While most Montreal Canadiens fans are ecstatic for the upcoming playoffs and are getting ready for a nice long run by their beloved Habs, there are some pretty glaring issues that should be addressed. I don't want to rain on anybody's parade here, but I'm trying to be as realistic as possible. Possession is bad, scoring chances are bad, system is consistently in question, and certain players are not being used appropriately.
Is it good that Montreal finished with 100 points? Absolutely. Is it good that Carey Price finished with a career best save percentage? No question about it. So why all the doubt? because there are certain things in the NHL that are unsustainable and Montreal's ability to win games the way they do, might be one of those.
Montreal is a bottom five possession team in the league with a mere Corsi for percentage of 47.2%. The only teams below the Canadiens are Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, and Buffalo. None of whom are playoff teams. Not even close. This is definitely not a good sign, and if it continues down this road, well, take a look at Toronto. A team who went from a comfortable playoff spot to kicked out in a matter of weeks. Montreal's possession numbers are about 5% better, which should be alarming. Can Montreal be a dominant possession team? yes. In fact, they recently had a 60% Corsi for against the Chicago Blackhawks, a western powerhouse and a serious Cup contender. Prior to that, they held an excellent 63.6% against Anaheim, who nearly won the President's Trophy. This should tell you that Montreal's real problem is consistency. They have far too many games where they simply don't try, or give up. That needs to end, and quickly.
A lot of people have been questioning Michel Therrien's system and placing a lot of blame on him in regards to Montreal's poor play, in particular their poor possession numbers. I can't say that it is all the coach. Therrien did not take a successful possession team and run them into the ground (like what Randy Carlyle is becoming notorious for). Montreal's possession numbers have stayed relatively consistent dating back to 2011-12 with Martin/Cunneyworth at the helm. So, Therrien haters can relax a little bit. What Therrien has tried to do is create a dump and chase team, who battles in the corners, and grinds out some not-always-pretty type of goals. This team is not built for that, and it is seriously hindering the players abilities on the ice.
Montreal has some very creative players, who can hold the zone, put pressure on, and create scoring chances when they use that talent. Subban has been on a tight leash all season and if Montreal wants to succeed, Therrien needs to let him loose and reign havoc from the blue line. Benching (arguably) your best defenseman, will not help this team win. Douglas Murray is not a top-six defenseman on this Canadiens team and it is hard to justify giving him so many important minutes against players who will blow his doors off. Nathan Beaulieu and Jarred Tinordi are better options than Francis Boullion, and Douglas Murray and should be utilized to their strengths. All I'm saying is, Michel, sometimes you've got to risk it to get the biscuit.
On Twitter this morning, I saw a good friend of mine post a chart he made on scoring chance percentages for teams in the playoffs. What I saw was less than impressive.
Graph via @toddcordell
Clearly, Montreal is far behind in this category. Scoring chances are extremely important especially for a team who is currently having some serious struggles on the power play, and who has poor possession numbers. Having now gone eight games without a power play goal, Montreal is relying solely on their 5v5 scoring. Even if Montreal's power play starts to heat up again, their scoring chances at even strength still needs improving.
What is even more alarming in the previous graph is that Tampa Bay, Montreal's first round opponent, is sitting at 51%, and have defeated the Habs in three of four match ups this season. This will be one hell of a series however early on, advantage Tampa Bay.
Montreal is capable of winning games, and at times, can be a serious contender coming out of a wide open Eastern Conference. The frustrating part is that the Canadiens consistency will always be in question, no matter how well they are playing. This, above all, is their biggest problem contributing to all of the negative statistics looming over this club right now. If Montreal comes into these playoffs playing their highest level of hockey and proving they are a force to reckon with, I can certainly see them shocking a lot of opposing teams.
Thank you for the read, and feel free to leave a comment!
