Hab’s top line shines at both ends of ice

The Canadiens’ top line of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Kirby Dach has been putting points on the scoreboard, but they are also doing a good job on keeping the opposition’s top players from scoring.

Suzuki and Caufield scored a goal Saturday and Dach set up Sean Monahan for the overtime winner as the Canadiens edged the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4.

Coach Martin St. Louis has been matching his young top offensive line — Suzuki is the old man at 23 — against the opposition’s top line and they are meeting the challenge.

Evgeni Malkin scored a goal for the Penguins, but the team’s other superstar, Sidney Crosby, was held to two shots on goal and didn’t pick up a point.

“I think the most important thing (for the youngsters) is having the opportunity to play against those guys,” St. Louis said. “You’re not going to get the job done all the time and, when you do, you probably learn and, when you do, you still probably learn. There’s a lot of progression in everybody’s game. I think collectively it allows our young guys to play against those guys. I think we’re very organized and that helps the young guys to compete against elite players in this league.”

While plus/minus numbers are not always the most accurate measure of a player, there’s progression to be found in the numbers for Suzuki and Caufield. They were among the worst players in the league last season, but Suzuki is currently plus-6 and Caufield is plus-3.

“As a line, we feel we can play against anybody and if we’re down in the offensive zone, it’s tough for them to score, and that tires them out and that’s kind of our main focus.”

The addition of Dach to the line has been a major plus. He helped make Caufield’s goal possible by creating a net presence in front of Tristan Jarry and he set up the winning goal. He’s not the centre the Canadiens thought they were getting when they traded for him at the draft, but he’s proving to be the perfect complement for his linemates.

“He’s not playing a game, he’s playing the game,” St. Louis said. “When you understand that, as a player, you get on base every shift, then you got your home-run ball. It’s a sign of intelligence, absorbing and applying it because we coach him. That’s our job and he’s progressing very well.”

St. Louis said the move to the wing was beneficial for Dach because it relieved him of the responsibility of taking faceoffs, which are not his strong point. There’s also less defensive responsibility, although Suzuki said Dach’s experience as a centre allows him to help out down low.

“He’s playing free right now,” St. Louis said.

There was a lot of talk about consistency in the dressing room. Josh Anderson, who kicked off the scoring early in the first period, noted the Canadiens have four lines that are capable of scoring — five different players scored goals Saturday — and goaltenders Jake Allen and Sam Montembeault have taken turns posting wins. Allen made 20 saves for the victory on a night when the Penguins’ offence showed up only in spurts. The Canadiens outshot the visitors 42-24.

With the win, the Canadiens improved to 8-6-1 on the season, and they are tied with the Florida Panthers for fourth place in the Atlantic Division.