It's Playoff Time...Time To Take A Look Back

This is it. Eighty-two games are in the books. Now, it's a two month sprint to 16 wins. Just to make the playoffs this year was a monumental task, whether you played in the Eastern Conference or the Western Conference. The eighth seeded team in the West, the Winnipeg Jets, needed 99 points to make the playoffs. Things weren't any easier in the East, as Pittsburgh needed 98 points to make the playoffs. That is ridiculous. Every year since the '04-'05 lockout the minimum standard to even make the playoffs has been escalating exponentially. The sad thing, in 2 weeks, 8 of the 16 teams who busted their butts to get to 100 points will be eliminated from the playoffs.

As we get ready to plop down on our sofas to watch some playoff hockey, I would like to take a moment to share some thoughts with you on the 2014-15 season that just wrapped up.

Tanking for Connor McDavid

On the flip side, while the majority of the league excelled this season, a handful of teams, not so subtly, tanked. Edmonton, Toronto, Arizona, Colorado and Buffalo all lost a bunch of games in the hopes of being dead last in the league to better their chance of drafting 1st overall. This year's draft is projected to include at least two potential superstars in Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel. The draft lottery determines who will be pick first and the odds of selecting number one overall are greatest if you finish last in the NHL. Quite frankly, I think it's shameful to reward ineptitude. I think that every team should have a chance at the first overall pick, even the Stanley Cup winner. I don't think the odds should be equal either. Back in 2005, the NHL gave everyone the chance to select Sidney Crosby at number one. That year, every team started with three balls in the lottery barrel. A team lost a ball for every playoff appearance in the past 3 seasons or the number one overall pick the previous four years. Buffalo, Pittsburgh, New York Rangers and Columbus had three balls. Anaheim, Atlanta (now Winnipeg), Calgary, Carolina, Chicago, Edmonton, LA, Minnesota, Nashville and Phoenix (now Arizona) each had two balls. And the remaining 16 teams each had one ball in play. I believe a similar draft lottery should be in play every season. Any team that makes the playoffs should get one ball and teams that don't make the playoffs should get an extra ball.

One should be cautious about trying to lose anyway. Edmonton provides a sobering example. The Oilers had 3 1st overall picks in a row from 2010-2012, drafting Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Nail Yakupov respectively. Again this season, the Oilers have a solid chance of landing the 1st overall pick. The junior hockey league is significantly easier than the NHL. Numerous players have played well at the junior level only to falter in the NHL. Pat Falloon is perhaps the most notable example. His best year was his rookie year, when he notched 59 points, which is solid. If you want to be successful in the NHL you can't just draft the best players year after year. nor, can you buy a championship team with a salary cap in place. Instead, success arises from a combination of solid drafting, good development and recruiting good free agents. Plus, you need a coach/system that gels with the team you have.

Shootouts

Shootouts have been in place to settle tie games that go beyond five minutes of overtime since 2005. You either love shootouts or you hate them. Skilled teams love them. Teams that miss the playoffs by one or two points hate them. The NHL General Managers discussed the issue during their meetings in March. It was forwarded to the competition committee to play 3-on-3 hockey in OT as a way to reduce the number of games decided in the shootout.

In an attempt to reduce the number of shootouts, teams switched ends and there was a dry scrape of the ice, by the Zamboni for the first month and then the ice crew only for the rest of the season. The effort appeared to have little effect. This season, 291 games went beyond regulation time and of those, 173 or 59.4% went to a shootout.

Admittedly, the shootout is not an ideal way to end games but I would take it over a tie game. It would be nice to see more games end before the shootout so I am in favor of some 3 on 3 hockey. There are two proposed formats in play. In one format, teams would start OT 4 on 4 and move to 3 on 3 at the 1st whistle after the 3rd minute. In the second format, OT would be only 3 on 3. I suspect the former will be more likely to be implemented

Goalie Interference

A third hot button issue that came up this season is goalie interference. This has always been a grey area, as often times goalies will flop at any contact to sell a call. My view is the goalie's space is the blue paint and the goalie must have that space. However, I do not think we should go back to 1999 where the Stanley cup was decided on a Brett Hull goal when he had a toe in the blue paint but was not touching the goalie.

