Canadiens training camp is short this year, only 13 days, and the team is about to start an 84-game season. Before camp even opened, they learned Kaiden Guhle would be out and could miss the first 10 games. Now, with eight days and three preseason games in the books and five days to go, Martin St-Louis has to start making the calls that will shape his 23-man opening-night roster.

Here is what I have learned so far.

Caufield and Hutson: The Two Best Players in Camp

Lane Hutson has picked up exactly where he left off: five points in two preseason games. He won the Calder Trophy two seasons ago, added 12 points last season to finish with 78, including 12 goals, and he is still the player driving the Canadiens every time he touches the ice.

What stands out most is his chemistry with Cole Caufield. Caufield already has three goals in two games, two of them overtime winners, and Hutson set up both. Coming off a 51-goal season, Caufield looks ready to chase 50 again. (If you missed it, here is how his overtime winner in Saint-Boniface unfolded.)

After one week, nobody has been better than these two.

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Florian Xhekaj: The Biggest Surprise, or Is He?

The Canadiens still have to decide whether they open with 13 or 14 forwards. Since day one, Florian Xhekaj has made that decision harder, in the best possible way.

Some will say this is no surprise at all, because Xhekaj checks so many of the boxes this team values. In Toronto, he had an assist, a fight and was excellent on the penalty kill. Two nights ago against Ottawa, he was the Canadiens’ best player through two periods: forechecking hard, finishing his checks, winning faceoffs, forcing the turnover that led to Montreal’s first goal and playing a sound 200-foot game.

At the golf tournament, St-Louis said the organization wants players to push management into making hard decisions. That is exactly what Xhekaj is doing. If the Canadiens want to stay true to their culture and stay honest with their players, he has earned his spot. I have no doubt he will be in the lineup for the season opener against the Maple Leafs next week.

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Kirby Dach: The Biggest Disappointment

Kirby Dach signed a one-year deal this summer, which means his time in Montreal could be running short. The contract has not changed his approach. Through two preseason games, it has been the same Dach we have seen before: not enough urgency, not enough physicality, not enough intensity or effort.

It has been hard to watch, and I do not understand the attitude. If it does not change in the next five days, he could pay the price, either as a healthy scratch to start the season or on his way out of town sooner than anyone expected.

Reinbacher and Montembeault Lead Their Battles

Both came to camp needing to win a job, and both are ahead after week one.

With Guhle out, there is an extra spot on the blue line, and David Reinbacher is leading Adam Engström for it. Whether St-Louis carries seven or eight defencemen, Reinbacher has had a strong camp.

In goal, Samuel Montembeault is chasing the backup job, and so far he is doing what he needs to do. He stopped all 13 shots he faced in his half of the game in Toronto. More importantly, he showed up in better shape, focused and motivated to bounce back from last season. If he wins the job, Jacob Fowler goes back to Laval, and there is nothing wrong with that for a young goalie.

Derek Lalonde Is Already Changing the Penalty Kill

The penalty kill has been a problem for several seasons, and the Canadiens finished 18th in the league last year. That is why hiring Derek Lalonde this summer to run it matters, and after one week you can already see his fingerprints.

Lalonde has done this before. When he joined Tampa Bay’s staff, the Lightning were coming off a 2017-18 season in which they ranked 28th on the penalty kill at 76.1 percent. One year later, they were tied for first at 85.0 percent. Phillip Danault said the players noticed his attention to detail from the very first day.

Two changes stand out.

1. Pressure all over the ice

The forwards are much more aggressive, both on the forecheck and once the kill is set up in its own zone. The player holding the puck on the half-wall will no longer get time to pick his play. He will have a Canadiens forward in his face. As Danault told reporters this week, via The Athletic’s Arpon Basu: “We’re not standing still; we’re always annoying.”

Ironically, the power-play goal the Maple Leafs scored in Toronto shows what that looks like. Auston Matthews moved the puck up top to Darren Raddysh because Danault was charging at him. Raddysh’s shot broke Josh Anderson’s stick because Anderson was charging too, and the puck deflected in off Mike Matheson. Bad bounce, right idea: the pressure did its job, and the puck just found a way.

2. Closing the middle when the puck goes low

Last season, opponents attacked the Canadiens from the goal line again and again, because that is the soft spot of a diamond formation. Backdoor passes through the crease left the goalies with almost no chance. Now, whenever the puck goes low, Lalonde wants more bodies in the middle to take those passing lanes away. Montembeault told reporters the plan is to crowd that area and shut the backdoor.

My two cents

From a coaching standpoint, this is a trade-off, and it is the right one. Collapsing low can leave more room at the blue line, but a point shot through traffic is a much better result than a one-timer at the back door. An aggressive kill also needs forwards who can skate, compete and win battles for 40 seconds at a time, which is one more reason Florian Xhekaj’s work on the penalty kill in Toronto matters so much.

Coach’s Take: My Opening-Night Prediction

Camp is not over. There are still a few practices and two preseason games left. But after eight days, I have a good idea of who stays and who is in trouble. Here is my call:

• Forwards: 14, including Florian Xhekaj, with Alexandre Texier and Kirby Dach as the extras.
• Defence: Seven, including David Reinbacher.
• Goal: Samuel Montembeault wins the backup job.
• Back to Laval: Jacob Fowler and Adam Engström.

It is a long season. Injuries, slumps and trades will change this roster many times before April. But one week in, this is where I land. For my earlier breakdown of the position battles, see The Battles That Decide the Roster.