If so, then that's what the Canadiens are playing like right now. A broken-down rustbucket.
As the Canadiens took on the Ottawa Senators in Montreal last night, you were hoping for a return to the kind of tenacious play that had made them so successful over the first 10 games of the season.
Instead, they looked tired and disorganized as they watched Ottawa take the play to them for most of the night.
Right now, it seems that very little is going right for the Canadiens.
Their defensive pairings are not working, none of the Canadiens goal-scorers are able to score, players who are known to be defensively responsible, like Scott Gomez, are making mistake after mistake and the power play continues to be a laughingstock—3-for-47, 30th overall in the NHL.
From the top to the bottom of their lineup, the Habs are misfiring, and the result was another half-hearted, disorganized loss to the Senators last night.
To their credit, the Sens are playing much better than during the first 10 or so games of the season. They took advantage of a porous Montreal defensive squad and outshot the Canadiens, 25-15, after two periods, 31-23 on the night.
The only reason this game wasn't over in the second period was because of the scintillating play of Carey Price.
The Habs had their chances, mind you, as the lack of physicality in the game allowed them to employ an effective cycle based off their speed and skill. But when they did have good scoring chances, Brian Elliott was there to shut the door.
Final score: Sens 3, Habs 2
Habs' scorers: Jaroslav Spacek (1), Brian Gionta (2)
Sens' scorers: Alex Kovalev (4, 5), Zack Smith (2)
Three Stars: 1. Alex Kovalev, 2. Carey Price, 3. Brian Elliott
Game Notes
1. It's Time To Send Lars Eller to Hamilton
I'm sorry, but a player as promising as Eller needs to be playing more minutes and absolutely cannot be wasted in the press box as he was last night. If the coach doesn't see him fitting into the lineup, then send him down to Hamilton and let him play top-line minutes. This will help him to continue seasoning.
If Jacques Martin, who does not have the best reputation of bringing along young players, is going to give Eller the press box treatment, then the latter should not be playing in Montreal.
This past week, Habs prospect Max Pacioretty came out publicly on Montreal airwaves (Team 990) to say that if he is was going to play in the top six with the Habs, he'd rather play the whole season in Hamilton.
Pacioretty went on to say that every time he made a mistake last year, he was demoted or put in the press box, and that hurt his confidence.
This is exactly the same treatment that Eller is getting from the wise old coach, right now, and I fear that it will do more damage than good. As such, I would rather the Habs send Eller to Hamilton and bring up a David Desharnais or Ryan White.
Please, oh please, Jacques Martin, don't destroy another promising prospect!
2. Price Was the Unsung Hero of the Game
When the Canadiens legs went to sleep in the second period and the Sens were blitzing the offensive zone, Price was the difference-maker. His excellent play kept the score close long enough for the Habs to climb back into things with a fluky, late second-period goal.
Price kept his teammates in the game again last night and gave them an opportunity to win the game.
But when Tomas Plekanec couldn't score on a short-handed break with the Habs trailing by a goal, the game was lost. On the ensuing play in the Canadiens zone, Kovalev scored his second of the game on what would end up being the winning goal.
3. Brian Gionta Was Better but Michael Cammalleri Was Worse
Gionta had more jump to his game, as he seemed to be skating with a sense of liberation on the Tomas Plekanec line, and he was rewarded with his second goal of the season late in the third period.
The goal was a bit of a lucky one on a shot from the outside that seemed to go through Elliott. But he'll take the goal and cross his fingers that it will dislodge that monkey's firm grip on his back.
The bigger problem for the Canadiens, right now, is that Gionta and Gomez's lethargy seems to have rubbed off on Andrei Kostitsyn and Michael Cammalleri.
AK46 has zero points and a minus-4 rating over his last five games, while Cammalleri has only two assists over his last six games.
Add that to Gionta's one goal and one assist in his last nine, and Gomez's one goal and two assists over 14 games, and you see why the Habs are struggling to win.
Right now, the Canadiens look a lot more like the .500 team from 2009-10 that was last in 5-on-5 scoring than the team that roared to a 7-4-1 record to start the season.
Cammalleri, in particular, played one of his worst games of the season. He looked tired, like the rest of the team, and when you're tired you tend to cheat and use your stick rather than take that extra stride. Cammy took a terrible slashing penalty to kill the Habs' 5-on-3 power play when the game was still tied at zero.
Had the Canadiens been able to score on that PP, it would have changed the entire complexion of the game.
4. Aside from Price, the Fourth Line is the Only Thing that Is Functioning
Benoit Pouliot looks as if he has rediscovered his confidence playing on the fourth line with Mathieu Darche and Jeff Halpern. That trio combined for some of the Habs' best offensive moments against the Senators last night. While they didn't score, if they can keep playing this well, they will provide valuable offensive depth.
