Summarize and humanize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in EnglishMONTREAL — There was a moment just before the midway point of the third period of the Montreal Canadiens’ 4-1 win against the Boston Bruins on Thursday night that looked very routine, but it was a sign of evolution.The Canadiens were ahead 3-0 and had their top line working the puck in the offensive zone when it popped out of a board battle to Mike Matheson at the blue line. He gathered the puck moving toward the middle of the ice, kept skating all the way to the opposite side and chipped it into the corner.The Canadiens kept the puck in the Bruins’ zone for another 20 seconds, precious time far away from their own net.The player defending Matheson up near the Bruins blue line was David Pastrnak, and that was an important piece of data to inform Matheson’s decision to play it safe, chip the puck in the corner and spend more time in the offensive zone.“You have to be aware of the fact that if you shoot it, oftentimes he’ll just go right by you. So you have to be aware of those things,” Matheson said. “I think we were up three goals at that point, kind of midway through the third, it’s just what’s the risk-reward decision there at that point?”Pastrnak, with all due respect to his teammates, is basically the only threat this version of the Bruins have. If Boston was going to snap its nine-game winless streak, he would be a big reason why. Pastrnak spent 16:34 on the ice at five-on-five, and Matheson was also on the ice for 12:21 of that time.And in those minutes, the Canadiens outscored the Bruins 2-1 and controlled two-thirds of the expected goals.Matheson and defence partner Alexandre Carrier were given a specific mission, and they accomplished it. That mission has been pretty much the same every game — shut down the opposing team’s top line — but they have done a more or less good job of accomplishing it. After the two earned high praise for their work facing the Nathan MacKinnon/Cale Makar duo against the Colorado Avalanche on March 22, the Canadiens’ recent four-game road trip was tough on the pair, particularly the games in St. Louis and Philadelphia.But that role remains theirs and they filled it Thursday against Boston.For Carrier, this is not all that unusual because his identity as an NHL player has always been tied to his defence.For Matheson, this is highly unusual because his identity as an NHL player until now has basically been the opposite of this.After Canadiens practice Wednesday, Matheson was at his locker fielding questions, and right next to him, Lane Hutson was doing the same.Hutson’s arrival this season, and his immediate success, has changed Matheson’s role in a dramatic way. And that change in Matheson’s role has helped allow Hutson’s success.Last season, Matheson was quarterbacking the No. 1 power-play unit, had by far the most offensive zone starts among Canadiens defencemen and was playing most often behind the top line of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovský. This season, especially of late, all those things apply more to Hutson than Matheson.And so, as Hutson answered questions to his right, Matheson was answering questions about that changing role. And he was pushing back on it, at least somewhat.There was a sense after that Colorado game and after facing the Oilers in Edmonton on March 6 that Matheson’s game becomes more efficient when faced with a difficult defensive assignment.His coach, Martin St. Louis, seemed to suggest that after that game against the Avalanche.“When he plays inside that role, every now and then, he’s got some offence to his game and sometimes he’ll get tempted to do things, and I feel like he’s managed that temptation better,” St. Louis said. “He still picks his spots, but I feel when he’s at his best, it’s when he manages that temptation. What’s on the other side of that? What’s the downside? I feel when you’re playing against those guys, whether it’s (Connor) McDavid or MacKinnon, you have to have the downside, protecting the downside, in the back of your mind. And that’s where he’s at his best.”And so, after practice Wednesday, with Hutson fielding questions about how well he is filling the role Matheson had as recently as last season, Matheson was presented with that same argument, that he is a more efficient and effective player when he has a purely defensive assignment and that his gifts might be better applied in a defensive role than an offensive one.“I don’t think I necessarily agree with that,” Matheson replied. “I think that aspect is constantly there. I think shutting down those guys is project No. 1, but I think I have more to offer than just being strictly shutdown.“And I think if I can make their lives more difficult by conscientiously generating offence, that’s going to help the team, too.”Matheson was the ninth-leading scorer among NHL defencemen last season with 62 points, a breakout season at age 30, playing more minutes than he ever had. But the adjustment Matheson has had to make is emblematic of where the Canadiens are as a team, where youth is arriving and veterans need to adjust, something that will continue in coming seasons as more youth arrives and more veterans need to adjust.Matheson has 29 points in 73 games this season, and he’s more than fine with it because despite having one more year left on his contract, despite the fact his next contract will be largely influenced by his production, he is not thinking about that. He had one goal entering this season, and it had nothing to do with points.“I don’t think you can worry about that,” Matheson said. “The more you worry about those types of things, you start getting pretty selfish. My only goal coming into this year was making the playoffs. It had nothing to do with me. I didn’t have a goal about a certain amount of points or whatever.“I just wanted to make the playoffs.”The Canadiens’ win against the Bruins, combined with a Columbus Blue Jackets loss to the Avalanche, made it more likely Matheson will reach his goal. The Canadiens, in the second wild-card spot with 81 points in 75 games, are two up on the Rangers and four up on the Blue Jackets, who have played one fewer game than the other two.But this balance Matheson needs to continue finding, the one he displayed in chipping that puck into the corner midway through the third period, will be critical in the Canadiens reaching that goal and, perhaps more importantly, what they might do once they are there.The playoffs are all about matchups. If the Canadiens were to reach the playoffs and face the Washington Capitals — the Ottawa Senators beating the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday made that by far the most likely scenario if the Canadiens get in — Matheson and Carrier would surely see a steady dose of Alex Ovechkin, Dylan Strome and Aliaksei Protas, a line that has outscored its opposition 22-14 at five-on-five this season.The Capitals have other threats, to be sure, but that is the main one, and that would undoubtedly be the assignment.And it is an assignment Matheson feels ready for because of the role he has played this season, as opposed to the one he played last season, one filled by Hutson and one for which Hutson is getting nothing but praise while Matheson is still besieged with criticism over his shortcomings while ignoring the progress he has made and also ignoring how Matheson’s difficult minutes have made Hutson’s minutes easier.“I think all around, throughout this year — I’m sure some people would disagree — but I feel like my defensive game has grown a lot and I’ve been pretty reliable against some tough matchups,” Matheson said. “I’m pretty proud of that.”Why is he sure some people would disagree?“I don’t know, people always have something to say,” he said. “I just assume.”Well, he assumes right. The high-leverage situations Matheson is asked to play make him an open target for criticism, as do — it must be noted — some of his decisions on the ice.But the reality is Matheson is indeed at his best when facing elite competition. The site PuckIQ.com breaks down a player’s ice time against elite, middle and “gritensity” competition, and Matheson’s numbers are at their best when facing elite competition.
Mike Matheson’s usage at 5v5 Quality of Competition TOI% GF% Elite36.754.5Middle34.435.5Gritensity28.938.6
And perhaps a reason for that disparity between Matheson’s performance against elite competition and so-called middle competition is the risk-reward calculation he made on that play at the offensive blue line with Pastrnak hounding him Thursday night. And perhaps resisting the temptation to be a difference-maker offensively does indeed allow Matheson to be more of a difference-maker defensively.Matheson is reluctant to believe that’s the case, and that’s perfectly normal because his skill set — particularly his elite feet — would make anyone believe they can make a difference offensively at any given moment. And Matheson has the evidence of last season to make that belief even stronger.But this season, with the Canadiens in a playoff race, Matheson reaching the goal he set for himself might be very dependent on his ability to adjust his own vision of himself.(Photo: Eric Bolte / Imagn Images)
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