MONTREAL

Call of the Wilde: Habs clip Wings

by Brian Wilde CTV Montreal
Published Thursday, March 27, 2014 10:20PM EDT Last Updated Friday, March 28, 2014 7:49AM EDT

Montreal Canadiens' Thomas Vanek (20), of Austria, celebrates his third period goal that gave them a 5-3 lead, with teammates Andrei Markov (79), of Russia, David Desharnais (51), Max Pacioretty (67) and Alexei Emelin (74), of Russia, during an NHL hockey game against the Detroit Red Wings Thursday, March 27, 2014, in Detroit. The Canadiens defeated the Red Wings 5-4. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

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Wilde Horses

- The massively underrated Tomas Plekanec who just does what he does every night. Most nights if it is killing penalties and neutralizing the other team's best players, many don't even notice him. When he scores a couple of beauties then everybody raves about him - including me.

- The Thomas Vanek hit of Kronwall to knock him down like a pee wee to set up Desharnais was a moment that makes you realize how much this player can do. He is so strong on his skates and uses his body so effectively to win and shield pucks. A 3 point night for Vanek after a perfect tip in on a play he used all his scoring smarts. I hear people on Twitter wondering about him and right away I can't help but wonder about those people.

- The Habs have killed off 35 of their last 37 penalties. Please don't suggest that Brian Gionta has no value because he scores fewer goals now than he used to. Let's see if he takes less money because Bergevin on TSN 690 could not have been more glowing about his captain on Off The Cuff.

- Max Pacioretty has 33 goals on the season to tie him for his career high.

Wilde Goats

- The partnership of Bouillon and Subban certainly had its difficulty. Subban with a lazy clear on the 3-2 goal. On the 3-3, Bouillon went for a stroll behind the net and around the long way and arrived way too late to get to Tatar. On the 5-4 goal it was Bouillon who didn't seem to have anyone on the Detroit rush. Just keep thinking about how little faith this Habs organization has in youth but can't help but think how does Beaulieu not get a chance? How can he not be in the same mix as Bouillon or Murray. Even if Beaulieu makes mistakes, the big difference is he is getting better as a player. It is time for Beaulieu to make mistakes and learn from them because the other two are done learning.

- The Wings comeback should serve as a reminder to the Habs that they, like any other team in the league, are not so good that they can just lay their sticks on the ice against a team that has their livelihood on the line. You have to work for it. Some complacency set in and it took only a small portion of the third to lose the lead.

- The line matching weakness in breaking up Gionta and Plekanec had not been an issue for the Habs since Plekanec was given the two Gallys but it was in this one. It was sloppy and you never got a sense Therrien knew which line to put out there to calm the waters for a shift when it got easy for Detroit to create offence.

Wilde Cards

Gatineau swept Cape Breton as Habs prospect Martin Reway finished with 4 goals and 7 assists. Even more impressive is Reway was a plus 15.

- Nathan Beaulieu must have sworn at someone or told someone off when he got sent down because the last I saw him in Montreal he was playing excellent hockey. This is the classic old men demanding respect from young men scenario putting Nathan in his place in Hamilton. That's what I believe. You want to help Nathan continue to be a man, then do it to his face in Montreal. Teach him lessons here. Help him to be a great teammate with great teammates. Is he going to learn all the NHL protocol and NHL life lessons with Gionta Plekanec and Price or Dumont Leblanc and Blunden? The Habs are doing this all wrong with this man. This isn't tough love. This is stupid ego. Beaulieu belongs up here. If I have a young man I care about, I don't send him to a lousy boarding school with lousy teachers and underachieving classmates. If I have a young man I care about who has the talent to work for me I want him around my professional environment. I want my Carey Price, who is a fine man and has learned a lot of life lessons, to see scenarios and know that when he talks to Beaulieu about something it is much more powerful a message than when anyone in Hamilton has a message to send. I would also bring my captain into the office and tell him to help my young man and take him aside when he sees something. I show Beaulieu leadership and caring in Montreal, instead of ignoring him on a bad team with not a thing to learn in an minor league environment that is just going to irritate the kid even more. Get that talented kid out of Hamilton already. Hubris angers me. And I don't mean the kid's hubris.