Kaiden Guhle: a performance worthy of a number one defender

Last night’s Montreal Canadiens game against the Boston Bruins was a thriller right to the end.

It was quite a spectacle, ending with a surprising overtime victory for the Tricolore.

I don’t think many people would have predicted a Habs win last night against the mighty Bruins, who had only two losses in 13 games prior to last night.

When I sat down in front of my TV to watch the game, I immediately said to my father, “Well, how much do we lose tonight?

My mother, who follows hockey a little less than my father and I, exclaimed that we had to be positive and that the game had just started.

She then said out loud that the Habs would win 3-2 in overtime.

My father and I laughed a little as we explained to her that the Bruins had only lost two games this season, and that her prediction made no sense.

Well, I guess my mom is more of a hockey expert than I am, so her prediction was perfect.

In short, the team surprised us and gave an excellent performance in a great game.

In fact, it’s in big games like yesterday’s that you recognize the great players on both teams.

For the CH, THE great player of the game was Kaiden Guhle.

GUHLE GETS IT DONE!

Kaiden Guhle scores the @Energizer overtime winner for the @CanadiensMTL! pic.twitter.com/cn0KbRtB97

– NHL (@NHL) November 12, 2023

Guhle got the crowd on their feet tonight!

Looks like it’s still Ghoule szn #GoHabsGo | @CasinoMontreal pic.twitter.com/46uD1KQT4D

– Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) November 12, 2023

The 21-year-old defenseman was sparkling last night against (probably) the NHL’s best team.

Once again, he showed impressive consistency in his play, both defensively and offensively.

When Guhle is on the ice, the whole team feels confident.

His positioning, his relays, his retreats, his skating – in short, everything is right.

Guhle plays like the club’s number-one defenseman.

Bottom Six Minutes: Kaiden Guhle is the top defender in Montrealhttps://t.co/qm9IcIMDSj

– Eyes On The Prize (@HabsEOTP) November 12, 2023

He plays big minutes night after night at just 21 years of age, and he never looks troubled in his zone, as a certain Mike Matheson often is.

Guhle is a very complete defender, and his stats show it.

He has the best differential on the team at +9, far ahead of his closest pursuers (Kovacevic, Barron and Caufield who are at +3.

Offensively, Guhle has six points, including a goal in 10 games, a production rate that would give him around 50 points over 82 games.

And don’t forget that Guhle maintains this pace of offensive production without any ice time on the power play.

Honestly, I sincerely believe that the CH’s number 21 deserves a few auditions on the massive attack. He clearly has what it takes to orchestrate the power play.

In short, Guhle is already THE pillar of the CH defense, and will be for a long time to come if he keeps it up.

He inspires confidence in his teammates, as Brendan Gallagher affirmed.

“He’s been playing like this since he made the jump to the NHL last year. He’s a key defender for us. He played a whole game. When you look in the dressing room before a game, you know you can count on him, no matter who the rival team is.” – Brendan Gallagher

Gally’s comments were reported by Jean-François Chaumont of the Journal de Montréal.

In short, the future of the CH blue line is in very good hands thanks to number 21.

Whether he’ll have that number for much longer remains to be seen.

Because, as Guhle said yesterday, his number could be retired by the Habs in honour of Guy Carbonneau.

This is a sweet moment.

Kaiden Guhle asks Guy Carbonneau if he’s gonna have to change his #21 jersey number soon, implying that Carbo should get his number retired. https://t.co/5U8V4BcU4P

– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) November 12, 2023

Coming up.

En Rafale

– Speaking of Guhle.

Kaiden Guhle put the finishing touch on Montreal’s first multi-goal, third-period comeback win in over a year and became the second-youngest defenseman in @CanadiensMTL history with an overtime goal.#NHLStats: https://t.co/JNTkC7vKkD pic.twitter.com/wOBqcIfUvA

– NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) November 12, 2023

– Indeed.

“It looked like a playoff game”: https: //t.co/5AbIyEf515

– Guillaume Lefrançois (@glefrancoisLP) November 12, 2023