At the same time, goalies are not built to take a body check so they must be treated more delicately. In terms of questionable goals, the call should be allowed to be overturned on the basis of interference vs. no interference. I like the idea proposed during the GM meetings where a coach can challenge a call like interference provided the team has a time out.

Five Canadian teams in the Playoffs

Canadian teams overall had great success with five of the seven teams making the playoffs. Toronto and Edmonton were the only teams to miss the playoffs and boy, did they ever. Edmonton's collapse was less surprising given their recent history. Toronto was actually in a playoff position heading into the new year,  then they fired coach Randy Carlyle and the team just gave up. The Leafs won just 5 times after the new year.

Ottawa and Winnipeg snuck in as wildcard seeds and both have potential to do some damage in the playoffs. Their goalies Andrei Pavelec and Andrew Hammond are both on ridiculous hot streaks.

Vancouver is having a bounce back year after missing the playoffs last season. Clearly John Torterella was a bad hire that tried to implement/force upon the Canucks a system that wasn't ideal for their players. They had many injuries last season and their stars, Sedins, Edler and Burrows especially had career low stats and looked awful.

Calgary is a team that is up and coming. They were not expected to make the playoffs and that alone means they should not be taken lightly. Every time the Canucks and Flames have met in round one, the winner has gone on to the cup final.

Will the trend continue? Will we see a Habs-Canucks or Habs-Flames final. Personally, I would love to see the former  match-up as the Canucks and Habs are the two teams I follow most. It's very possible it could happen as the league is wide open this year and every team has weaknesses.


The Habs Season That Was

Montreal had a strong season this year. As mentioned, the bar to even secure a playoff berth was exceptionally high, so it was a massive accomplishment to secure home ice advantage. Do the Habs have concerns heading into the playoffs? Absolutely, but so does virtually every team this year.

Look at Ottawa. Sure, they are riding a hot goalie but Hammond is bound to cool off sometime and the Senators are inexperienced in the playoffs and bound to make mistakes. I thought GM Marc Bergevin made some solid trades this season, getting depth on defense in  Sergei Gonchar and getting rid of bad contracts like Rene Bourque.

Dustin Tokarski held his own as a backup. Carey Price was Carey Price and carried the team on his shoulders numerous times. The Habs must give him more goal support in the post-season or it could be an early exit. I think Montreal will prevail in the opening round but it won't be easy

Buckle up Habs fans. Get your beer and popcorn ready and #GoHabsGo

A Habs fan blogging from BC

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Hockey Day in Canada

Yesterday was special day for two reasons, it was Valentine's day and it was Hockey Day in Canada. This is the day where Canadians come together to watch hockey and to participate in the many activities involving our national sport across our great nation. Yesterday, all seven Canadian NHL teams were in action with six of those teams facing each other. The exception this year is the Winnipeg Jets, who are in Detroit to face the Red Wings. In other games, Ottawa hosted Edmonton, Toronto visited Montreal and in the night game Vancouver was in Calgary to face the Flames. For Canadians, watching hockey on Saturday night is synonymous with Americans watching NFL football on Sundays. It's tradition.

My favorite part of hockey day in Canada, besides watching my three favorite Canadian NHL teams, Montreal, Winnipeg and Vancouver, is hearing some of the wonderful stories CBC produces to broadcast. These stories profile the exceptional people in hockey who have sacrificed so much to play the game of hockey or to help make it happen for others. Here is an example

As a side note, I was born and raised in the Lower Mainland in Burnaby, a suburb of Vancouver. We don't get enough snow or sustained freezing temperatures so I never experienced skating on an outdoor rink. However, I did attend the 2014 Heritage classic at BC Place stadium where the Canucks hosted the Senators. It was  OK, but BC Place is a football and soccer stadium. It is not built to host hockey games. As such, I was forced to watch the action on the jumbo-tron

The State of the Canadian NHL teams

Despite the Canadian dollar being weak at the moment, Canadian franchises are thriving. Even in Edmonton and Vancouver, where tickets can be bought dirt cheap, fans continue to fill the stadiums. The situation is not nearly as dire as it was in the mid 90's when Quebec City and Winnipeg were relocated to Colorado and Phoenix (Arizona now) respectfully.

