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Habs Have a System that Works for Them |
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A hockey coach will often tell you to that focus should be on the process, even if the results are what we base our judgements on.
If you focus on the process the Canadiens have entertained, they're playing a style of hockey that best suits their biggest asset-- speed.
I asked Ryan White and Brandon Prust what they liked most about Therrien's system. Their answers were the same.
"Everyone's bought into it."
Ok. But I was looking for something technical.
"Aggression."
Prust outlined the aggression of the Canadiens' forecheck, which has the first forward in on an aggressive line with the second forward close by to follow up. In English, the idea is constant pressure and puck support.
Watch the Canadiens blueliners step up in the neutral zone when the failed forecheck returns to apply back-pressure.
In their own end, the Canadiens are overloading the puck-side. As a result, the puck remains on the outside if it's not in their control, and the back-pressure makes scoring on the rush very difficult for their opponents.
A system is as good as the players executing it. The players like Therrien's system. It's a real team-system. It's not a freestyle for offensively gifted players. It's a team effort in every area of the ice.
Think about how this team is constructed. They have no prolific scoring threat-- and that's not to knock Max Pacioretty, Erik Cole or Tomas Plekanec. The point is, they don't have Rick Nash, nor Brad Richards, nor Marian Gaborik.
It's not a coincidence that the scoring on the Canadiens is spread throughout the lineup. It's not a coincidence that when they do win, they're scoring at least three goals. If you watched 24CH, it's one of the clearest philosophies Therrien abides by.
The Habs aren't the best team in the league. They're not even the best in their conference. But their committee is proving to be stronger than most of their competition's. They have a clear identity as a good team; a team that's remarkably tough to play against.
Montreal's committee approach is what will have them persevere through adversity in the same fashion they did last week, erasing three straight losses with three straight wins.
They'll face adversity again. They'll lose consecutive games. They'll suffer injuries. But they know how they want to play, and they've proven they can play the way they want, and that bodes as well for the present as it does for their future, as prospects have kick-started their National Hockey League development in a successful environment thus far.
Thirty percent of the season's been played. The Canadiens are a playoff team.
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-Full marks to Peter Budaj. He was great when he needed to be against the Canes.
-Subban's best game of the season to date. He was all over the ice last night, and in full control.
-Good things happen when you put the puck on net, right Max Pacioretty?
-Big night ahead for Brandon Prust after a big night against the Canes. This was perhaps Marc Bergevin's best off-season acquisition on the player personnel side of things.
-"Most comfortable he's looked in two weeks"-- Prust on Galchenyuk last night.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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