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Earlier this week, the Tampa Bay Lightning announced that they had bought out the contract of their captain Vincent Lecavalier using one of their two compliance buyouts. As a result, the four-time All-Star who spent 14 seasons with the Lightning will become an unrestricted free agent. Under the buyout rules, the 2004 Stanley Cup winner will receive two-thirds the value of his existing deal spread over twice the term of the contract. The buyout will cost more than $32 million over 14 years to the Lightning, Lecavalier receiving $4,671,905 for the next two seasons and then a lower amount every year until 2026-27. The 33-year-old Montreal native 10 goals and 22 assists for 32 points in 39 games during the lockout-shortened season. In 1,037 games with the Bolt, Lecavalier scored 383 goals and 491 assists for 874 points with a -117 +/- ratio. Lecavalier, who led the NHL with 52 goals during the 2006-07 season, will be once of the most sought-after free agents on July 5th along with the likes of Nathan Horton, Daniel Briere and Jarome Iginla, to name a few. More than 12 teams have contacted Lecavalier's agent to show their interest, and among them are the Montreal Canadiens according to a source close to the team. Habs general manager Marc Bergevin already made his offer to Lecavalier's clan and now the ball is in Vinny's court. Bergevin really likes the 6'4'', 220-lb, pivot and he made sure the offer was very enticing. While I don't have the exact numbers, it is believed that Lecavalier is looking for a multi-year deal (4 or 5 years) worth close to $5 million annually. If the Canadiens manages to sign him, expect the organization to trade one of the team's centermen to make room in the line-up and on the payroll. As I wrote in my previous article, Bergevin is dangling David Desharnais who is easier to move at $3.5M/year than Tomas Plekanec at $5M with a no-trade clause. Expect the Canadiens to be very active today at the draft and the rest of the week leading to free agency next Friday.
The Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning, two teams who could very well end up facing off in the first round of the playoffs, clashed last night in Tampa.
Montreal came out with the decision on two goals by Max Pacioretty and a 43-save performance by Carey Price.
The game was an exciting one as both teams can skate like the wind and, as such, the match had a playoff-like pace to it. The high-tempo, high-intensity match was to be expected considering the rivalry between these two teams, and the fact that prior to last night only three points separated them in the standings.
Montreal once again got themselves into penalty trouble giving Tampa six power plays including an early third period 5-on-3. Fortunately, Price and the Habs' penalty kill shone allowing only one Tampa man-advantage goal.
The game was pretty even until Hal Gill opened the scoring—his second goal in two games—with a blast from the point that got past a screened Dwayne Roloson. David Desharnais kept the party going only 3:14 later on the power play, when he buried an Andrei Kostitsyn pass from the high slot.
Dominic Moore cut the lead in half on an early second-period PP before Pacioretty restored the two-goal margin off a Tomas Plekanec rebound. Pacioretty would get another early in the third to push the Habs' lead to three before Vincent Lecavalier made things interesting by scoring his 16th of the season with about six minutes to play in the game.
However with Roloson on the bench for the extra attacker, Montreal MVP Carey Price led the charge, shutting down the high-octane Lightning offense to secure the victory.
Final score: Habs 4 - Lightning 2
Habs scorers: Hal Gill (2), David Desharnais (8), Max Pacioretty (13, 14)
Lightning scorers: Dominic Moore (12), Vincent Lecavalier (16)
Three-stars: 1. Max Pacioretty, 2. Carey Price, 3. Scott Gomez
Game Notes
1. Price is gearing up for the playoffs.
Despite getting the second star of the game, Carey Price was once again the main reason for the Habs' win.
Earning his league leading 31st win of the season—tied with Detroit's Jimmy Howard—Price was in prime form, calmly turning aside shot after shot, swallowing up rebounds or purposefully directing them into the corners and continuing to show his All-Star form.
Price finished the night with 43 saves and has stopped 116 shots over the Habs three-game Southwest Division road trip—Atlanta, Florida and Tampa.
It's still amazing to see how far Price has come and how quickly he has done it. His rise to the top this season is the main reason for the Habs' success, especially considering the absence of Andrei Markov and Josh Gorges for the season.
2. Gill is rounding into playoff form.
As an integral piece of the Habs' leadership puzzle, Gill led the charge during the latter half of last season and the playoffs. He is the type of player who's game gets better as the season goes on and right now, with less than 20 games to play, this is his time to shine.
So while Gill has been a solid player all season long and has been a major catalyst in getting P.K. Subban's game on track, you can see that he is starting to elevate.
Last night, Gill continued to make excellent defensive plays, stripping the puck from the Lightning which set up the play leading to Pacioretty's second of the night.
In addition to Gill's defensive prowess and increased intensity on the ice, he has also, magically, scored two goals in his last two games. That might not sound so incredible until you consider that he only has 35 career goals and prior to the goal against the Panthers, had gone 100 games without scoring.
I guess he likes the sunshine of Florida!
3. AK46's point streak continues...
With a beautiful assist on David Desharnais' eighth goal of the season, Kostitsyn now has at least one point in six straight games—eight total points (3G, 5A) and a plus-2 rating.
