Pregame Preview: Canadiens at Sharks (Game #66)

 
Match Up:

The Canadiens (35-23-7) wrap up their West Coast road trip Saturday night against the Sharks (40-17-7) in San Jose. The game starts at 10:00 pm and airs on RDS and CBC.

This is the second and final meeting between the Habs and Sharks. San Jose earned a 2-0 shutout win at the Bell Centre in October. Logan Couture scored both goals for the Sharks and Patrick Marleau picked up a pair of assists. Anti Niemi made 22 saves, while Carey Price made 35 in the losing effort.

What to Watch:

Thomas Vanek has played one game as a Hab and has yet to earn his first point with the team. He joined the Canadiens Thursday after a long night of travel and with no scheduled practice, the first chance he got to skate with his new teammates was during the game against the Coyotes. Vanek lined up with Tomas Plekanec and Brian Gionta and is expected to stay with those linemates on Saturday.

Joe Pavelski is having a career year in his eighth season as a Shark. Pavelski has already reached a new career high in goals with 32 on the season, and after adding 3 assist against the Penguins Thursday, he's just 4 points shy of his career high, 66. Joe Thornton meanwhile is second in the league in assists with 52. Jumbo Joe has a goal and 4 assists in 5 games since the Olympic break ended.

What's at Stake:

The Canadiens are holding down third spot in the East but they've also played more games than any team in the Conference besides the Islanders. The Leafs and Lightning are hot on the Habs' heels while the Flyers, Red Wings and Rangers aren't very far behind either.

Who's Out:

The Canadiens will be in tough against one of the league's best offenses, they're still missing Carey Price (lower body) and Josh Gorges (hand). Brandon Prust (upper body) and Michael Bournival (concussion) are also out.

The Sharks are without star rookie Tomas Hertl (knee), while Brad Stuart (upper body) has been out since the Olympics and may also miss Saturday's game.

What Else:
With 16 starts and 19 games played this season, Peter Budaj has seen the most action this year since he split starting goalie duties with Craig Anderson in Colorado during the 2010-11 season. While his won/loss ratio isn't as impressive as the 8-1-1 record he posted last season, Budaj has still maintained a respectable .911 save percentage and 2.35 GAA.
The Question Mark:
After Saturday's game the Canadiens will have finished up their toughest stretch stretch of the season and return home with just 16 games left to play. What we want to know from you is: in what place will the Habs will finish the season?
Let us know what you think, leave a comment or send us a tweet by using the #MTLHockey hashtag on Twitter.
Be sure to tune into the Montreal Hockey Talk Pregame Show an hour before the puck drop and the Post Game Show 5 minutes after the final siren. Join the live conversation by using the #MTLHockey hashtag on Twitter.

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Habs/Sharks Post-game October 26th

Couture scoring the eventual game winning goal against price

Montreal was playing the last game of a five game home stand on Saturday night against the red hot San Jose Sharks. The game didn't provide the excitement that many had hoped as the Sharks took the game by a final score of 2-0.

The Sharks have been one of the best teams in the early going. Coming in they had a 8-1-1 record after losing the Bruins the other night. It isn't simply that they are winning games but are doing so in a convincing manner. They are not only out-shooting their opponents but their ability to box out the opposition leaves little opportunities to score on Antii Niemi.

The Canadiens, coming off of a 4-1 win against the Ducks, had the chance to evaluate their level of play against a team that is looking like a strong contender for the Stanley Cup.

Right off puck-drop the game plan was different. The Canadiens were not controlling the puck and using their speed to generate any kind of breakouts.  The fore-check was nearly invisible, few players were making an effort to finish their checks against the bigger and more physical San Jose squad.

The best way to describe the outing would be to say the Canadiens played "a good road game at home". They held the Sharks back but it was obvious which team was favored coming into this game.

This is where the game-plan should have been different. The Habs have gone up by two goals in four of their last five games, this is the mind-set coach Therrien should have instilled into his squad. It doesn't matter who you play against you stick to what has been working. That is not to say you don't make adjustments but when you're the home team and hold the final change you force your opponent to play your game, not the other way around. It isn't a sound strategy to play for overtime, the Bell Center provides one of the best ambiences in the league, and any player will tell that you that harnessing the energy from the home crowd can be a great source of motivation.

The Habs did successfully hold the Sharks out from being a dominant goal scoring machine. They played very well on the penalty kill, allowing one goal on four chances. The lone power play goal for the Sharks came off the stick of Logan Couture from Joe Thornton. Couture, who scored a pair of goals, seemed to have the hockey Gods on his side, especially the second one. Couture's second tally of the night occurred in the third period when Patrick Marleau dumped in the puck which ricocheted off the end boards catching Price by surprise as he was going to play it, it landed right on Couture's stick and he slid it in.

Besides a 10 minute window in the second period it did not look like Montreal had any kind of offense being generated. The legs seemed to drag on in the third period, but that is the result of constantly pushing back your opponent rather than force them to play on their heels.

As mentioned earlier, this game can be a kind of measuring stick as to where exactly the Canadiens stand in the league. This game says they are a team that will contend for a spot in the lower half of the playoff table and are a few years away from being in the top tier in the league.
The fact they are currently able to hold back a very strong and deep Sharks team speaks to their defense. However, the inability to produce scoring chances was their downfall. The team still has an abundance of time left in the season to make the necessary changes to their game to get them into the post season. Once you get to the dance than it only takes a timely hot streak to get you deep into the chase for Stanley's Cup.

Photo: Graham Hughes, AP

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