In terms of being competitive, the Canadian franchises are doing well as a whole. Four of the seven Canadian teams have a very good chance of making the playoffs in April (Montreal, Vancouver, Winnipeg and Calgary). Edmonton and Ottawa will definitely be on the outside looking in and Toronto requires a strong finish to nab one of the two wildcard spots in the East, but they just started clearing house.

A Canadian-based team has not won a Stanley cup since 1993 when your Montreal Canadiens hoisted the trophy. At the moment, Montreal likely represents Canada's best hope of winning the Stanley cup, but by no means will it be an easy task

Canada internationally

Every year Canada participates in international hockey tournaments, including the World Junior hockey tournament, which brings together the best 19 and under hockey players in the world and the Spengler Cup, which is comprised of players playing in the European leagues. Canada always has and always will be able to put together teams that are medal favorites. This is a testament to the fantastic coaches we have and the wonderful hockey programs kids can enroll in. A medal is less of a guarantee on the larger international ice surfaces as, other than the Spengler Cup, players that play in these tournaments played in the smaller rinks of North America the entire hockey season. Still, one can never count a Canadian hockey team out.

The women's game has a little less parity. The two North American teams, Canada and USA dominate the tournaments and the European franchises get routed when they play Canada or USA. It is to the point where the IOC is considering removing women's hockey as an Olympic sport because only Canada and USA have ever competed for a gold medal. No other country has ever come close.

I would like to give a shout-out to all hockey parents reading this blog. Thank you for putting in the countless hours to allow your son or daughter to play hockey.

So enjoy the games this weekend Habs fans and Go Habs Go

A Habs fan blogging from BC

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Marc Bergevin Looking At Western Conference Defensemen: Jeff Petry Anyone?

With about three weeks before the trade deadline, it has been fairly quiet on the trade front in the NHL. However, action should pick up around the league as we are slowly separating contenders and pretenders. One player that will definitely be traded is Edmonton Oilers' defenseman, Jeff Petry. The right-handed blue liner is an impending unrestricted free agent earning a respectable $3.025 million this season.

According to TSN Insider Darren Dreger, Montreal Canadiens GM has been contacting Western Conference teams to inquire about the availability of some of their defensemen.

The impending UFA is currently having one of his worst defensive seasons so far this year, recording 4 goals and 8 assists for 12 points with a putrid -27 differential in 53 games with the lowly Oilers. The lanky 6'3'', 198-lb, blue liner, who is not known for his offensive abilities, has spent all his professional career with Edmonton, who drafted him 45th overall in 2006.

The 27-year-old defenseman has only 70 hits and 61 blocked shots this season, which is nothing to write home. Spending on average 21:16 minutes on the ice per game, Petry is a more expensive version of Tom Gilbert, who has been playing very well lately, paired alongside bruising defenseman Alexei Emelin.

A healthy scratch earlier this season (like Gilbert), Petry has been one of the steadiest Oilers defencemen lately, although he will never be physical enough to hush his harshest critics (like Gilbert). For comparison purposes, Gilbert has 2 goals and 7 assists for 9 points with a +8 rating in 49 games with the Habs this year. Gilbert is the lesser physical of the two with a mere 23 hits this season, but he has more blocked shots than Petry with 87. 

While Petry (50.2% CFeven) has better possession numbers than Gilbert (45.2% CFeven) and is slightly more physical than Gilbert, is he really worth sacrificing a middle round pick and/or a prospect to improve the Canadiens' defensive brigade which ranks first in the league in goals allowed per game with 2.03? I don't think so. I'd trade for Cody Franson instead if I were Marc Bergevin...