On the Desharnais goal, Kostitsyn battled behind the net on the power play, using his physicality to dig the puck out and fire a pass out front to DD who went forehand to backhand to put it past a sprawling Roloson.
In addition to his power play prowess, the combination of AK46 with Lars Eller and Travis Moen continues to pay dividends for the Habs, with all three players bringing a certain level of size and grit to the table. With Moen digging the pucks out of the corners, Eller setting up the play and Kostitsyn finishing, the Canadiens look they have found an excellent third line.
Hopefully for Montreal they can keep it up, because this line is showing that they can provide some needed secondary scoring with size, something in short supply for the Habs.
4. Scott Gomez played a great game, but will it last?
Anyone who reads my articles on a regular basis knows that I am been one of the biggest critics of Gomez and his ineffective play this season. And for the most part, I think I've been pretty fair in assessing his horrible performances.
They say that as an offensive player, when things are not working out offensively you should make sure to take care of things defensively. Well, as Gomez's minus-15 rating attests, he hasn't been excelling in that department either this season.
All of that aside, I've got to give credit where credit is due: Scott Gomez played a hell of a game last night.
He was active in all three zones, made several excellent defensive plays and, almost more importantly, was getting things done on the offensive side of the puck.
Playing with one of the hottest Habs players in Pacioretty, Gomez set up several great plays with him and Brian Gionta, finishing the night with one assist, two shots on goal and a plus-one rating.
He was lacking in the faceoff circle, however, where he went 6-for-16 for an ugly 37.5 percent efficiency.
That being said, he was a real factor in the victory for the first time in recent memory and while it's only one game, Gomez played exactly the way he has to last night. If he can find some consistency and keep that level of play up, it will go a long way towards helping the Habs have playoff success.
Now if only the Habs could figure out what to do with the first line!
5. Pacioretty continues to roll
What can you say about Max Pacioretty, a rookie who seems to get better and more confident with every game he plays?
Scoring his 13th and 14th goals of the season last night, Pacioretty has five points (4G, 1A) and a plus-three rating over his last five games.
His 14 goals place him in fifth overall on the Habs, scoring at a 0.388 goal per game pace. In case you’re wondering, that would put him on pace for 31.88 goals over an 82 game season. In addition, if he had played all 65 games this season, Pacioretty would be leading the Habs in goals with 25.
As if that wasn't enough, Pacioretty's second-period power-play marker was his team- leading seventh of the season. And he has done all of this while largely playing with the Habs least effective center in Gomez.
I still maintain that while Pacioretty is playing well now, he is on course for a major playoffs breakout and could easily be one of the Habs most important players this spring.
Whatever happens in the playoffs, right now Pacioretty is certainly one of the Habs best players not named Carey Price.
Standings and Next Game
After going through a rough stretch through the middle of February, the Habs seem to have turned the corner, winning four in a row and five of their last six.
Montreal now has 79 points in the standings with a 36-23-7 record, sixth overall in the East. In addition, their road record is finally starting to look respectable at 16-15-1.
Montreal is now only one point behind the Capitals (80 points) for fifth overall, although the Caps have one game in hand. After the Caps it is the Pittsburgh Penguins with 84 points in the standings, the Lightning with 81 points—in third overall due to their first place standing in the Southwest Division—and the Bruins with 84 points.
Pittsburgh has played one more game than Montreal while the Lightning and Boston Bruins each hold one game in hand.
The Habs are starting to put a nice buffer between them and the teams behind them in the standings, as they hold a seven-point lead over the seventh place New York Rangers (72 points) who have played one more game than Montreal.
After the Rangers, things get pretty tight with the Carolina Hurricanes at 71 points, the Buffalo Sabres at 70 points with two games in hand and the Toronto Maple Leafs with 67 points.
Montreal now travels home for a much anticipated match against the Bruins on Tuesday night before heading back out on the road against the St. Louis Blues and the Penguins, on Thursday and Saturday.
(Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images North America)
Last night's match between the Montreal Canadiens and the Tampa Bay Lightning got started on an interesting note with former Habs property and Hamilton Bulldogs goaltender, Cederick Desjardins, being announced as the surprise starter for the Lightning.
This was to be his first NHL game and it was against his former organization.
The Habs started things off with a bang, clearly intent on reversing their recent fortunes, when Max Pacioretty drove to the net and fired the puck from the right side. The puck went in off of Brett Clark, only 58 seconds into the game, who was trying to cover Brian Gionta.
