Top 10 Reasons Michel Therrien Is Failing The Grade... Again

Similar to last season, but after 29 games and a 17-10-2 this time, the Montreal Canadiens have seen their first place overall in the NHL evaporate due to poor play in recent weeks, going 3-6-1 in their last ten games and failing to win consistently, especially on the road.

First in the NHL not a long time ago, the Canadiens are now ranked 11th in the league with only a seven-point lead of the ninth place Florida Panthers who have four games in hand on the Habs...

Let’s see 10 reasons why Michel Therrien needs to change his way of coaching or to be fired if GM Marc Bergevin and owner Geoff Molson have any hopes to see their team make the playoffs this season.

1. The slow starts almost every game: the Canadiens have scored only NINE GOALS in the first period, good for last place in the NHL. At the same time, the team is 6th in the league with 26 goals allowed in the first frame for a goal differential of -18 in the first period. -18! You cannot give up the lead every game and expect to win every time. Therrien just can't seem to prepare his team correctly. The Canadiens are the only playoff team with a negative goal differential this season (-2).

2. His ingrained man-crush on David Desharnais. While I like David as a person, Therrien needs to stop giving him every chance to succeed and remove him from Max Pacioretty's line. The diminutive pivot has only one even-strength goal this season and two in 29 games. He only has 15 points overall and is currently on pace for a mere 42 points over a full season. Despite his lack of offensive production, the head coach keeps giving him first power play duties as well as plenty of ice time. In Dallas, Desharnais played a season-low 14:43 minutes... that's not what I call "benching".

3. His consistent use of veterans such as Bryan Allen, Mike Weaver or Tom Gilbert over youngsters Nathan Beaulieu and Jarred Tinordi. The two young defensemen are currently playing in the AHL while the above veterans keep making mistake after mistake. The same happened up front with Rene Bourque and Travis Moen who had to be traded by Marc Bergevin so that rookie Jiri Sekac could draw into the line-up every night. 

4. His constant line juggling and questionable decisions regarding his offensive lines and defensive duos. For example, Therrien keeps pairing two righties together in Gilbert and Weaver, while he sticks two lefties together in Gonchar and Emelin. His constant use of grinder Dale Weise on a line with David Desharnais and Max Pacioretty is comical at best. 

5. His affinity for a dump-and-chase style of play with a passive forecheck is not working. Because of the small size of the club’s forwards, the Habs would be better suited to adopt a west-east approach instead of a north-south strategy that is simply not working. The team needs to penetrate the offensive zone with the puck instead of dumping it and failing to retrieve it. The Habs need to forecheck with two forwards and use their speed to create turnovers in the offensive zone instead of letting the opposing teams come out of their zone too easily and enter the neutral zone without any pressure.

6. The utilization of natural center Alex Galchenyuk on the wing, even though players like Lars Eller and David Desharnais have struggled mightily at times. We finally saw Chucky at center last game due to the injury to Eller, but we can bet he will be back on the left wing for the contest against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday.

7. Poor defensive positioning had led to numerous scoring chances from the opposing teams and if it were not for Carey Price’s and Dustin Tokarski's stellar play, the Canadiens would have a far worse record. The defensemen have a hard time making a good first pass, often icing the puck because of an inaccurate pass or clearing the puck by the boards with the wingers having no real opportunity to catch the pass and make a clear exit of the defensive zone. The team is so discombobulated in the defensive zone that the opponents have been able to take advantage of this flaw.

8. The indiscipline of the team: while the Canadiens are 28th in the league with only 76 power play opportunities, and converting them at a dismal 14.5% rate, the team is 29th in the NHL with 105 penalty kill situations so far. Luckily for Therrien, his PK unit is doing the job, killing 83.8% of the penalties good for 11th overall. The team's penalty ratio is a pedestrian -31 differential on the season, a big reason why the club is in a downward spiral at the moment.

Therrien is clueless most of the time.

9. The inability to adjust the power play units after the early season failure. The solution is quite simple as the team needs to use movement and quick passes to free up Subban and his lethal one-timer to have any kind of success. I analysed the situation a few weeks ago here.

10. His inability to adapt during games and to match up his lines, especially at home where he is supposed to have the advantage with the last change. We have often seen the Canadiens get caught with their fourth line on the ice while the opponent’s first line jumps on the ice; situations that often led to a goal.