Who would you want to acquire if you were Marc Bergevin?

Other options on defense include Cody Franson, Mike Green, Andrej Sekera, Marc Methot, Zbynek Michalek and Marek Zidlicky.

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Follow me on Twitter at @FredPoulin98

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A Bag of Pucks: Thoughts from the Hockey World

Hey Habs fans, it's been a couple of weeks since my last post and a lot has been happening in Habs Nation and the hockey world. Here are my two cents on some of the major events

Rene Bourque Trade

On November 20th Rene Bourque was traded to Anaheim in exchange for 6'5" defenseman Bryan Allen. This was a win-win trade. Bourque gets a fresh start in Anaheim after falling out of favor in Montreal after some indifferent play. On November 9th Bourque was waived by the Canadiens and sent to Hamilton the next day. This trade will free up significant cap space and will allow forwards like Jiri Sekac to see more ice time. Meanwhile, Montreal gets added insurance on defense in case of injury. Allen won't be contributing much to the offense, but he's a solid veteran who can perform in a top-four pairing. Expect to see him on the 3rd pairing with time on the PK unit.

Mr. Hockey takes a turn for the worst

Hockey Legend Gordie Howe is in ill health after suffering a massive stroke October 26th. On November 16th, Howe took a turn for the worse suffering some minor strokes and also feeling the effects of a previous back injury that was worsening his dementia. Howe is a living legend in hockey having played through parts of five decades. He really opened the game up for youth who followed and idolized him. Habs fans raise your sticks to Mr. Hockey and pray for the best for him.

Legendary coach Pat Quinn dies

Pat Quinn sadly passed away on Sunday November 23rd passed away after a lengthy illness. While he never coached the Montreal Canadiens, defenseman PK Subban was on the 2009 World Junior team coached by Quinn. Pat Quinn was instrumental in resurrecting the Vancouver Canucks. He served as GM and President of the Canucks from 1987-1997. He was head coach from 1991-1994 after a ban was lifted preventing him from coaching after selecting Pavel Bure a year before his draft eligibility. Quinn held the GM/head coach positions for the Toronto Maple Leafs 1998-2005. I had the privilege of meeting the legendary coach at a Canucks fan appreciation event in 1995. The hockey world truly lost a legend in Pat Quinn. Rest in peace coach.

Edmonton Oilers fire goalie coach

On November 11, the Edmonton Oilers fired goalie coach Frederic Chabot. I choose to write about this topic because it exemplifies how NOT to run a hockey team. The Edmonton Oilers were once a feared franchise, winning five Stanley Cups in the 80's. However, since that time, the weak Canadian dollar affected the Oilers ability to sign and keep top players. From 2010-2012 the Oilers had the first overall pick in the entry draft and selected Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Nail Yakupov respectively. Clearly, the Oilers have issues having given up the most goals in the league. However, it is easy to make a coach the scapegoat for poor play, but at the end of the day it is on the players. Also, the coach can only work with what he is given. GM Craig McTavish also has to take some blame for poor drafting decisions and not getting the right players in free agency. No, the Oilers will not make the playoffs this season.

Current Playoff Standings 

If the playoffs started tomorrow, five of the seven Canadian teams would make the playoffs (your Montreal Canadiens, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Winnpeg). Only Edmonton and Ottawa would be on the outside looking in.With just over a quarter of the season in the books, the Habs are in a six way tie for 1st in the league. By virtue of having played an extra game, the Habs are officially 4th in the East. I love that they have beat the hated Bruins thrice and Detroit twice. Goalie Carey Price has been spectacular. Jiri Sekac has been effective in the Habs bottom six. GM Marc Bergevin's moves have all paid off thus far. Hopefully the team continues to thrive as the season goes forward. I hope all five of the teams make it to the playoffs because I want to see a Canadian team win the cup. Although realistically, Montreal and Vancouver are the two most likely teams to make it all the way to the cup finals.

