Dany Dubé made some disturbing comments about Jake Evans...
The Montreal Canadiens are unfortunately not off to the expected start to the season, including a 2-1 loss in Toronto on Wednesday and a 5-1 thaw in Buffalo last night. It's far too early to tell what kind of season the Habs will have, but the first sample is not reassuring.
Dany Dubé gave his first impressions on this atrocity that is the beginning of the Montreal season. According to him, a lot of players are not in the right chair with the Habs, which is why the team is failing at every turn.
"The 5-on-5 game is not up to par, that's for sure!"
"The numerical disadvantage, honestly, it's extremely difficult. There are a lot of factors: the quality of the face-offs, the intensity of the unit on defense, the quality of the defensemen. You lose (Shea) Weber and (Joel) Edmundson, you can't reinvent the wheel... The Habs had 10 power plays. They allowed four goals. The bottom line after two games is that there are some that don't belong.
He pointed to the lack of conviction of a certain Cole Caufield at five-on-five, which particularly worries Dubé.
"Cole Caufield is a threat on the power play. At 5-on-5, it's a different story. It's hard for him. He seems a little lost."
Dubé also seems very concerned about two things that could have medium-term implications. He clearly doesn't like the attitude of the players on the ice right now. A confidence problem could be at the root of this attitude.
"I don't like the body language of the players at all. That's what I'm concerned about. You look at the players, the shoulders are down. You don't want to see that at your bench."
The final point listed by this one is the contribution of Jake Evans. According to him, number 71 is not in the right chair right now. The third center position doesn't seem to be in his wheelhouse.
"Jake Evans is playing like a fourth line player right now. He's getting way too much ice time."
In the event that the workload at the third center position is too much for Evans to handle this year, Marc Bergevin will have to go out and find a backup at center to fill those shoes.
That's when you might start to miss a certain Phillip Danault, who would have been great in that chair...
