Throughout most of the season, as the Montreal Canadiens were going through one eight-game losing streak or another, or at pretty much any point during a regular season that saw the team finish 24th in the NHL, blame was thrown toward Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Jonathan Drouin, and/or Max Domi.
Some of it was warranted. Some of it was reactionary against the player chosen third overall, or the highest-paid forward on the team that has yet to live up to expectations, or the team’s leading scorer from a year ago.
When Kirk Muller decided to start the three players together, it wasn’t a sure thing that it would work.