Brandon Gallagher extended six seasons

Finally on November 30, the Habs extended forward Brandon Gallagher to a six-year deal that will expire after the 2020-21 season. While Gallagher is a good player signing, such a lengthy deal is always risky. First, one can't predict the health of a player. Hockey is a violent sport and there is always the risk of injury. Another factor is by signing a lengthy deal, the motivation to perform at a high level might be down. Gallagher has a guaranteed contract the next six years. He doesn't have to worry about earning his next contract for a few years. I like Gallagher as a player so I think he will likely provide scoring and grit for the Habs.

Go Habs go

Habs fan blogging from BC

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Rumor: David Desharnais for David Perron?

According to several news outlets, the future of left winger David Perron is sealed in Edmonton after the comments he made on the team's poor start last Friday. Stacked on the wings, the Oilers are currently looking for depth at center because the team is very thin at the position after talented youngster Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

The team was forced to keep rookie Leon Draisaitl and play journeyman Marco Arcobello as the organization's 2nd and 3rd line centers, respectively, because of its lack of depth down the middle. Now that the team has lost seven games in a row and has fell out of playoff contention, once again, general management Craig MacTavish is finally looking to shake things up.

According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, the Canadiens have been interested in David Perron and GM Marc Bergevin is not afraid to make a move as shown by his latest acquisitions of Sergei Gonchar and Bryan Allen.

With the excess of defensemen in Montreal as well as the possibility of trading one of the team's top-three pivots to make room for Galchenyuk at center, it would make sense that the Habs call the Oilers about Perron.

One of the names currently being mentioned as a possibility for the Oilers, other than Artem Anisimov and Patrick Berglund, is diminutive center David Desharnais as mentioned by Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal.

Off to a very slow start for a first-line pivot, Desharnais has only 2 goals and 9 assists for 11 points in 23 games, posting a good +9 rating along the way. While DD has improved at the dot, winning 197 of the 363 (54.3%) draws he has taken so far, the Saint-Apollinaire native has only 22 shots this year, which is less than a single shot per game.

As for Perron, he only has 2 goals and 8 helpers for 10 points in 22 games for a struggling team. The good side about him is that he is only one year removed from a successful season during which he potted 28 goals and 29 assists for 57 points in 78 contests. A left-winger who shoots right, Perron is also bigger than Desharnais (6'0'', 200-lb vs. 5'7'', 175-lb), which is not a minor detail when it's playoff time.

If we look at some advanced stats, Perron has a Corsi For % of 54.0, which is pretty good with a bad team like the Oilers. He has also been extremely unlucky as his low PDO of 96.5 and his -11 plus/minus rating can be easily explained by the poor goaltending of the Oilers this season, which is ranked last in the NHL with a putrid .885 save percentage. Perron is also shooting a paltry 3.8% (2 goals on 52 shots), while his career average is 12.8%; as a result, expect a improvement in this department, which means the goals should start coming very soon.

At the other end of the spectrum, Desharnais has been very lucky with a high PDO of 105.7 and a +9 plus/minus differential that is helped by the Canadiens' solid save percentage of .919 this year. His Corsi For % of 52.1 ranks him fourth on the team, but he's trailing his favorite line-mate Max Pacioretty by seven points, despite spending most of his ice time with him.

Financially, Perron's cap hit is $3.812,500 for the next two campaigns, making him a free agent at the end of the 2015-16 season at the ripe age of 28. As for the 28-year-old Desharnais, who is earning $3.5 million this season, he will still have two years left on his current contract after the season.

Such a move would allow the Bleu Blanc Rouge to shift Alex Galchenyuk back to his natural position at center and would give the team more depth at left wing after Max Pacioretty.

The Canadiens could sweeten the deal by trading a second-tier prospect like Dalton Thrower or a middle-round pick to help the Oilers rebuild their ever-struggling franchise.

