular.  But he hasn't looked great overall. You're right.

 

Agree, but your point about the right side is important. Patrice Brisebois’s entire career was overshadowed by a single extreme outlier season where he played on the wrong side. Some guys have more trouble with that adjustment than others.

[Commandant]

I also don't think Hutson and Matheson is a good combo.

 

Matheson - Carrier

Hutson - Guhle

Xhekaj/Struble - Savard

 

would be my pairs. 

 

I know that puts Guhle back on the right, but he's done the best of any of the LD playing on the right. 

 

I also want to avoid Hutson and Carrier playing together cause they could have trouble if the other team sees that and starts matching a line with big forwards against the two of them 

[IN THE HEARTS OF MEN]

8 minutes ago, Commandant said:

I also don't think Hutson and Matheson is a good combo.

 

Matheson - Carrier

Hutson - Guhle

Xhekaj/Struble - Savard

 

would be my pairs. 

 

I know that puts Guhle back on the right, but he's done the best of any of the LD playing on the right. 

 

I also want to avoid Hutson and Carrier playing together cause they could have trouble if the other team sees that and starts matching a line with big forwards against the two of them 

I honestly think, out of all our LD, it's Hutson that can play the off wing the best... hes the most elusive, has the most deception in his movements, (barely gets hit thus far) and the most accurate first pass...

I think Guhle at times gets lit up when gathering pucks off the right side...

 

I agree Math and Lane are two peas in a pod though.

 

Guhle Lane

Math Carrier

Xhekaj Savard

 

* Arber has had a run of fine form, playing a steady game in the back. It spinnaker be tough getting Struble back in the line up 

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

True, Hutson with Mattheson makes no sense even on paper.

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

Entertaining game but a tough loss. If Caulfield scores on that breakaway early in the 3rd it's a completely different game.  It would have nice to go into the break on a winning streak with a tough road trip coming up. Hope Laine is OK. 

 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all Hab fans!  I have enjoyed your company this year!!

[DON]

St Louis said he wants Guhle to stay on left side.

And i think he said he dosent want 2 smaller d-men paired neither. 

Sounds good to me and kinda why Matheson dosent really fit well, other than is more experienced.

[tomh009]

On 12/23/2024 at 9:11 PM, BCHabnut said:

How? Dach is snake bit.

The commentators (Galley?) were saying that it was basically an open net. But Greaves did exactly the right thing both times with his pad, and at the right time, and the puck was really too close to the pad to easily lift it over. Yeah, yeah, shoot it at an angle to the right side to avoid the pad ... easy to say but making that decision in a fraction of a second, not so easy.

[alfredoh2009]

On 12/24/2024 at 5:44 AM, Prime Minister Koivu said:

Evans, Armia, Heineman continue to shine. 
 

Mike Matheson finds himself on the bottom of the stat page again. He has played poorly for a while and I wonder if he is headed for a Petry level of decline. 
 

 

 

yes, Matheson is a younger version of Petry, going down the same paths. I liked the trade and he was tremendous last season. But this season he is unrecognizable

[xXx..CK..xXx]

If Matheson is following in Petry’s footsteps then he is about to enter his prime. Petry’s best statistical seasons came between the ages of 30-34/35 and Matheson is currently 30. Petry’s stats came nowhere close to Matheson’s 60+ points last year prior to the age of 30.

 

I don’t see the comparison at all.

[DON]

1 hour ago, xXx..CK..xXx said:

I don’t see the comparison at all.

Great skaters end to end with puck, both a bit scary in own end for some reason (maybe both should of been forwards) but good at other end of rink.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

3 hours ago, xXx..CK..xXx said:

If Matheson is following in Petry’s footsteps then he is about to enter his prime. Petry’s best statistical seasons came between the ages of 30-34/35 and Matheson is currently 30. Petry’s stats came nowhere close to Matheson’s 60+ points last year prior to the age of 30.

 

I don’t see the comparison at all.

 

Mattheson this season is much like Petry PRIOR to those imperial seasons where he was a superb #2/1B. Excellent puck-moving D-man but he’d go through these phases of erratic play in his own end. That’s all.

 

Even so, MM will prove very alluring to contenders at the deadline, and rightly so. Losing him won’t do our blueline any favours, however.

[tomh009]

3 hours ago, DON said:

Great skaters end to end with puck, both a bit scary in own end for some reason (maybe both should of been forwards) but good at other end of rink.

This does describe most high-end offensive defencemen, though! 😂

[xXx..CK..xXx]

3 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

 

Mattheson this season is much like Petry PRIOR to those imperial seasons where he was a superb #2/1B. Excellent puck-moving D-man but he’d go through these phases of erratic play in his own end. That’s all.

 

Even so, MM will prove very alluring to contenders at the deadline, and rightly so. Losing him won’t do our blueline any favours, however.

What I mean is that people are saying that Matheson is heading for a Petry like decline but Petry’s decline came many years down the road. Just like rookies, veterans have off years and even if we were to consider Matheson to be having a down year, he likely has many fine seasons ahead of him since he is only 30 years old. I don’t see the decline that others do and think he has many productive years ahead of him. Defensively, I never thought extremely highly of him and think stats such as his +/- have rather been indicative of the team he is on rather than any personal issue or strength. Remember, people would often criticize Subban for the amount of turnovers he had as well and it’s simply because he was our quarterback, and the one with the puck on his stick the most. 
 

I agree that Matheson would be a nice target for any contender but I highly doubt we trade him this year.

[DON]

16 hours ago, tomh009 said:

This does describe most high-end offensive defencemen, though! 😂

I suppose yes, but also why i think of as similar.

 

14 hours ago, xXx..CK..xXx said:

What I mean is that people are saying that Matheson is heading for a Petry like decline but Petry’s decline came many years down the road.

He is on pace for 40+pts and never thought of him as declining.

Simply that Hutson/Guhle are 2 Top-six 20+minutes LH d-men, Habs dont have a top pairing RH d-man and Matheson playing on right-side seems bit of square peg in round hole. 

 

 

 

[alfredoh2009]

2 hours ago, DON said:

I suppose yes, but also why i think of as similar.

 

He is on pace for 40+pts and never thought of him as declining.

Simply that Hutson/Guhle are 2 Top-six 20+minutes LH d-men, Habs dont have a top pairing RH d-man and Matheson playing on right-side seems bit of square peg in round hole. 

 

 

 

yes, Hutson and Guhle is one way to look at it. Also, Matheson does not shelter anyone he is playing with, most of the time it is the other way around. He needs a solid RD to play with him and the Habs do not have that.

 

Matheson may not decline as fast as Petry, and obviously not this year. But he is at his highest value.