CH: Sad for the first time since 1998-1999?

If this trend continues, the Montreal Canadiens could end the season without a single top scorer out of 20 goals.

Nick Suzuki and Josh Anderson currently lead the team with seven goals each, more than Quebec’s Jonathan Drouin.

Of all the clubs in the National Hockey League, the New Jersey Devils are the only other team whose maverick star has not reached ten players this season. But before Thursday night’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Devils had four players each with nine goals (Jesper Pratt, Dawson Mercer, Andreas Johnson, Pavel Zacha).

Even the Arizona Coyotes, who are 32 and last in the National Hockey League in terms of average goals-per-game – just behind the Canadians – currently have top scorer with 10 goals, Clayton Keeler.

On a simple rule of three, Suzuki and Anderson could, at current pace, finish this already pathetic season due to COVID-19 with 17 goals each.

The first since 1998-1999

Except for the shortened season from 2012-13, due to the lockdown, we have to go back to the 1998-1999 campaign to list the last time CH ended without scoring 20 goals in their ranks. In that season, Martin Rosinsky led the team with 17 goals in 73 games, one goal difference from Brian Savage (16), who, for his part, was limited to 54 games.

In the final months of this Oblivion campaign, Captain Vincent Dumbos also traded with the San Jose Sharks. Damphousse had finally hit 19 goals during the season, 12 in 65 games with CH and seven in just 12 games with the Sharks.

Toffoli and Gallagher descent

Since this difficult season, in which the Canadian held a record 32-39-11, the Montreal club has always had no fewer than 20 goals, except for the obvious in 2004-05 (the campaign was canceled) and in 2012-2013 (the season) a shortened 48 match).

Until last season, which made only 56 appearances, the confinement scored 20 or more goals while striker Tyler Toffoli scored 28 goals. But Toffoli has been limited to five goals so far this season after appearing in 26 games. In the previous three seasons, Brendan Gallagher has crossed his twenties on every occasion, even hitting seasons of 31 and 33 goals in the process. Produced in 2021-2022: Played four small goals in 25 games.

Since the turn of the century, the top scorer season for Canadians with 20 goals or more was 2006-2007. Then five different players achieved the feat: Michael Ryder (30), Sheldon Soray (26), Chris Higgins (22), Sako Koivu (22) and Thomas Pelikanik (20).

Canadian top scorer over the years

2020-2021: Tyler Toffoli – 28

2019-2020: Brendan Gallagher/Thomas Tatar – 22*

2018-2019: Brendan Gallagher – 33

2017-2018: Brendan Gallagher – 31

2016-2017: Max Security – 35

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