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Timing is Everything, Short Notes on Habs

March 22, 2012, 11:44 AM ET [3221 Comments]
Habs Talk
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The Montreal Canadiens have scored 191 goals this season, and they sit in 15th place in the Eastern Conference.

In the West, the St. Louis Blues have hit the 100-point mark to lead the conference. They've scored 192 goals. The difference being, they've allowed 60 less than the Canadiens have this season.

Defense wins, and the Habs have lost far too much this season.

But the numbers don't really justify the discrepancy between both teams.

When the Blues need a good start to the game, they get it. When they need to close off an opponent while clinging to a one-goal lead, they do so.

Hockey's about momentum, control and timing, and the Blues have it.

The Canadiens got off to the worst start imaginable. They built habits, and even in their desperation to climb out of the hole, they failed to undo those habits--most of which were bad.

Not that they haven't endured a great deal of misfortune--be it related to the injuries they incurred, or the terrible bouts with luck that have overwhelmed any good fortune they've had.

If we could evaluate the team 20-minutes at a time, we could conclude that they're as good as they are bad. But this is about 60+ minutes, and only a fool would argue they've been good for that in most of their games.

They haven't found a complete effort in more than eight of the 74 they've played. And when they have put it all together, a little mistake here or there has been the difference between a win and a shootout loss.

The team's been playing without hope of the playoffs for well over a month now. They've played with pride and proven that they have some pieces to build around.

But, against a team fighting for its playoff life, the Canadiens showed they'd put pride aside for a night unscathed of bumps and bruises. They were a no-show in Buffalo, and who can blame them with World Championships, the end of misery, and vacation looming.

Will there be one final burst of brilliance before they dim lights on what's been a very dark season?

I'm sure there will be, though I have grave doubt it'll be against the Senators and Flyers this weekend.

After that, the Canadiens take on the Panthers, Rangers and Capitals. If they can't get up for those games--against three probable playoff teams, they cap the season against Tampa, Carolina and Toronto.

********

Short Notes:

1) If the team has any intention on keeping Tomas Plekanec, they better get him some linemates. Rene Bourque isn't going to do. Neither is Ryan White or Lars Eller.

2) If the team is forced to keep Rene Bourque and Tomas Kaberle, have both of them come back and put up top results in the fitness testing at training camp. If they fail, put them on strict diet and workout regiments until they pass. In today's league, you can't compete unless you're in top shape--especially if you aren't a top-flight player. Neither Bourque nor Kaberle are top-flight, but both can be so, so much better than they've shown with the Canadiens.

3) Max Pacioretty has dipped below even. He's -2 now on the season. Desharnais is +7 and Cole is +8. Guess he has an area of his game to concentrate on, moving forward.

4) P.K. Subban has played more than 28 minutes in each of the last four games. He's got two assists, nine shots on goal, is a +1, and has 13 penalty minutes. Those are great numbers considering how the Habs have been playing.

5) A guy who goes by the name @NHL_STATS on twitter mentioned that the NHL's modern-day record for most blocked shots in a season is 273 (Anton Volchenkov in 2006-07). With 219, Josh Gorges is making a solid run at it.

Dan Girardi led the league last season with 236.

Two seasons ago, it was Dennis Seidenberg with 215.

Three seasons ago, Zbynek Michalek got close with 271.

Gorges would have to block close to seven shots/game to reach the record, which would be insane, but entirely possible in his case.
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