Potential line combinations with Perron:

Pacioretty-Galchenyuk-Gallagher
Perron-Plekanec-Parenteau
Sekac-Eller-Prust
Bournival-Malhotra-Weise
Extras: Bowman, Tangradi

Being the easiest center to replace internally, David Desharnais would be the current Habs' player that most fans would want to trade first in the event Marc Bergevin makes another move up front.

Would you make that trade, or would you rather send another forward to land Perron?

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Follow me on Twitter at @FredPoulin98.

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Habs/Oilers Post game October 22nd 2013

For the Canadiens; Pacioretty, Prust, Parros, Briere.
For the Oilers; Hall, Gagner, Smyth, Joennsu.

These are not the pre-season lineups made in order to rest some of their roster players, this is the list of players who are out with injuries suffered during this young season.

In the second meeting between the 2 clubs, the Canadiens came out strong in the first period scoring a couple of late goals but didn't sustain that momentum for the rest of the game. They blew a 2 goal lead and were unable to mount a comeback in late the going, eventually ending in a score of 4-3 favoring the visitors.

The story of the night was the play of Carey Price. This season his game as been above par and he has been a major reason the Canadiens are able to sustain the edge in the games they play. Tonight was not the case. He got beat by a weak goal to open up the scoring for the Oilers by Ales Hemsky. The move he pulled with his hands to get to the high slot was a nice piece of work and Price did manage to get in front of the shot but it still slipped by him. Not long after that the Oilers tied up the game with goal from Ladislav Smid that got put in because of a lack of rebound control that laid up right on the defencemen's stick.

It was in the third period that the Habs lost the game, not only did they fall behind 2 goals, but seemed as though they had a little less in the tank. The Oilers are trying to prove they aren't in the free fall that many of the media are speculating. Despite their injuries they received scoring from unlikely sources. Jeff Petry, who was beautifully set up by Nugent-Hopkins, scored during a 4 on 4. Hopkins had quite the game and finished with 2 assists. The eventual game winner was scored by Ryan Jones, his goal was started off by a bad turnover at center-ice from Ryan White, he gain the zone and gave it to David Perron who took a weak shot that Price could not control, Jones crashed the night and pushed it in.

It was definitely not the best performance Price strung together. However, it is only expected that for some parts of an 82 game season, your starter puts up a bad game every now and again. When this happens it should be up to the team to ahead of him to compensate and up their game, unfortunately, save for a few, tonight was not that night.

For the Canadiens, the scoring opened up on the powerplay. Right off the face-off, the puck went back to Markov. Markov started a give and go with Bournival, who has a 3 game point streak, meanwhile Plekanec quietly made his way to the far side of the ice. The veteran blue-liner, Markov, was able to find Plekanec by himself and laser a pass his way. Pleks made no mistake as he finished the job ripping one by Dubnyk.

The second goal came from Brendan Gallagher, who wasted no time giving the Habs a 2 goal lead. Moments after the first goal he beautifully anticipated a breakout pass by Ryan Jones. Gaining control of the puck he came in with speed towards the net andeventually scoring one top corner far side.

The last goal came in the final seconds, when teams down a pair play for the pride of the crest on their jerseys. Gionta was parked it in front of the net, and Plekanec was able to feed him a pass he simply needed to redirect to claim one for the stats column.

Subban played his usual brand of hockey, some wonder if that means Olympic caliber, I believe that should be a no-brainer. In the third period this was highlighted by a series of quick dangles in the Oilers zone that left the fans in attendance breathless. Although the play he made to the side of the night didn't end up in the net. It is in these awe-inspiring moments that prove to the Habs nation he is currently the best player in the lineup.

Making another appearance as the 6th D was Nathan Beaulieu in place of Jared Tinordi. He logged 11:26 and was not noticeable on the ice, but for a young defenceman that means he did not make glaring mistakes. Both Tinordi and Beaulieu have shown some poise when being called upon and are a making the injuries to the blue-line less of a concern
for the Canadiens.

