A specific decision made by Martin St-Louis last night sparked a lot of reactions.

Forward Christian Dvorak, who had another strong game, was sent in the shootout at an extremely important moment-and he didn’t score.

Why was he sent in for the shootout?

A little reward for his recent performances?

Not necessarily.

Christian Dvorak is one of the most effective shootout forwards in the entire NHL

Check out what top journalist Eric Engels revealed.

“Christian Dvorak was 42% in the shootout over his career before that attempt. One of the best Habs in the shootout statistically. And he’s been on fire.”

– Eric Engels, Sportsnet

The numbers clearly prove it:

So it’s not necessarily “because Dvorak scored a few recent goals” that MSL sent him in the shootout last night, it’s simply because, in addition to being red-hot lately, Dvorak is just an excellent shootout performer.

An efficiency rate of nearly 43% is very solid.

Also, the fact that Dvorak has tallied 6 points in his last 4 games probably helped MSL’s decision.

I really don’t think it was a bad call but let’s just say people would’ve talked less if he had scored, no doubt.

The Canadiens’ next game is Tuesday night at 8 PM against the red-hot St-Louis Blues, another tough test for the Habs