When the Montreal Canadiens' scouting staff elected to draft Saskatoon Blades import winger Nikita Scherbak with the 26th pick of the 1st round last June in Philadelphia, they also drafted a very colorful young hockey player. The WHL's leading rookie scorer by a wide margin with 28 goals and 50 assists for 78 points in 65 games, made a flawless transition into the North American junior hockey league.
An intelligent hockey player who has shown to be very coachable and liked by his teammates, Scherbak is blessed with strong skating abilities, a creative vision and a willingness to engage physically in puck battles along the boards and at both ends of the rink. A quick learner, the 18-year-old winger already speaks English very well, despite having played only one season in Western Canada, and the personable youngster is already a favorite of the media and fans alike.
The 6'2'', 182-lb forward who is currently in Montreal for the team's development camp, skated on a line with Christian Thomas and Daniel Audette on Monday.
"It's very hard, a lot of pressure, a lot of people watching, but I'm alright right now," Scherbak told reporters after the second day of the Canadiens development camp in Brossard, Quebec. "It's hard work and we'll see," said Scherbak. "I can't say I already know (who will make the roster), it's the coaches' opinion… It's a big pressure for me, but I'm trying to play next season, I'll try everything to make it to the NHL."
While his ultimate goal is to play in the NHL next season, he is realistic that he will probably head back to Saskatoon next year to polish his overall game and mature as a hockey player. While Scherbak is pretty confident about his offensive play, he acknowledges that he needs to work on his defensive game and his body strength to improve his game along the boards and in one-on-one battles.
The right-winger, whose childhood idol is Pavel Datsyuk, has a pretty similar style of play to that of teammate Alex Galchenyuk. Both players have such a similar build and stature that they almost look like clones when you watch them on the ice from afar. They also both wear the same number 27.
A vibrant person who is known to talk aplenty on road trips, Scherbak has been taking English lessons and learning fast. Saskatoon head coach Dave Struch jokes: “On the five or six-hour bus trips he sits four seats behind us (coaches) and that’s all you can hear, him talking the whole way.” Scherbak is already saying a few words in French such as "Bonjour", "Merci" and "Comment ça va?" which is already more than most current Habs players.
You can also watch his first Q&A that he did earlier today for the Montreal Canadiens on YouTube:
The
Canadiens (41-26-7) look to extend their win streak Thursday night when
they face the Red Wings (33-25-14) at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. The
game is set to start at 7:00 and airs on RDS and TSN.
This is the
third of four meetings between the Habs and Wings, the Canadiens will
host Detroit at the Bell Centre next Saturday to complete the series.
The Habs are still looking for their first win against the Wings,
they've lost 4-1 and 2-1 in OT. Gustav Nyquist has a pair of goals,
including the OT winner last time these teams met, and an assist so far
against the Canadiens.
What to Watch:
Max
Pacioretty picked up his 100th career goal on Tuesday, and his ninth
game winner on the season in Montreal's 2-0 victory over Buffalo. Carey
Price earned victory number 30 on the season and shutout number 5. It's
only the second time in his career Price has reached the 30-win mark,
although he did pick up 21 wins in 39 games during the lockout shortened
campaign last season.
With 7 points in 11 games, trade deadline
acquisition, David Legwand, has been a boost to the Red Wings line up.
Gustav Nyquist is certainly the player to watch on Detroit, he's in the
midst of a 6-game point streak with 9 goals and an assist over that
span.
What's at Stake:
The Canadiens have a
two-point lead over the Lightning for second place in the Atlantic
division, but they've also played two more games than Tampa. Meanwhile
Detroit, at 80 points on the season, is stuck in a 4-way tie for the two
Wild Card playoff spots in the East with Columbus, Washington and
Toronto.
Who's Out:
The Canadiens will be
without Brandon Prust (upper body), Josh Gorges (hand) and Dale Weise
(wrist) for much of the rest of the season and possibly beyond. Travis
Moen is suffering from concussion-like symptoms and did not travel with
the team either.
The Red Wings are among the most beat up teams in
the league missing 6 roster players for tonight's game. Henrik
Zetterberg (back) will miss the remainder of the season, Stephen Weiss
(hernia) hasn't played since December and is not close to a return.