After the goal, the teams traded power plays and the Habs' new edition, James Wizniewski, showed fans why he is so good from the point, ringing a bullet off of the post.
Tampa's Desjardins looked shaky between the pipes but settled down over the latter half of the first period.
With the Canadiens holding a 1-0 lead and doing a good job of stifling Tampa, the team proceeded to take two too many men on the ice penalties, only 45 seconds apart, handing the Bolts a 5-on-3 advantage.
Tampa made no mistake with Martin St. Louis firing one short side past Carey Price, who was cheating away from his post. That goal gave Tampa all the momentum they would need as they potted another one before the frame was over, taking a one goal lead into the intermission.
The final nail in the Habs' coffin, however, was when Steven Stamkos was awarded a penalty shot on a generous call by the ref. His spin-o-rama move fooled Price, giving Tampa a two goal lead. After that goal, the Habs seemed to give up, essentially going through the motions for the rest of the third period, unable to produce any offense.
As has become the case far too often this season, the Canadiens were simply unable to bury their chances early in the game and it came back to bite them.
Final score: Tampa 4 - Habs 1
Habs' scorers: Max Pacioretty (2)
Tampa scorers: Martin St. Louis (16), Pavel Kubina (2), Steven Stamkos (30, 31)
Game Notes
1. Wizniewski made an instant impact.
On his first shift, Wizniewski had four shots from the point—despite the official stat sheet saying he only had one—as Lars Eller and co. kept setting him up for his wicked one-timer.
On the Habs first power play of the game, 3:35 into the first, Wizniewski fired a bullet off of the post. While he didn't score, that shot illustrates exactly why the Canadiens went fishing for this player.
While Yannick Weber and P.K. Subban also have hard shots they tend to miss the net more often that not. Wizniewski not only hits the net but his shots are always two feet or less off of the ground; ideal for deflections and big rebounds.
Wizniewski also lived up to the promise of being a minute-munching defenseman, playing 21:48 of ice time, second on the Habs only to Subban's 23:27.
One game does not make a season but suffice it to say that "the Wiz" will make a difference on the Canadiens' back end.
2. Jacques Martin found some nice interesting defensive pairings.
With Josh Gorges sidelined due to injury for a second game in a row and Alexandre Picard sitting as a healthy scratch, Coach Martin had to get creative with his defense.
For the first time since taking over the helm of the Montreal Canadiens, Martin had three righties and three lefties in his arsenal. But despite this apparent boon, Martin chose to keep the two lefties together—Roman Hamrlik and Jaroslav Spacek—and the two righties together—Yannick Weber and James Wizniewski.
Of course he did.
Fortunately, things worked out pretty well for the stoic coach.
Weber and Wiz looked good together despite both being right handed shooters. Moreover, they look like a pretty good combo on the first wave of the power play with both being able to fire the puck with authority from the point.
Personally, I'd still prefer to see them each paired with a lefty defender, but that's just me.
The other pairing that Martin used was Hal Gill and P.K. Subban and they also looked decent, with Gill's veteran presence seeming to calm Subban a touch. Also, given Gill's playing style and lack of speed, that is a combo that should allow Subban to focus on the offensive side of the game knowing that Gill can cover up for him. But Gill is a slow skater so there could be instances where he would be unable to cover up for Subban. This means that P.K. will have to be that much more vigilant.
Last night that wasn't the case but, depending on how long Gorges is out of the lineup, it could become a problem.
When Gorges is back in the lineup—he won't be playing against the Panthers today—you would have to think that Yannick Weber and Alexandre Picard will be the odd men out.
That is unless the coach is going to go from playing Subban a team high 23:27 to placing him in the press box again.
3. The Habs system is one-dimensional.
It is no secret that Jacques Martin is a coach who likes to employ the trap.
You know, that one-man forecheck that is meant to push the opposition to the outside only to come face-to-face with four Canadiens players in the neutral zone, forcing a turnover?
Well this system, so far this season, has only seemed to work when the Habs score the first goal of the game. Now, the Habs scored the first goal last night and still lost the game. That is because scoring first for the Habs doesn't guarantee victory, it just makes it possible.
When trailing after one period, the Habs have yet to win a game this season.
Why?
Well, if you watch Martin's strategy, he uses the one-man forecheck regardless of whether the Canadiens are winning, losing or if the game is tied. It's a passive system that relies on the counter-attack and taking advantage of mistakes, rather than pushing the play the way Tampa does.