Congratulations go out to Michael Bournival. The 21 year old Bournival was told Tuesday to find an apartment in the city, indicating he will be with the team all season. The youngster has made the most from the opportunities by the club. While this is in large part thanks to injuries to the forward group, his game has adjusted rather quickly to the NHL level. Managing to find his way onto the score sheet in the last few games and being a versatile slot into many lines he gave coach Therrien enough reason to justify his being with the big club for the remainder of the year.

The game as a whole was in no way indicative of how the Canadiens have played thus far in the season. Looking back, with both of the Sharks and Ducks coming into town, it would have been a wise decision to give Price the night off and let Budaj take on an injured Oilers lineup. The team is still adjusting to more injuries, and feeling out some kinks early-on. The quick starts at home for the Habs are a good sign that the team does wake up to play for the home crowd, a necessity in the back end of the season. The only adjustment that needs to be made and has been apparent in the last few games is keeping that momentum throughout the final 2 periods of play.

Photograph by: Richard Wolowicz, Getty Images

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Habs/Oilers Post Game October 10th 2013

The second game in their Alberta back-to-back had the Canadiens face off against the high octane offense in Edmonton. Backup goaltender Peter Budaj got the start and back stopped his team to a 4-1 victory.

Coach Therrien has decided to use these early games to experiment with the lines. The goal? To distribute the scoring rather than have the EGG line as the only one scoring goals.

The breakdown:
Pacioretty, Eller, Briere,
Galchenyuk, Plekanec, Gallagher.
Bourque, Desharnais, Gionta
Prust, Bournival, Moen.

Markov, Subban

Gorges, Diaz

Beaulieu, Bouillon 

As is usually the case, change does not always produce immediate returns. The first period had its share of awkward sequences. It's fair to question the coaches decision to "crack the egg". Perhaps just shuffling the other 3 lines should be explored before making the decision to mix up every line. This way at least there is the security that one line has proven chemistry should the game-plan fail to produce dividends. By the end of the game however, the end did justify the means.

It would be in the second period that the Canadiens, despite allowing the opening goal on the power play, began to outplay the Oilers. The game was centered more in the Edmonton zone, the Habs scored twice and generated the more prominent scoring chances. They held off the Oilers attack from creating any serious threats limiting their chances to the outside and getting in the way of shots from dangerous angles. 

Goals from Gallagher and Prust, despite less than spectacular finishes, all stemmed from hard work and a touch of craftsmanship from those who recorded the assists. The Prust goal in particular showcased the efforts of Bournival, who seemed incredibly comfortable in his second appearance. His name wont appear on the scoresheet but his tenacity to keep the puck in the Oiler zone is the reason for the goal.

In the third the Oilers came out with desperation but the Habs weathered the storm. Each line seemed to play with a boost of energy. The play of the 4th line was most certainly a catalyst in this effort. They were constantly banging the Oilers around and leaving them breathless coming to the bench, giving the whole team the extra motivation to keep up the pace.

Increasing the lead would be Galchenyuk who received a beautifully timed saucer pass from Gallagher and put it past Dubnyk. The Oilers did everything they could to make a last ditch effort. Trailing 3-1 with just over 4 minutes left, they attempted a very unorthodox decision by pulling the goalie. Although it did generate some heat in the Habs zone, this was met with the equal vigor. In the end, it would be Briere that recorded his first point as a Canadien when he assisted on the Pacioretty empty-netter. 

A nice surprise was the play of newcomer Nathan Beaulieu. In his limited ice time he made a lot of plays that take confidence to execute and did not seem to be out of place in his role filling in for Jared Tinordi.

P.K. Subban lead the team in TOI , logging in just over 25 minutes. No surprise, when he plays more, the team finds a way to win, that is certain.

Montreal desperately needed to win this game especially coming off of the effort from the night before. They visit Vancouver Saturday before stopping in Winnipeg on their way back to the Bell Center.

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Montreal Canadiens: Should Alex Galchenyuk play in the NHL this season?

