Alex Newhook quietly delivered exactly what the Canadiens needed

The Montreal Canadiens were forced to shuffle their expected lineup ahead of the game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, with Oliver Kapanen day-to-day with an injury. Martin St. Louis and the coaching staff elected to have Alex Newhook replace him, and they might have found something worth sticking with, even after Kapanen is ready to return.

On the surface, the trio of Ivan Demidov, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Newhook didn't do much, as they combined for no points and a total of four shots. However, the advanced stats tell a different story: their lack of production was more due to bad luck than poor performance.

This line combined for five high-danger chances against the Maple Leafs, which was more than the other three lines combined (4). They also did a good job limiting the Maple Leafs to only two high-danger chances of their own, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Alex Newhook has a clear advantage over Oliver Kapanen that helps his argument to stay on the second line

There is no question that last season, Oliver Kapanen was at his most productive with Slafkovsky and Demidov on either side of him. It was one of the reasons it made sense to go back to that line this season because it gives them some balance and helps Kapanen on the ice.

After the playoff run that Newhook had, he showed he can certainly be as productive in terms of goals and assists in the middle of the ice. However, Newhook gives this line a little more defense than Kapanen.

Last season, this line with Kapanen had a Corsi For % of 46.32 and a Scoring Chance % of 49.7% but on Tuesday night, the line with Newhook had a Corsi For % of 60% and a Scoring Chance % of 71.43%.

There is no question that the sample size with Newhook is much smaller than what Kapanen had over a full season. However, for a line that hasn't played much together in the preseason or last season, they showed enough that Martin St. Louis should continue to give this trio a look to see if Newhook can be the answer at center.

The Canadiens will have a few days off before their next game on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins. If Kapanen is not ready to return from his injury, then Newhook should get another chance but if Kapanen can return, the coaching staff will have a tough decision to make