The result is that the Canadiens continue to play defensively when trailing instead of opening things up in order to create more offense.
Last night was no different as the Canadiens, down by a goal to start the third, continued to play their passive style. The result is that the players who should be trying to score goals are too busy hoping for a turnover rather than trying to forcing one.
I have never hidden the fact that I am not a fan of Jacques Martin. I think that he is a coach who uses an antiquated system that worked better before the lockout, when there was still a red line. Now, however, it is becoming more and more obvious that it is a system that just does not work, at least not with the players he has.
I just hope that someone upstairs in Canadiens' management sees the same thing I do.
4. What purpose does Maxim Lapierre serve in the Canadiens lineup?
While Lapierre had a bad season last year, he rediscovered his game during the playoffs where he become a key cog in the Canadiens lineup. Combative, in your face, aggravating, fast, hitting players and scoring timely goals, Lapierre looked like he would be part of the core of this team for years to come.
Last year, Lapierre had a rough regular season largely because he was recovering from an ankle problem for most of the year. This year, however, Lapierre is in perfect shape and he has yet to show up for work. Averaging 11:44 of ice time per game and with eight points (5G,3A), Lapierre is simply not contributing anything on the ice.
Moreover, in the past 10 games, Lapierre has one goal and is a minus-six.
Not only is he not getting any points, but he rarely hits anyone, makes lazy defensive plays and, overall, just seems to be going through the motions. With players like Ryan White, Dustin Boyd and David Desharnais in Hamilton, I'd rather take a shot with one of them and move Lapierre out of town. I know, Boyd will never happen seeing as the team has already waived him twice, but I would still prefer to see him in the lineup than Lapierre.
Lapierre is an RFA at the end of the season and I for one would be happy to give him his walking papers. While he is not alone in his lethargy, this is a player who is doing nothing to earn another contract.
5. The Habs best players are not being their best players.
Tomas Plekanec, Michael Cammalleri, Scott Gomez, Brian Gionta and Andrei Kostitsyn have a collective 10 goals and a minus-14 rating over the last 10 games. It is no coincidence then that the team has gone 2-8 over that same span.
Moreover, the Canadiens as a team have scored only have nine goals in the six games so far on this seven-game road trip. Worse yet, night in and night out too many players look like they are dogging it on the ice.
Benoit Pouliot, Michael Cammalleri and Maxim Lapierre among others, look disinterested most of the time, like they are just going through the motions and are simply unhappy.
Cammalleri in particular, seems to be one unhappy camper on the ice. In fact, he hasn't really been the same since Jacques Martin pulled him off of the Plekanec line at the beginning of the season and placed him with Gomez. He has three goals in the last 10 games, 12 on the season and is on pace to score 26.
That is simply not enough production out of the Habs' top sniper.
All of these problems point to a team that has or is starting to quit on their coach. Now, given how close Pierre Gauthier and Jacques Martin are, I think it is highly unlikely that there will be any coaching changes taking place any time soon. But with each game that goes by and each loss that piles up, the slippery slope that the Canadiens are on gets all that much more slippery.
Coaches don't tend to get fired lightly and given the track record between Gauthier and Martin, I would think the same would hold true in this case. That being said, if the Canadiens can't turn this losing streak into a winning streak pretty quickly, something's got to give.
Standings and Next Game
The loss moves the Habs' record to 20-16-2, stalled with 42 points in the standings.
Ahead of them are the Atlanta Thrashers and New York Rangers each with 46 points. The Habs have two games in hand on the Thrashers and are even with the Rangers.
Just out of reach in their division are the Bruins with two games in hand on the Canadiens and 45 points in the standings.
In the Habs' rear view mirror are the suddenly hot Carolina Hurricanes who have two games in hand and 38 points in the standings.
The Canadiens have no time to cry about spilled milk, as they are taking on the Florida Panthers at 5pm today in Sunrise. Whatever the outcome is tonight, this road trip from hell will be over and so will 2010.
So have a happy and safe new year and try to have fun, whether the Habs win or not!
(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America)
Last's night well hyped game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Guy Boucher-coached Tampa Bay Lightning delivered on all of its promise.
Fast paced, lots of scoring chances, great hits, and an overall entertaining match to watch.
This game showcased the difference between a coach who can adapt and one who cannot as the Canadiens outplayed Tampa in the first but were outcoached the rest of the way.