Justin Abdelkader (leg), Jonathan Ericsson (finger), Daniel Cleary
(knee) and Mikael Samuelsson (shoulder) are all out, as is last year's
point leader for the Wings, Pavel Datsyuk (knee). One bright spot for
Detroit is the expected return of Tomas Jurco to face the Habs tonight.
What Else:
This
is the start of a 4-game road trip for the Habs, they play 5 of their
last 8 on the road. The Canadiens have a fairly balanced record both
home and away, going 21-12-5 at the Bell Centre and 20-14-2 away from
it. In two more home games the Habs have scored just 6 more goals at
home then on the road, and have exactly 24 goals for both home and away.
The glaring difference for the Canadiens away from home is that they've
given up 97 goals compared to just 84 in Montreal.
The Question Mark:
Today's
question is a tough one: If a win tonight meant home ice in the first
round but a loss meant the Leafs would miss the playoffs, which do you
want more?
Let us know what you think, leave us a comment or send us a tweet with 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.
The
struggling Canadiens (27-18-5) are in Detroit Friday to face the Red
Wings (22-18-10) for the first time this season. The game is set to
start at 7:30 and can be seen on RDS and TSN.
This is the first of
four meetings between the Habs and Wings this season. The game takes
place two years less a day since the last time these teams faced off.
The Canadiens scored a 7-2 win on Bell Centre ice that night, David
Desharnais and Erik Cole had 3 points each. The last time the Habs
played in Detroit was December, 2010.
What to Watch:
Carey
Price was pulled from Wednesday game in the second period after giving
up 5 goals in 21 shots. It was just the second time this season Peter
Budaj needed to step in to replace Price. Nathan Beaulieu played in his
second straight game on Wednesday, he finished the night at +1 and saw
close to 15 minutes of ice time.
The Red Wings have struggled
through injuries all season long, Drew Miller and Kyle Quincey are the
only Wings to play all 50 games so far. Detroit's top three scorers,
Henrik Zetterberg (42 points), Pavel Datsyuk (32) and Daniel Alfredsson
(30) have missed over 10 games each.
The injury woes continue for
the Red Wings as starting goalie Jimmy Howard is sidelined which means
Jonas Gustavsson will be in nets. The good news for Detroit is that
despite his 2.47 goals against average, Gustavsson boasts a 12-3-2
record this season.
What's at Stake:
After
allowing 17 goals in their last 4 games, the Habs are looking for a
solid defensive outing Friday night. The Red Wings are 5 points back of
the Canadiens as more and more Eastern bubble teams climb to within
striking distance of Montreal.
Who's Out:
The
Habs are still missing Alex Galchenyuk (hand), Ryan White (upper body)
and Davis Drewiske (shoulder). Call-ups Louis Leblanc and Nathan
Beaulieu are both expected to dress Friday night which will likely leave
George Parros, Raphael Diaz and Francis Bouillon in the press box.
The
Red Wings are missing top forwards Johan Franzen (concussion), Pavel
Datsyuk (lower body) and Stephen Weiss (groin), starting goalie Jimmy
Howard (knee) is also out, so are forwards Joakim Andersson (lower body)
and Cory Emmerton (hand). One positive note for Detroit is that Daniel
Alfredsson is expected to return to the lineup on Friday after missing
the last 6 games with back spasms.
What Else:
It
took a little over half the season but the Habs finally get to take on
their new division rivals for the first time this year. The Wings are
the only team the Canadiens haven't yet encountered this season, they
meet 4 times in the last 32 games. The Canadiens don't get to play in
Detroit very often, for David Desharnais and Max Pacioretty, this will
be their first NHL games played in Joe Louis Arena, the same goes for
Alexei Emelin, Brendan Gallagher, Michael Bournival, Louis Leblanc and
Nathan Beaulieu.
The Question Mark:
We want
to hear from you, between the players, coaching staff and upper
management which group needs to step up to get the Habs back on track?
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.
Before last night's match between the Canadiens and Red Wings at Joe Louis arena, I had a lot of discussions about the game online. Some felt that the Habs were due for a stinker while others thought this was a game destined for a shootout. Whatever the final outcome, however, most everyone felt it was going to be a close game.
Well it certainly lived up to the expectations.
The Habs employed a hermetic defensive system, shutting down the neutral zone and waiting for opportunities to counter-attack. This is the standard Jacques Martin road game and, were it not for a bevy of penalties, the Habs could have walked away with the two points.