Below you will find the Habs’ expected lines for Tuesday’s match-up against the Canucks:
Max Pacioretty – Alex Galchenyuk – Brendan Gallagher
Sven Andrighetto – Tomas Plekanec – Jiri Sekac
Michael Bournival – Deavid Desharnais – P-A Parenteau
Brandon Prust – Manny Malhotra – Dale Weise
Extra: Eric Tangradi

Once again I am puzzled at the hockey decisions made by Michel Therrien and his coaching staff.

As for the defensive pairings, nobody has a clue what the duos will be and who is going to play or be scratched since both Bryan Allen and Mike Weaver seem to be injured and the team has yet to call up another defenseman from Hamilton…

It sounds like Therrien is quickly losing his dressing room as a result of poor decisions this season… 
Is it time to panic in Montreal, or it's simply a bump in the road?

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Game 26 - Canadiens at Avalanche

#MTLHockey Preview

 
Match Up

The Canadiens (16-7-2) start their four game road trip in Colorado on Monday to face the Avalanche (9-10-5). The game starts at 9:00 Eastern time and airs on RDS and Sportsnet East.

This is the second and final meeting between the Habs and Avs this season. The Canadiens won the first game 3-2 in Montreal on the strength of three second period goals. PK Subban scored twice in that match, including the game winner, and took first star honors.

What to Watch

Carey Price is 6-2-0 in his last 8 games, allowing just 12 goals in that span, and just 8 at even strength. Price has stopped 87 of the last 90 shots he's faced, good enough for a .967 save percentage in his last three games. Dale Weise picked up his sixth assist of the season in Montreal's 4-3 shootout loss to the Sabres on Saturday. With 10 points in 22 games this season, Weise is just six points away from matching his career high.

The Avalanche have won three of their last four coming into Monday's game, led by Gabriel Landeskog, who has two goals and six points in that span. Nathan MacKinnon has also been hot as of late, he has seven assists in his last five games.

What's at Stake

The Canadiens are one of six teams leading the NHL with 34 points on the season, although they've played more games than the other five. Colorado is at the bottom of their division and, like the Sabres, are allowing on average more than three goals a game. The Canadiens can use a solid victory against the Avs to rebound from a less than stellar pair of games against the Sabres Friday and Saturday.

Who's Out

Tom Gilbert was a healthy scratch in Montreal's last two games as Michel Therrien has had to juggle his defensive pairing to make room for new additions Sergei Gonchar and Bryan Allen. Michael Bournival (shoulder) is nearing a return to action, although there is still no word on when he is expected to dress next.

The Avalanche are without their starting goalie, Semyon Varlamov (groin). They're also missing center John Mitchell (leg), Mark-Andre Cliche (undisclosed), and Jamie McGinn (back). Veteran defensman Brad Stuart (hamstring) is day-to-day.

What Else

After a long break last week, the Habs go right back to the grind with four road games in six nights. They'll travel over 2100 miles during the trip, from Denver to Minneapolis to Chicago and then Dallas, before returning home to the Bell Centre for a five game homestand.

The Question Mark

Who was your Habs top performer of the month for November?

Tonight's Show

Join host Steven Hindle along with Kosta Papoulias and Rob Elbaz for the Montreal Hockey Talk Pregame Show as we go live at 8:00 to preview the Canadiens and the Avalanche.

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Game 22 - Canadiens at Bruins

#MTLHockey Preview

Match Up

Hockey's greatest rivalry continues Saturday night when the Canadiens (15-5-1) face the Bruins (13-8-0) in Boston. The game is set to start at 7:00 and airs on TVA-Sports and Sportsnet.

This is already the third of four games between the Habs and Bruins this year, and the first in Boston. The Habs have won both their games versus the Bruins already this season by a combined score of 11-5. Max Pacioretty has three goals and two assists already this season against the Bruins, and Brendan Gallagher has two goals and two assists in the series.

What to Watch

P.A. Parenteau had another solid game on Montreal's top line against the Blues on Thursday, springing Max Pacioretty on a breakaway for the game winning goal. Pacioretty, who turned 26 Thursday night, had a pair of goals bring him up to ten on the season. He also has nine points in his last seven games.

Although the Bruins are an ailing team, they were able to fend off the equal beat up Blue Jackets Friday night, winning 4-3 on a goal in the seventh round of an otherwise scoreless shootout. Alex Khokhlachev broke the deadlock to grab the extra point for Boston.

But enough about all that, watch Milan Lucic get dropped:

What's at Stake

The Canadiens have won both their games this season against the Bruins, but this is also their first visit to Boston. The league leading Habs can put a bit more distance on the rest of the league with a win against a hurting Boston squad.

Who's Out

The Habs are without Michael Bournival (shoulder), they still have just 12 healthy forwards on their roster.

The Bruins are suffering going into Saturday's game, missing many key pieces. Zdeno Chara (knee), David Krejci (undisclosed), Adam McQuaid (broken thumb) are all out and Brad Marchand (undisclosed) is day to day and did not play Friday night.

What Else

Marc Bergevin completed his second trade of the season prior to Thursday's game, sending Rene Bourque to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defenseman Bryan Allen. Allen, a former teammate of Bergevin, joins the team in Boston and is expected to dress for his first game as a Hab. The 6'5" defenseman has played 716 NHL games split between the Canucks, Panthers, Hurricanes and Ducks. He has 29 career goals and 135 points.

The Question Mark

With Sergei Gonchar and now Bryan Allen joining the team, how should Habs management use Nathan Beaulieu and Jarred Tinordi this season?

Tonight's Show

Join host Steven Hindle along with Kosta Papoulias and Rob Elbaz for the Montreal Hockey Talk Pregame Show at 6:00 Saturday night as we go live from the Peel Pub at 1196 Peel to preview the Habs and Bruins.

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Almost Bourque Traded to Ducks for Bryan Allen

When we thought Marc Bergevin could not make a better deal than the Moen vs Gonchar trade, we learned today that the Montreal Canadiens had traded disappointing forward Rene Bourque to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for rugged defenseman Bryan Allen.

The 34-year-old Allen comes to Montreal only played six games this season after sustaining an injury that cost him the first 14 games of the year. A physical defender, Allen has only one point this season, playing 18:12 on average per night. The 6'5'', 225-lb, native of Kingston, Ontario will provide leadership, size and grit to the Habs' blue line, qualities that were missing this season, especially against bigger teams.

The former Vancouver Canucks and Florida Panthers, among other teams, is also in the last year of a three-year, $10.5 million deal that pays him $3.5 million annually. The move will allow the Canadiens to clear more cap space for next season as Rene Bourque was slated to receive $2.5 million for a cap hit of $3.33 million.

After a poor start on the season,. #AlmostBourque had been demoted to the Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL. In 13 games with the Canadiens, Bourque had no goal and only two assists with a -9 rating before being put on waivers and demoted after clearing. There was no money retained in the deal on either side.

At first glance, this trade gives the Canadiens a lot of depth on the blue line, pushing young defenseman Nathan Beaulieu on the outside looking in and probably on a bus to Hamilton after a disappointing start to the season.

You have to hand it to Bergevin has he was able to clear out $5.183 million in cap space for this upcoming summer by swapping Travis Moen for Sergei Gonchar and Rene Bourque for Bryan Allen. This will allow him plenty of room to re-sign impending RFAs Brendan Gallagher, Alex Galchenyuk, Michael Bournival, Jarred Tinordi and Nathan Beaulieu.

The bad news is that Bryan Allen is on the decline and that is not a good puck moving defenseman who struggles against faster teams. Allen's Corsi is at 48.4% which is not too bad considering he is not an offensive juggernaut and he has been hampered by nagging injuries the last three seasons.

Also, we know that Michel Therrien loves his veterans, so this basically spells the end for Beaulieu and Tinordi this season and we can expect Allen to rotate with Tom Gilbert and Mike Weaver on the team's third pairing. 

The other possibility is that Bergevin will trade a defenseman for some offensive help, especially on the wings where the Habs could use a big power forward to play with the team's smaller pivots. 

Finally, I think Bergevin made the last two deals to clear cap space after the current season to land a big fish via trade from a team which is sitting tight against the cap such as the Blackhawks, the Bruins, the Capitals or the Flyers, Remember when the Booins traded Johnnny Boychuk for some picks before the season due to cap space problems... Well Boychuk now has 2 goals and 10 helpers for 12 points in 17 games with a +5 rating!

Do you like this trade? If not, why?

No Foolin' Fred Poulin

Follow me on Twitter at @FredPoulin98

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