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A Habs Weekend to Remember |
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1) Obviously, that was unexpected. After a dominant first period against the Sens--a tie game to show for their efforts--and a total momentum swing in period two, the Canadiens victimized themselves with some terrible defensive lapses that enabled the Sens to grab a 4-1 stranglehold. And just like that, like the Ultimate Warrior shaking the ropes in the ring while Hogan's pounding him over the head with double-fisted tomahawk swings, the Canadiens scored, and they scored again, and they scored again, and they scored again!
Sure, it epitomized the character of the Canadiens, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that it was a far more accurate representation of the Senators.
At 4-1, I turned to John Lu--my next door neighbor in the pressbox--and said: "I know this is going to sound crazy, but this Ottawa team has a tendency to blow third period leads, and this one's probably not over." If I was aware of the tendency, surely the Canadiens were.
All it took was one goal to get that party started, and then the Hockey Gods took over.
From my angle (from everyone's angle, except for the referee's) it looked like Robin Lehner had that puck covered before David Desharnais punched it loose. But the referee was standing right there, and surely he saw what we couldn't, and Max Pacioretty stabbed it to Francis Bouillon, and the rest was history.
The Sens were understandably upset, and they certainly had cause for complaint, but I doubt they were anything less than disgusted with themselves for allowing that outcome to become possible.
2) Fair to say that P.K. Subban brought his game back up to Norris-level this weekend?
Saturday's display certainly lends credence to the assertion. But man, he was just as good in Buffalo, where the Canadiens beat the Sabres 2-0 to grab four points on the weekend, recapturing 2nd place in the division.
If the playoffs started today, the Habs would open up with home-ice advantage against the Leafs. How exciting would that be?
3) Thomas Vanek came to the Canadiens with the reputation of being a big-time goal-scorer, and when the multiple chances he's getting every game start becoming goals, none of that will be debatable. I'm not sure how many Canadiens fans knew how good of a playmaker he is though.
Vanek has exceptional hands, and his passing, his vision, his poise, they make the line he's playing on so much more threatening. If these guys stick together, they will not be kept off the board.
4) Everyone was understandably excited about the reunion of the Alex Galchenyuk, Lars Eller and Brendan Gallagher, but they did the one thing Saturday that would have Therrien split them up immediately. They cheated in the defensive zone on the hopes of creating quick transition, rush goals, and it cost them dearly. These three were a combined -11 before Therrien pulled Gallagher off the line in favor of Gionta, and then Eller scored his first goal in 24 games.
In Buffalo, Eller's line with Gionta and Galchenyuk sure spent a lot of time in the offensive zone. But the most exciting part of this change Therrien made: Watching Gallagher, Plekanec and Briere work together.
Everyone thought Plekanec and Gionta were tied together by their roles, but the balance this change afforded made Montreal's 2-0 win against Buffalo look like a 10-0 win. It was a dominant performance, with four lines of offensive pressure, and very few defensive blunders.
5) Hmmmm, very few defensive blunders... wonder why that was?
Some might suggest it had something to do with sitting Douglas Murray.
I'd say that was definitely part of it.
You could say it has a lot to do with the Canadiens owning the puck for roughly 80% of the game, but you could also say they owned the puck for roughly 80% of the game because Murray wasn't giving it away on all of his shifts.
Some people will say that...
6) Some people don't believe Francis Bouillon has a place in the NHL.
I'm not going to suggest he should be averaging 23:00/night, and given regular powerplay duties, but I defy any of you to not admit that he was one of Montreal's best players this weekend.
Bouillon came up huge against Ottawa, but he played outstanding against Buffalo. Really, outstanding.
7) The Canadiens are 8-1-1 when Dale Weise is in the lineup.
Note to coach Therrien--don't take Dale Weise out of the lineup.
There was no doubt that the Canadiens destroyed Raphael Diaz's value. He had value at a point this season, and there wasn't going to be a commitment made to bring him back. Not with Subban and Markov up for contracts, not with Beaulieu in the wings, not with Emelin extended.
What did the Canucks do to Weise's value? They couldn't have used his competitiveness?
Marc Bergevin took a piece off his team that was no longer of use to them, and he replaced it with a piece that has become valuable to the team's success.
Of course Weise isn't the reason the team's 8-1-1 when he's in the lineup, but he's given the Canadiens another vital option on their fourth line, and whether it's with Prust and Moen or White and Bournival, the guy has consistently played his role well.
Understandably, the Canadiens were pretty happy to see him cash in with a goal against Buffalo.
8) I was asked on the TSN 690 pregame show yesterday how I'd evaluate Michel Therrien's performance--to date.
I gave him a B+, because regardless of several curious decisions--plenty of which I've dissected and disagreed with in this space--he's been successful.
I also noted on the air that there's one thing about Therrien that makes him so hard to grade:
When things are sliding, it seems as though every single decision the guy makes is the wrong one.
When things are going well, he gets into a groove, and seemingly makes all the right calls.
You can be the biggest Therrien hater in the world, but how are you not going to credit him for some of the calls he made this weekend?
-Having a talk with Vanek and making sure he's okay with moving to the right wing.
-Scratching Bourque.
-Reuniting the kids to give them a chance.
-Pushing Gionta down a line.
-Pushing Gallagher up one.
-Leaving Price at home Sunday, knowing they surely weren't going to play him back-to-back.
-Giving Tokarski the start in Buffalo to mitigate against what Budaj's been offering of late.
-Scratching Murray.
-Letting Subban loose.
-Rolling four lines.
-Sticking with Briere.
It's up and down, and it's all subject to criticism. Canadiens fans just have to hope it's up at the right time!
9) Speaking of Tokarski, congrats to him for his first NHL shutout. It's only been two games, but Tokarski is making a clear case to the Canadiens that he has value, and he should be worrying Budaj about what the future holds for both of them.
Budaj is under contract through next season, but he better have his head on a swivel...
10) While the Canadiens were making Zack Smith look like Sidney Crosby, Carey Price was finding his way back to normal in the game. He made a save on the sixth breakaway he faced in the game, right before Eller managed to throw King Kong off his back to make it 4-2.
Price will be ready for Colorado on Tuesday, and you get the sense the Canadiens will be ready too.
And the fans; they're going to get a treat with Patrick Roy in town and the high-octane Avalanche taking on a Canadiens team with depth and momentum. It should make for one of the most exciting games of the year.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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