Kaiden Guhle shows worrying signs in rough outing against the Minnesota Wild
Photo credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images
The assessment is fairly clear for Kaiden Guhle, who is still searching for his rhythm and his bearings since returning to action.
Coming back from an injury in the National Hockey League is never a simple task, no matter the talent.
You can clearly see that the defenseman struggles at times and that the pace of play is occasionally too fast for him right now.
That’s not good news for the Habs, and Kaiden Guhle is simply not himself at the moment.
Unless he’s still dealing with discomfort or an injury?
Let’s not forget that he appeared to be in a lot of pain against the Colorado Avalanche.
In short, even though Martin St-Louis is trying to manage his usage to limit the damage, last night in Minnesota was a glaring example of his current difficulties.
It wasn’t a defensive masterpiece for anyone, but number 21 stood out in a particularly rough way.
His positioning on the Wild’s first goal remains a mystery for many observers this morning.
He looked hesitant, a fraction of a second behind the play unfolding in front of him.
On the second goal, his coverage once again broke down, allowing the opponent to slip away far too easily.
The overtime sequence unfortunately sums up his tough night at the office.
He lost his footing all by himself while shorthanded, just seconds before the fatal goal that gave the home team the win.
"Kaiden Guhle hasn’t been himself again and last night’s game was proof of it" - DLC
A defensive corps running out of resources, as something is clearly off with Kaiden Guhle
It must be said that his partner Mike Matheson wasn’t perfect either, particularly on the Wild’s third goal.
Let’s just say the Canadiens’ top pairing made a difference for all the wrong reasons last night.
There is, however, an important caveat: the visitors were practically playing with only five defensemen.
Arber Xhekaj was glued to the bench with under six minutes of ice time, which forced extra workload onto the others.
With only 20 shots on goal and obvious disorganization in their zone, the Habs can consider themselves lucky to have picked up a point.
You can’t put everything on the refereeing, even if the missed penalty on Suzuki was completely ridiculous indeed.
The team was sloppy, especially in overtime where line changes at the bench weren’t happening at the right tempo (among other things).
Guhle clearly isn’t back to himself, but the entire defensive unit also needs to tighten things up.
Also read on Montreal Hockey Fanatics :
Nick Suzuki reacts to controversial non-call that led to Wild’s overtime winner
Nick Suzuki reacts to controversial non-call that led to Wild’s overtime winner
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