What is wrong with the second line of the Montreal Canadiens and why isn’t anything changing? These are two questions that many fans are asking and there hasn’t been any clear answer or solution yet. The top line and the veteran third line have dragged the team along offensively this season while the second line has been abysmal. What makes things even worse is that this line of Juraj Slafkovsky, Alex Newhook, and Josh Anderson are all expected to be a part of the future for at least the next four years.
There has been so much talk about whether Slafkovsky should stay in the NHL or be demoted to the American Hockey League (AHL) that nearly everyone has overlooked the fact that Anderson, a veteran of 437 games, has just one assist and isn’t really doing anything either.
Newhook has been the only acceptable player on the Canadiens’ second line with three goals and five points in 10 games, but he is being dragged down by his wingers’ lack of production. Success isn’t always measured by goals and points, but it is expected of a second line along with the other elements of the game like physicality. Slafkovsky looked like a new player after his hard work this past offseason, but that has all but faded from existence with his performance in the regular season so far. He might’ve deserved better in the first couple of games with his effort and chances, but it has been downhill since. So why have these three stuck together?
Tough Decisions for Canadiens
While it is obvious that Slafkovsky, Newhook, and Anderson need to be split up at this time, it’s not that easy. As I noted, the first and third lines have been playing great, so why alter them at all? We know that Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki run the top line, so Martin St. Louis can seemingly put any number of players there and see them do all right.
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What wasn’t expected was the success of the third line of Sean Monahan, Tanner Pearson, and Brendan Gallagher. Many thought that Gallagher was well past washed up, Monahan wasn’t going to be able to get back to a high level of play after multiple serious injuries, and Pearson wasn’t going to have much of an impact after being a dump from the Vancouver Canucks. Well, everyone who thought that was wrong, including me. Monahan was going to have some sort of impact if he was healthy, and for the first time in a couple of years, he really is, scoring six goals and nine points in 10 games. Gallagher has found some of that old dog in him, and he’s also healthy. This line has combined for 20 points through 10 games rather than just the seven that the three second-line players have.
Christian Dvorak returning to the lineup makes things interesting. Initially, there didn’t seem like much room for him, but then Kirby Dach went down to injury and now Rafael Harvey-Pinard is listed as day-to-day. Dvorak is slated to come into the middle of that third line and push Gallagher up to the top line. While I think Gallagher will do just fine, the third line might need an adjustment period. These lineup changes don’t impact the second line, but they should.
Slafkovsky and Anderson can play both wings while Newhook is a center/left winger. There are lots of options to move them around if the Canadiens are going to mess with the third-line chemistry anyway. Anderson has experience playing on the top-line wing with Caufield and Suzuki if Gallagher goes back on the third line. At least throw him there or drop him to the third line. He’s not deserving of top-line minutes at the moment, but that line is in need of a winger. With Dvorak back down the middle, Monahan shifts over to the wing. Monahan has been great at center this season, so an easy fix is to move him up between Newhook and Slafkovsky. This way there is a proper veteran who is hot right now and could get the youngsters going, particularly Slafkovsky.
How Long Will This Experiment Last?
Dach’s season-ending injury really complicated things for the Canadiens. He would have been the second line center and the second line would have looked and performed a lot differently. He had a strong season in 2022-23 and was only getting better. Whether this moved Anderson, Slafkovsky, or Newhook down, one of them would be fighting for ice time to try to get back into the top-six.
While Newhook has proven he deserves top-six minutes the most out of the three on the second line, it is a toss-up as to who should be moved off that line between Slafkovsky and Anderson. The Canadiens need to be more careful with Slafkovsky, and some think that his development isn’t being treated properly. No, he doesn’t need to be sent down to the AHL, but St. Louis and the coaching staff will have to find a way to get through to him. Anderson needs to continue playing his physical game, but get back to more of the power forward he once was when Montreal brought him to town.
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Injuries to key players in the lineup make it even tougher to make difficult choices and move players around. This is part of the reason why the second line remains intact. I would have already changed the second line if the Canadiens are doing so anyway to get Dvorak into the lineup and fill Harvey-Pinard’s spot. But if nothing positive happens in the next couple games, the second line has to be broken up or St. Louis needs to be questioned. We will soon see the outcome of this odd and disappointing situation.