Boucher's team made the necessary adjustments after the first period and took the play to Habs for final 40 minutes—outshooting the Canadiens 48-25 on the night.
But the story of the game was again Carey Price. Stopping 44 of 48 shots, he was the only reason this game wasn't over in the second period.
Price was two minutes and twelve seconds away from banking another well earned victory until P.K. Subban took a bad, late-game penalty that lead to Tampa's tying goal.
There was a questionable trip on Dustin Boyd on the play that fans thought should have been a penalty. Nothing was called, however, and Steven Stamkos had the empty net to tie the game.
Subban was at is again in overtime trying to beat three Tampa defenders himself, leading to a scoring chance the other way. Tampa scored the game winner of off the ensuing faceoff to seal the deal.
This game was a victory that Price deserved but the team in front of him did not.
Final Score: Tampa 4 - Habs 3 (OT)
Habs scorers: Maxim Lapierre (1), Tomas Plekanec (1), Andrei Kostitsyn (1)
Tampa scorers: Brett Clark (1), Martin St. Louis (1), Steven Stamkos (3), Ryan Malone (1)
Ugly Moment of the night
Jousting with Steve Downie for most of the game, Lapierre had a dangerous push/hit on Downie in the second period that sent the Tampa forward flying head-first into the boards. This was a stupid and dangerous play by Lapierre and I would not be surprised to see him get a couple of games for his act.
Here is video of the hit.
Do you think he'll get suspended?
Game Notes
1. Price was the only reason this game wasn't over in the second period.
Carey Price looked stable and confident all night and it looks like his victory against the Penguins did him a lot of good.
Out of the 44 saves that Price made on the night, several were of the stupendously spectacular variety; glove saves, standing tall in his net, giving them nothing to shoot at, and deftly handling the puck—which is Price's "tell" that he is feeling good.
If he keeps playing like this, goaltending will not be an issue for the Habs this year. For all the hater out there, try to remember last night's performance if/when things don't go so well for Price later in the year.
2. Tomas Plekanec and Michael Cammalleri are magic together.
Plekanec looks like a man possessed on the ice and looks even better than last year. The chemistry that he and Cammalleri have together is palpable and evidenced by the sweet pass Cammy made to Pleks to make it a 2-0 game.
Plekanec also setup Andre Kostitsyn for his first of the year and really looks like he is hitting his peak as a player. If he keeps playing like this I fully expect him to get close to 80 points this season and challenge for the Selke Trophy.
Cammalleri, for his part, also came to play this year. He's just got to stop taking dumb retaliatory penalties. He knows better than that and is only hurting the team when he has those brain cramps.
3. Pouliot played a great game.
Last night, Pouliot was shooting, hitting, skating, digging pucks out of corners, and doing what he has to do to be an effective top-6 player. When he plays that way, Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta suddenly have so much more room to skate and they become much more effective.
While that line hasn't done anything yet this season, there were a few flashes of greatness last night.
If Pouliot can keep it up, they should start finding the scoreboard soon enough.
4. Subban needs to calm down and try to do "less".
It is no coincidence that P.K. Subban played his worst NHL game the same night he was facing a team coached by Guy Boucher—his former coach in Hamilton.
Boucher knows Subban's tendencies and had his team taking advantage of his sometimes wild play. Often being pressured, Subban was pinching at the wrong time, missed assignments, took unnecessary risks, and turned the puck over a few times leading to scoring chances.
He'll soon learn that you don't have that extra split second in the NHL.
On the play just before winning goal, Subban tried an end-to-end rush that was broken up at Tampa blue line. This sent the play back into the Canadiens zone for a scoring chance that was stopped by Price.
On ensuring defensive zone faceoff, Tampa scored off of a goal-mouth scramble. None of this would have happened if Subban had passed the puck rather than trying to beat three defenders all by himself, with about one minute left in overtime.
He needs to learn how to pick his spots a little better, and he will. But right now he is young and full of exuberance and he just needs to settle down and simplify his game in order to be more effective.
Last night it almost seemed like he was trying to please or play to the crowd instead of sticking to his game.
Subban also took bad and untimely penalties—like his perhaps questionable slashing call that lead to Tampa's tying goal with about 1:20 left to play in the third period. This is actually becoming a trend for P.K. over the first three games of the season and is a result of the extra attention he is getting from the opposition.
Once Andrei Markov is back in the lineup, that should help deflect some attention off of Subban and perhaps settle his game down.