The Canadiens opened the scoring when Michael Cammalleri's shot came off of the back boards and was knocked in off of Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard, by Travis Moen.
Up until that point the Habs were playing the perfect road game.
Things fell apart, however, when the Canadiens took four first-period penalties including three in the final five minutes, handing the momentum over to the Red Wings. The result was a barrage from Detroit as they outshot the Habs 18-7 in the first.
The Wings tied it up on a 5-on-3 with two seconds left in the first period as Nicklas Lidstrom pinched to chip the puck past Price. The goal was setup by a Josh Gorges turnover in the corner where he didn't seem to know what to do with the puck.
Once again, if it wasn't for a brilliant performance by Carey Price, this one could have been over in the first.
The turning point of the game was when Andrei Kostitsyn missed an open net in the dying seconds of the Habs second period power play. Right after the play, Pavel Datsyuk outskated Hal Gill and backhanded a seeing-eye shot top corner over Price to make it 3-1 wings.
Had Kostitsyn scored that goal this would have been a different game.
The Wings would add another before the period was out to go up by two. Undaunted, the Canadiens took the play to the Red Wings for the entire third period. From the drop of the puck, they dominated play outshooting the Wings 19-3 and 38-32 on the night, as they blitzed the Detroit zone.
Detroit netminder Howard had to make several spectacular saves to maintain the lead but, with the Habs pressing, Benoit Pouliot wired one past him to make it a one-goal game. Try as they may, however, the Habs comeback just ran out of track and their constant trips to the penalty box early in the game came back to haunt them.
The Wings sealed the deal with an empty-netter.
Despite the loss, the Canadiens showed that they can not only play with the best but that they can also dominate them, as they did in the third period. If there were ever any doubts about whether this Canadiens team was for real or not, those questions were answered last night. This is a loss that feels like a win for the Canadiens as they showed that they can compete with the best in the league.
Notice has been served.
Scary moment of the night
Tomas Plekanec charged into the Wings zone, popped the puck around Brian Rafalski and then tried to sidestep the Wings' defenseman. Rafalski stuck out his butt and cracked Plek in the knee, sending him down in a heap. Plek stayed down for a minute or so as Habs fans everywhere held their breath, but eventually made it back to the bench and was no worse for wear.
Final score: Wings 4 - Habs 2
Habs' scorers: Travis Moen (3), Benoit Pouliot (7)
Red Wings' scorers: Nicklas Lidstrom (4), Niklas Kronwall (6), Pavel Datsyuk (10), Patrick Eaves (5)
Three stars: 1. Pavel Datsyuk, 2. Dan Cleary, 3. Jimmy Howard
Game Notes
1. This game was a true goaltending duel.
Jimmy Howard got the third star of the game and without him, Detroit would have been buried by the Habs in the third. Carey Price, however, was not included in the three star selections which, to me, was a bit of a surprise. His 17-save first period was the only reason why the Habs were still alive in the second and still had a chance to win the game.
That being said, both goaltenders were at the top of their games as their speedy, skill-based teams attacked each other's defensive zones and had a bevy of scoring chances.
It is no wonder that these two keepers are one and two in the league for wins—17 for Price and 16 for Howard.
Much of the talk before the game was about the crease-crashing and goalie-screening abilities that players like Todd Bertuzzi, Tomas Holmstrom and Johan Franzen had and they did not disappoint. Price made several incredible saves during the first period with Detroit players crashing around him like waves against the shore.
His ability to stay focused and find the puck through traffic is at an elite level and nothing seems to rattle him.
While the two teams were evenly matched and it would be amazing to see a seven-game series between them, the Wings are much better at going to the net than the Canadiens.
You would hope that any moves the Habs decide to make will work to bring in players who excel in that department.
2. I guess P.K. Subban is human after all.
Playing his first game back since a three-game stint in the press box, Subban looked mortal at best. Most of the night he was invisible and when he was visible he was usually turning the puck over, forcing a play or otherwise making mistakes.
The only time Subban did anything that was really noteworthy was on the Habs lone power play of the game, where he did an excellent job of holding the blueline. Apart from that he seem to be reserved, over-thinking things, trying not to make a mistake and overall not playing his game.
It is very unfortunate to see a player and a person who is all about confidence look like an insecure rookie. Hopefully Subban will still be in the lineup against the Leafs tonight, because it looks like it might take him a few to get his mojo back.
