Mature Guhle dominant in Canadiens' win over Crosby, Penguins

MONTREAL — There was a moment earlier on Monday, several hours before notching his first two NHL points in a 3-2 overtime win for his Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre, that Kaiden Guhle actually appeared like a 20-year-old.

It wasn’t even a full moment, but more of an instant where this kid allowed himself to be a kid, betraying the wise-beyond-his-years, veteran personality he’s displayed since arriving in Montreal earlier this fall.

Guhle had just spent a few minutes answering questions about his upcoming first game against Sidney Crosby. The Edmonton native had said what you’d imagine anyone in his situation would say, referring to the Pittsburgh Penguins star as “one of the greatest all time” and qualifying the prospect of facing him as “surreal” and “exciting,” but he had done so emotionlessly, as if to suggest he was unfazed by this task.

Then he sat down to peel off the rest of his equipment and shook his head.

It was as if he realized right then and there what was really in front of him.

We sat down next to him and said, “Man, Auston Matthews, Dylan Larkin, Alex Ovechkin, and now Crosby … Welcome to the NHL.”

Guhle, who had done very well against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and Washington Capitals before facing Crosby’s Penguins, chuckled and responded: “He’s got six points in two games and is leading the league in scoring.”

Then he shook his head again — this time perhaps to get the idea that this was a big deal out of there.

It wasn’t long after the puck dropped on this game that Guhle made it clear he was anything but overwhelmed. And by the time Kirby Dach placed it in the net for his first goal as a Canadien — at 3:09 of the extra frame — Guhle had already put a wrap on his best performance at this level.

“I thought he was the best player on the ice,” said a scout in attendance.

Us, too.

Evgeni Malkin scored two goals for Pittsburgh. Bryan Rust popped two assists. Nick Suzuki had a goal and an assist for Montreal. Cole Caufield had a beauty to tie the game 2-2 late in the third with the Canadiens skating 6-on-5.

But this was Guhle’s night.

In just his fourth NHL game, he led both teams in time on ice (24:43) and shifts (32), played 2:54 shorthanded and even jumped on the power play for 1:54, registered three shots on net and seven attempts, had three hits and three takeaways, and blocked one shot and absolutely dominated.

“He was awesome,” said Canadiens teammate Jake Evans.

There’s awesome, and then there’s playing against Crosby for 15:28 of the Penguins captain’s 18:58 on the ice and holding him to just one shot on net and zero points.

Guhle didn’t seem like a kid doing that.

Nor did he seem like one sending Suzuki up-ice for the goal that got the Canadiens to within one of Pittsburgh’s lead just over a minute into the third period.

Guhle skated around his own net and crossed over to the right side of the ice to shake Jake Guentzel’s forecheck. He spotted Suzuki flashing through the neutral zone and ripped a cross-ice backhand right to his stick.

You want to talk about composure, you had to hear how casual Guhle’s tone was in later describing how he came up with that play.

“I just saw he had a step on him,” he started. “It’s a fast game, didn’t have time to go to the forehand. He was flying, so I was just trying to put it in an area for him and it just happened to be on his tape and he made a great play and scored. But yeah, it’s a fast game and you gotta make plays on your backhand sometimes.”

Yeah, like sometimes you have to flip pucks out of your own end on your backhand.

It would be a stretch to say you generally have to make bullet breakout passes across the ice with it in a game.

Here’s how Evans described that rare play:

“That pass to Nick was incredible,” he said. “It takes a lot of confidence to do that, and that was a really nice play.”

Guhle made another one to get the puck to Jonathan Drouin, who sent a gorgeous pass to Caufield for the game-tying goal.

Then, on the opening shift of overtime, Guhle broke up a 3-on-1 by diving down to stop a cross-seam pass from Kris Letang.

He was named the second star only because Dach scored the game winner.

Then Guhle came into the Canadiens’ room and downplayed the whole thing, crediting his teammates and coaching staff for communicating so well with him and making him feel like they believe in him, and saying, “I felt good, but just one game.”

“Gotta take it through to midnight and move on and worry about the next one,” Guhle concluded.

Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis expected Guhle would handle this one well. He said as much on Monday morning, admitting there was no better way to have him acclimate to his role than to be playing against the best players in the world night after night to start.

It’s a fire Guhle wouldn’t have been placed in had veterans Mike Matheson and Joel Edmundson been healthy, and it’s one he’s likely to remain in beyond their return to play when you consider how he’s fighting it.

To see how unsurprised St. Louis was about Guhle performance against Pittsburgh is to know how trusted he already is.

“You can see the abilities and the confidence he plays with,” the coach said. “He has a very high ceiling, but his floor and his foundation are already so set that he’ll hit his big ceiling.”

“He plays the game,” St. Louis continued. “He’s not intimidated by the NHL game or the players he’s playing against. He plays the game, and it’s apparent in the way he comports himself.”

There will be bumps along the way. Perhaps even a moment or two when Guhle actually appears his age.

But this is some start to a career he’s off to.