There were a few shifts in the second period where the Habs were in the Sens zone for almost a minute each time, with Pouliot carrying the puck and controlling the play as his linemates used their gritty play to create time and space.
Even if they are not contributing offensively, lines like this can grab the momentum away from the opposition and help transfer it to the other lines.
Now if only the top-six could get going!
5. Speaking of Missing in Action, Where Is the Habs Third Line?
I have already stated that I am not a fan of Eller in the press box. That being said, there were three capable players on the third line last night, but the trio was completely invisible.
To a man, Maxim Lapierre, Dustin Boyd and Tom Pyatt contributed nothing to the Habs lineup last night. This further compounds the issues in the Canadiens offensive ranks, as a one-line team will not win many games. Especially when that one line is their fourth line.
Standings and Next Game
The loss moves the Canadiens to 8-5-1 with 17 points in the standings. Their hold on first place in the Northeast Division is tenuous with both the Senators and Bruins at 15 points in the standings. The Bruins also hold three games in hand.
The Canadiens are now entering a more difficult part of their schedule as they play Vancouver, Boston and Philadelphia over the next 10 days.
Hopefully Jacques Martin can use their two days off to find some stable lines before they welcome the surging Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday in Montreal. Tuesday's tilt will be the first real test of the season for the Canadiens, and with their recent swoon they are going to have their hands full.
The Habs are now 1-3-0 in their last four games, and were it not for a disheveled Sabres squad, they might be on a four-game losing streak right now.
(Photo by Phillip MacCallum/Getty Images North America)
2 comments:
What the heck Kamal...am I the only one who enjoys commenting on your articles on here?? Oh well, they are always a great read.
I didnt get a chance to see the OTT/MTL game but after reading your recap i agree with most of it.
Lars to Hamilton is now genius...earlier(like preseason) all the Habs bloggers were on the Eller wagon but his lack of production(and JM's lack of wanting to give him Top 6 mins) has switched everyone's opinion 180 degrees.
I say call up Max Pacioretty, he is big, skilled and exactly what the Habs need right now. I say make Max prove to everyone that he can back up his bold statements from this week. Give the kid a chance.
I think they should sit Spacek(even given his 2 pts vs OTT) and let Picard play. Picard has looked a lot better in the games i saw than Spacek. I am not an O'Byrne fan as he seems nervous with the puck on his stick.
Put Plek/Camm/AK46 back together...it was working. Tinker with everyone else on the G/G line.
Sit/send down Tom Pyatt, i know he does the little things very well but the Habs need offense right now. Let Maxwell or Desharnais provide a youthful spark.
Powerplay or Power outage. As I commented on a previous post. JM and his staff should view the Flames tapes from 2008-09 and setup their powerplay that way so that MC13 can regain his PP goal scoring machine status. If they refuse to do that then make the PP all about Markov and PK Subban firing bombs from the point every chance they get. Works for Mike Green.
If JM reads this comment I hope he takes one thing away from it...TELL SCOTT GOMEZ TO SHOOT THE PUCK!!! He is a wizard carrying the damn thing end to end but then he just stops dishes and nothing comes of it. LET THE MAN SHOOT!! They told that to Sid the Kid(not comparing the 2 at all) and his totals went from 24 to 33 to 51 goals. If Gomez could even get half that many it would be a successful tactic.
Well I am done ranting for now....bring on the Sedin bros....GO HABS GO!!!
Hey Hirky and thanks, as always, for your insightful comments!
I am still a fan of Eller and what he brings to the table but if the coach is going to sit him in the press box, I think his time is better spent in Hamilton and the Habs are better off calling up a White or a Desharnais.
Why waste his time in the press box? That will do nothing for his development, imo.
I agree re: Spacek. Sit him and bring in Picard. P has done well with limited minutes and Spacek has looked horrible!
Excellent point re: the first line. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
As much as I like Pyatt, I can't argue with replacing him with any of the players in Hamilton that are ready to take his spot. As much as he stood out last year, there are a bunch of players of equal or better skill who are ready to take his place (in Hamilton). I think he has become expendable.
The PP is really ugly right now and I honestly don't know what the answer is. I think a lot of it has to be psychological because there is too much talent on the PP for them to suck so hard for so long. 3-for-47? Ouch!
re: Gomez, while I hear what you're saying, he doesn't have a great shot. That being said, in those situations where he has no one to pass the puck to, it would be nice to see him try to shoot rather than just turning the puck over!
Big week this week starting with Vancouver on Tuesday. If the Habs are wishy-washy like they have been the last two games, they are going to get steamrolled!
Thanks again for you comments and support!
Post a Comment