It seems that Jacques Martin's strategy with Subban has so far only served to destabilize the young defenseman.
3. Tomas Plekanec has become one of the best two-way players in the league.
There were several shifts during the first period where Plekanec showed why he has become one of the best two-way forwards in the league, and why I believe he will be a finalist for the Selke Trophy at season's end.
Plekanec was often charged with shutting down the Pavel Datsyuk/Henrik Zetterberg line and he did an excellent job in that department. He was all over the defensive zone often shadowing Datsyuk to ensure he couldn't get anything going offensively.
There were also a few sequences on the penalty kill where Plekanec skated the puck into the Wings' zone, and proceeded to take about 20 seconds off of the clock by circling and cycling the puck all by himself. On one instance, he even ended his shift by moving the puck back to his defense who then fired it down into the Red Wings' zone, killing off even more time.
Plekanec has truly come into his own as one of the most complete players in the league and it is a real tossup between him and Price for team MVP.
4. The Habs need to learn discipline.
I know the Habs have an excellent penalty kill but they have to learn discipline.
As of this morning, the Habs are the ninth most penalized team in the NHL with 112 power play opportunities against. For a team that is based on skill not toughness, that number seems to be inordinately high.
Last night the Habs took four penalties in the first, including a 5-on-3, and completely killed any momentum they might have had. Fortunately for the Habs, they have the No.1 ranked PK in the league at 89.3 percent. The problem, however, is that when you take so many penalties your offensive players spend too much time on the bench. Players like Cammalleri and Andrei Kostitsyn are better served working in the offensive zone than sitting on the bench.
Moreover, it's harder for these players to get involved in the game without being on the ice, and that's why the Habs had such a hard time getting anything going until the third period. While many are complaining about the refs this morning I believe that the Habs were masters of their own fate.
Last night the Red Wings had the puck on their sticks more often than not and when you are constantly chasing the puck you have a tendency to take a lot of penalties. Given the trapping system that the Habs tend to play, it means that their opponent often has the puck and they try to take it away from them, leading to hooking, tripping and slashing infractions.
When the Habs are drawing penalties it's always when they have the puck on their sticks and are skating hard. Last night, they didn't really do that until the third period and it cost them the two points.
5. Dustin Boyd is an excellent addition to the lineup.
Scott Gomez, who is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury, accompanied the team on this two-game road trip. That being said, there is still no official word on the extent of his injury.
As such, the Habs reinserted Dustin Boyd into the lineup to play the fourth line center position and he did not disappoint.
I liked what I saw from Boyd during training camp and felt his size, skill, speed and toughness would be an excellent addition to the Habs' bottom-six. Coach Martin didn't feel the same way, however, and Boyd has been a healthy scratch for most of the season as a result.
Last night, Boyd played in only his 10th game of the season but he delivered exactly the kind of match that can make him an important part of a winning team. Paired with Maxim Lapierre and Tom Pyatt, the Habs fourth line caused all kinds of problems in the Detroit zone as their aggressive forecheck wore down the opposing defenders.
During the third period Coach Martin started double-shifting Cammalleri, placing him on the wing with Boyd and Lapierre and that trio had some of the Habs' best scoring chances.
The one downside to Boyd's game is that he wasn't very good in the faceoff circle, winning only 40 percent of the draws he took. That being said, none of the Habs' centerman did very well in that department last night with Plekanec being the leader at a 52 percent success rate.
I hope they can find a way to keep Boyd in the lineup regardless of Gomez's status, because he is the perfect pivot for an energy line and has enough offensive skills that he should be able to pot more than just the occasional goal.
Standings and Next Game
The loss moves the Habs' record to 18-9-2 with 38 points in the standings, first place in the Northeast division. The Bruins, winners of two straight games, are three points back of the Canadiens with two games in hand.
There is no time to dwell on the loss as the Habs are in Toronto tonight to take on the Leafs. There is no word yet on who the starter will be but you would have to think that it might be time to give Alex Auld a go.
Tonight's game is the first NHL game ever to be broadcast in 3-D so have your blue and red glasses ready!
The puck drops at around 7:05 pm.
Note
Don't forget to listen in to the Team 990 tomorrow morning from 8 - 9 am for the Sunday Shinny with Nick Murdocco, Gary Whittaker, Amanda Stein and me. http://www.team990.com
(Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images North America)
