Call of the Wilde: Canadiens dominate Blackhawks as Montreal bests Chicago 4-1

The Montreal Canadiens caught a break facing the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night without Connor Bedard. Bedard was having a breakout season, but suffered a shoulder injury that will keep him out until at least the start of the new year.

The Canadiens need help like that at the Bell Centre, where they are vastly inferior to their road record at under .500 on the season heading in to the contest.

Montreal put on a show, dominating Chicago 4-1.

Wilde Horses 

Early in the first period, it felt like the Zachary Bolduc experiment as the first-line winger to complement Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield was nearing its conclusion. They have had poor underlying numbers, and the obvious ones were suspect as well.

Two periods later, the line was the catalyst for the victory. Bolduc had seven goals on the season with every single one scored on the road. He hadn’t heard the roar of the Bell Centre crowd, then suddenly he heard it twice.

The difference was where he was standing. On the first tally, it was an excellent shot from the slot. The second he was also in a scorer’s position for a deflection. The line will stay together. That makes the point for a head coach that chemistry needs to be developed.

Martin St. Louis wants to stick with that line because he is watching Juraj Slafkovsky be dominant on the second line, feeling more and more comfortable to carry the puck and be physical. He also has strong chemistry with Ivan Demidov who also sparkled in this one.

While Bolduc’s two goals stood out, they paled in comparison to the absolute dominance of Lane Hutson again. He is near the top of the league in time with the puck. Never has a small player created so much space for himself. Hutson has a motor that simply does not stop.

He’s now getting time shorthanded, and he is excelling at that as well always making the strong decision when to be aggressive so the opposition can’t get established in the Canadiens zone.

He’s a marvel. It was a three-assist night for Hutson.

He moved to 62 assists in the calendar year. It’s the highest total in a calendar year in the long history of the Canadiens. He easily eclipsed J. C. Tremblay’s mark of 57 assists in 1971. The Canadiens have five more games left before 2026 begins. He’s an absolute marvel to behold.The final shots on goal were 35-15. It was a complete game. The coaching staff will be most pleased about the 15 shots allowed. It’s the 15 that wins big games. It’s the 35 that wins fun games.