Now that the NHL and the NHLPA finally managed to conclude a deal and agree to a new collective bargaining agreement yesterday morning, NHL training camps are slated to open between Wednesday and Saturday all around the league after the Board of Governors meets on Tuesday to officially ratify the new agreement.

Will Galchenyuk crack the Habs’ line-up? (Terry Wilson/OHLImages)

The exact specifics of the season are still unknown, but Habs fans should expect a 48-game season that will begin on January 19th, 2013 at Air Canada Centre against their division arch-rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs. New general managerMarc Bergevin will be hard pressed to put a competitive roster on the ice after the Canadiens finished last in the Eastern Conference last season.

Bergevin will have to start negotiating withrestricted free agent PK Subban in order to sign the über-talented and charismatic defender to a long-term contract in time for the beginning of the shortened season. Another important decision that Bergevin and his new head coach Michel Therrien will have to make is whether or not to keep the Habs’ third-overall selection of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft in Montreal or send him back to his junior team, the Sarnia Sting.

Golden Gally

Overall, 2012 has been a successful year for the 18 year-old American. Galchenyuk played a key role in the United States’ gold medal victory over Sweden at the 2013 IIHF U-20 Championship, recording 2 goals and 6 assists for 8 points in 7 contests, to go along with a +2 plus/minus differential during the tournament.

Prior to his participation to the World Juniors, Galchenyuk had recorded 61 points in 33 games (27 goals, 34 assists) while posting a solid +16 plus/minus differential with the Sarnia Sting. Now back with the Sting, the native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, could finish the season with more than 100 points should he remain in the OHL.

Alex galchenyuk@AGally94

Yeah baby ! #2013WJC #usahockey pic.twitter.com/bmBQE6Yw

5 Jan 13

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Impressed by his performance at the World Junior Championship and in the OHL, many Canadiens fans are asking for the organization to keep Galchenyuk in Montreal for the whole shortened season. While that sounds interesting and tempting to bring the youngster up to play with the big boys like Nail Yakupov with the Edmonton Oilers or Jonathan Huberdeau with the Florida Panthers, the Canadiens would be wise to leave Gally in the OHL for the remainder of the 2012-13 campaign.

Alex Galchenyuk is tearing it in the OHL (Charles LeClaire-US PRESSWIRE)

Still, look for the Canadiens to invite him to their one-week training camp to see what the young man can do against professional hockey players. The team currently has 13 forwards on a one-way contract, not including Louis Leblanc who played 42 games in the NHL last year and who is currently playing in the AHL for the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Keeping Galchenyuk creates two problems for Michel Therrien and Marc Bergevin. First, the lack of playing time on the first two forward lines will be hard to come by. With the first-line of Erik Cole, David Desharnais and Max Pacioretty set in stone to begin the season, and a probable second line of Tomas Plekanec, Brian Gionta and Rene Bourque, Galchenyuk, who can play center or right wing, would find himself playing with Lars Eller and Travis Moen on the team’s checking line. Not exactly the best way to develop a top draft pick!

The other hurdle is his entry-level contract. Should he make the NHL after the brief training camp, Gally would earn a prorated $3,225,000 over the remainder the season and burn one year of his entry-level contract. With PK Subban still unsigned (and most likely commanding a salary around $5 million per year) and the organization already tight against the salary cap at $63,897,976 (of $70,200,000), it is safe to assume that the organization would be best suited if they return Galchenyuk to Sarnia to polish his skills and continue to dominate among his group age.

Finally, with the Canadiens most likely battling for the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference and not being serious Stanley Cup contenders, Galchenyuk would greatly benefit from a full junior season after missing most of last campaign due to a major knee surgery, and graduate with the Canadiens next September instead.

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A long-time Joe Sakic fan, Fred, 34, is a freelance sports writer and translator. Fred earned a Bachelor of Translation in 2002 at Laval University in Quebec City. He also writes on the Montreal Canadiens for thehockeywriters.com and he is an associate editor and a baseball columnist on Dobberbaseball.com. He is also fluent in English, French and Spanish.

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