Few Canadian players have a positive differential

Like the general record of their team being below the threshold of respectability, most of the players of the Montreal Canadiens find themselves in the negative with regard to the differential this season.

• Read also: CH: Justin Barron is back

• Read also: NHL: three recruits among the elite

While the Habs sit seventh in the Atlantic Division with a 15-16-3 record, most of their players are literally below zero in the plus-minus column.

That includes Nick Suzuki (-4), Cole Caufield (-6), Kirby Dach (-2), Sean Monahan (-5) and Christian Dvorak (-2), the club’s top five scorers. At -11, defender Kaiden Guhle has his team’s worst performance so far.

Among the skaters with a positive record is fullback Chris Wideman who dominates the lineup at +6. His teammates Mike Hoffman (+3), Johnathan Kovacevic (+3), Arber Xhekaj (+2) and Anthony Richard (+2) are the other Canadiens players with a record above zero.

In the National League, Hampus Lindholm of the Boston Bruins leads at +27. He is followed by Dallas Stars veteran Joe Pavelski (+22) and former Blue-White-Red Tomas Tatar (+20, New Jersey Devils). In contrast, Ryan O’Reilly of the St. Louis Blues stands out for the wrong reasons with a -26. Ottawa Senators forward Drake Batherson fared little better at -23.