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.

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).”