4. Eller-Lapierre-Halpern were excellent all night.
This trio looks like they have started to develop some chemistry together. Last night, Lars Eller was on fire and his skill and hard work lead directly to the Tampa turnover that ended up on Lapierre's stick and in the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.
If they can keep it up, that will be a formidable third line that should provide about 40-goals this season and some necessary secondary offensive support.
5. Markov can't come back soon enough!
The Canadiens' power play went 0-for-3 last night and has yet to score a goal over three games this season.
That is just not good enough.
With each game that passes it becomes more and more evident how important Markov is to the Habs defense and to their power play.
Last night, they did have Roman Hamrlik back in the lineup and he provided a stabilizing presence—playing with Ryan O'Byrne—on the back end.
The problem is the duo of Subban and Jaroslav Spacek is just not working together. They have been playing together since the beginning of the season and, for whatever reason, they do not complement each other very well.
Each player seems to be doing their own thing and there is very little communication or cohesion. The surprising part is the Jacques Martin is still keeping them together.
Subban should clearly be playing with Hamrlik, and maybe once Markov is back, that is what will happen. For now, however, the coach should be trying something else.
But alas, Martin is not usually the quickest to react and tends to be a bit rigid.
Standings and Next Game
Despite the loss, the Canadiens did pick up one point in the standings entirely due to the strong play from Carey Price.
The Canadiens are off today before taking on the Buffalo Sabres tomorrow night in Buffalo before taking on the Ottawa Senators in Montreal on Saturday.
With two games in two nights, Alex Auld might get his first game action on Friday or Saturday depending on what Coach Martin decides.
So, after a summer of waiting on the sidelines, Alex Tanguay has finally signed, with the Tampa Bay Lightning and I think that is a GREAT move for them.
When Gary Bettman said, at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, that he had a trade to announce and that it was Tanguay to Montreal for a 1st and 2nd round pick, I was ecstatic! Tanguay has always been a solid contributor to whatever team he has played on, he is a defensively responsible, perennial plus (as in plus/minus) player, and he cut his teeth playing with world class champions such as Forsberg and Sakic and Roy. To me, this was a guy that could only help push Montreal over the top of the championship hump.
Well, 10 or so months later, and a disastrous season for the Habs behind us, we know that things didn't turn out the way I thought. That being said, I think that Tanguay was actually one of the few bright spots on the 2008-2009 Habs team. Not only was he on pace to be a top point producer, but he was responsible in all three zones and was a consistent performer...something that could NOT be said for pretty much anyone else on the team...except for maybe Josh Gorges.
I remember watching him game in and game out and noticing what an excellent player he was and what phenomenal on-ice vision he had. I was happy that he was with our team. When he went down with a serious injury after being destroyed by the then Lightning's Evgeni Arthuykin (ironic that he will now play with the Lightning, no??), the Habs suffered a loss from which they were never able to recover. That, and the injury to Lang were, in my opinion, the two biggest losses, by the Habs, last year.
Leading into the free agent season, in my mind, Tanguay was #1 on my arm-chair GM's list of players to keep in town. Needless to say, that when I saw Gainey walk away from Tanguay, without even making him an offer, I was befuddled and disappointed. I could not - and still cannot - understand how you can send a 1st AND 2nd round pick to Calgary for a proven top-six forward, and then just let him walk away for nothing. That, to me, is a huge loss and a huge misstep, by Gainey.
Gainey has made some good moves during his tenure in Montreal, but he has also made some bad ones....some REALLY bad ones. Having 10 unrestricted free agents all season last season, trading for Tanguay and then letting him go for nothing, losing Komisarek for nothing, losing Souray for nothing, losing Streit for nothing, trading McDonough, etc. I could go on and on, but suffice it to say that Gainey has had no shortage of missteps. But that is not the point here. The point is that a 1st AND 2nd round pick, is a hefty price to pay but one that I believe Tanugay was worth. All he did, all season long, was prove that Gainey was justified in making that trade too.
But alas, Tanguay will be skating alongside Lecavalier and/or St. Louis and/or Stamkos this year, and will be a point per game guy, if not more, in my opinion. For a team that was in such turmoil last season, I have to say that I think the Lightning might end up being one of the most improved teams in the Eastern conference. Lighting fans, get ready for some action because Tanguay will quickly become a favorite player of yours.
Don't believe me? Take a look at this goal from last year:
