Michael Cammalleri emphatically declared himself ready to play tonight, and in French no less. "Allons-y" were his exact words.
His return will hopefully spark an inconsistent Habs offense. In between five goal outburts against both Winnipeg and Colorado, Montreal has only managed two goals in its other three contests.
Pittsburgh will certainly be weary of his return. The Richmond Hill native has four goals and four assists in his last ten contests versus the Penguins.
The Importance of Scoring Early
One of the main reasons for Montreal's lack of success so far has to do with their inability to capitalize on their early chances. They could have rapidly built significant leads against both Toronto and Buffalo, but failed to do so.
As a result, both teams eventually found a way to fight their way into the game and take two points away from the Canadiens. This trend will need to change in a hurry or else Montreal may quickly find itself out of playoff contention.
- Last year, teams who scored first were 844-233-149.
- Teams leading after the first period also combined for a 604-123-79 record last season.
- Beyond the rather damning statistics above, failing to score early affords the opposition goaltender the chance to build his confidence and gives time for the rest of the opposition team to find its legs.
- Failing to score on early, high-quality chances also dents the confidence of Montreal's shooters. Tomas Plekanec must have been rather frustrated after missing that gaping net against Buffalo.
- How often do we see a team come out flat in the first period and then, after their coach rips them in the intermission, come out blazing in the middle frame? I'm sure Ron Wilson and Lindy Ruff were happy campers.
- Speaking of the importance of early starts, according to Eklund, only 15% of teams out of the playoffs on Halloween make it to the big dance. And, perhaps even more worthy of note, Elliotte Friedman pointed out that, since the lockout, only 7% of teams who were more than three points out of the playoffs on November 1st recovered to make the playoffs.
Montreal sit 13th right now.
--- Louis is an Associate Editor at HabsAddict.com and an Editor at HabsWorld.net. Louis was born in Chicago but grew up in Quebec City where he earned Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Université Laval. He currently lives in Ottawa and works for the Coaching Association of Canada. He can be reached at l.moustakas@habsworld.net.
Four game into the 2011-2012 NHL season, the Montreal Canadiens have already drawn the ire of their fans.
Now this is Montreal so, of course, people will jump to conclusions way to quickly, passing judgement on a season that has 78 games to go.
But alas, that is the business of hockey in the birth place of ice hockey.
So while many are lamenting the Habs 1-2-1 start to the season, there are many bright spots that are perhaps being overlooked.
Don't get me wrong, because the Canadiens have been absolutely horrible for large stretch of games. In addition, the injury bug has reared it's head early for the Habs, making life that much more difficult.
So let's dive in a take a look at the plus and minus of the Habs so far.
Plus
David Desharnais - The little-Hab-that-could, openly admitted that he didn't have a great training camp. Add to that a minor injury that had him sidelined for a few days, and he just didn't get this season started on the right foot.
Desharnais went so far as to say that he maybe took things a little for granted, since, armed with a bonafide NHL contract, for the first time in his career he didn't have to "prove" himself.
Well what a difference a few games makes, because Desharnais has gotten back to what made him successful and the Habs are reaping the benefits of his strong play.
Last game, a 6-5 shootout loss to the surging Colorado Avalanche, Desharnais got 23:17 of icetime. That's more than any player on the team not named P.K. Subban—he played 25:41.
More than Scott Gomez (16:45), more than Tomas Plekanec (21:37), more than Brian Gionta (17:49) and more than Erik Cole (15:06).
Flanked by Max Pacioretty and Andrei Kostitsyn, the Desharnais line was a threat every time they stepped on the ice.
They finished the night with five points (2G, 3A) and a collective plus-three rating. They also took 11 of the Habs 43 shots on the night.
Not a bad night's work!
Max Pacioretty - Speaking of Patches, Mr. Pacioretty has quickly put to bed any doubts about lingering effects of his devastating injury last season.
MaxPac is currently tied with Plekanec for the Habs scoring lead, with four points (2G, 2A) while averaging 18:16 of icetime to Pleky's 22:08.
In addition, he leads all Canadiens with 18 shots on goal and has a plus-one rating.
I picked Patches as my Habs breakout player of the year this season and I think he's got the goods to hit the 30-goal mark.
Lars Eller - Eller is a player that is coming off of major shoulder surgery. So much so that he didn't see a minute of icetime during the preseason and was entirely absent from training camp.
It would seem logical, then, that Eller would have some cobwebs to shake off, being inserted into the lineup for Game Two of the season.
But not so.
In the two games he has played so far this season, Eller has looked big and fast and has been one of the better players on whatever line he played on.
While I still maintain that he is better at center than on the wing, last game he played on the wing with Plekanec and Erik Cole, and was a force to be reckoned with.
He doesn't yet have any points to show for his effort, but watching him move out there you can see that he will be a major factor for Montreal this season.
Could Eller end up taking Gomez's spot at center if the former doesn't shape up?
Less icetime for Brian Gionta and Gomez - The Captain is averaging 18:16 of icetime to Gomez's 17:29.
They are playing less and the Habs are better for it.
Minus
Scott Gomez - For all the talk from Gomez at the end of last season, this is a guy who has yet to be a factor in any game.
We all know about his horrendous contract and his career low point totals from last season. But now, with three years left on a deal where the actual dollars paid to Gomez will decrease in each subsequent season, Gomez is on very thin ice.
Pun fully intended.
I still don't see the Habs moving Gomez this year but, if he continues to drag the team down there is a much higher chance of moving him next offseason.
Next summer his cap hit stays at $7.35 million but his actual pay falls to $5.5 million. That will make him more attractive to a team needing those artificial dollars to hit the cap floor.
But I digress.
Gomez, so far, looks more engaged than last season but is still not getting results.
Jacques Martin gave Gomez carte blanche last season. How long will his rope be this season?
Brian Gionta - Gionta has three points, through four games, with a goal, two assists and a plus-one rating. But something doesn't seem the same about him.
TSN 990's Tony Marinaro astutely pointed out that the captain isn't smiling as much as he used to.
Is he unhappy with his decreased icetime? Is he fed up of playing with Gomez? Does he not like the line juggling that Coach Martin is employing on a regular basis?
Who knows, but the Habs need him and his 30-goal-scoring abilities this season.
Also, what's up with all the defensive lapses? For shame...
The power play - The Habs are 19th overall with a 12.5% power play and 22nd overall with a 78.9% penalty kill.
Yes, it's early in the season, but neither of those numbers are good enough.
Like last season, the smaller Habs margin of error will be slight this year. As such, they once again need a top-10 PK and PP in order to be a playoff team.
The Habs made some progress on the PP last game, moving Plekanec to the half board, putting Yannick Weber back on the point and having a much more dangerous man-advantage as a result.
They went 1-for-3 against the Avs but looked much better out there. Hopefully, for Montreal, the new combination will continue to bear fruit.
Defensive zone coverage - The PK, on the other hand, has always been a place of strength for Montreal. Moreover, in a Jacques Martin coached system, the penalty kill always tends to be a strength.
But so far in this young season, the PK has looked disorganized at best.
Defensive zone coverage, in general, has not been a bright spot and the PK is no exception.
That being said, the Habs have too many defensive stalwarts for things to stay awry for too long. But, right now, it looks like the injuries on the back end are affecting the once hermetic defensive zone.
Subban - Settle down young man! It's too early to call it a sophomore slump, but P.K. hasn't looked very good so far this season.
Often out of position, trying too hard to make a play or a hit, Subban has been compromising the team, defensively, and hurting them in the process.
With Andrei Markov out—he is rumoured to be coming back by around Game 10—the Habs need Subban to be better. And, like last season when he struggled early, he just needs to simplify his game.
So what did you like and dislike about the first four games?
Topics include:
-Is wanting to take head shots out of hockey the same as wanting to get fighting out?
-Or are some jumping on the bandwagon
-Is there a solution?
-Will it ever be taken out?
-Is Don Cherry jumping the shark?
-Why single out players like Nilan and Grimson?
-Should he make an exception and recant (watch coaches corner tonight and adjust)
-Aaron Asham gesture after his fight…. Overreacting? Him or the fans?
Click play below to listen in (listing time 52:42):
--- Kamal is a freelance writer, Senior Writer/Editor-in-Chief of HabsAddict.com and Montreal Canadiens Blogger on Hockeybuzz.com. Kamal is also a weekly contributor to the Sunday Shinny on TSN Radio 990 (AM 990) every Sunday from 9 - 10 AM. Listen live at http://www.tsn.ca/montreal/
Topics include: -Is wanting to take head shots out of hockey the same as wanting to get fighting out? -Or are some jumping on the bandwagon -Is there a solution? -Will it ever be taken out? -Is Don Cherry jumping the shark? -Why single out players like Nilan and Grimson? -Should he make an exception and recant (watch coaches corner tonight and adjust) -Aaron Asham gesture after his fight…. Overreacting? Him or the fans?
Click play below to listen in (listing time 52:42):
