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A Fit for Vanek, A Life for Eller, Defensive Concerns... |
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1) Detroit-Pittsburgh back-to-back, Toronto, Los Angeles, Anaheim-Phoenix back-to-back, San Jose, no Carey Price, no Brandon Prust, no Michael Bournival, no Josh Gorges for the last couple; I don't think anyone was expecting better than 7/14 points. And though the Canadiens have dropped three of their last four games in regulation, they haven't really lost any ground in the standings.
They left for the West Coast death trap in 2nd place in their division, seven points up on the playoff bubble, and they return in 2nd place, now eight points up on the playoff bubble.
Price may not be ready for Wednesday's game against the Bruins. We'll see what a full practice will do for him on Tuesday, if he does in fact suit up for that. Prust will be back, and Bournival is getting closer.
2) Obvious point of concern: Josh Gorges' absence over the next two weeks (Actually, four weeks, as he had surgery today to repair a fracture in his hand). Not that Gorges has been the Canadiens' best defenseman, but there are a couple of reasons his loss stands out more than it should; Doug Murray and Alexei Emelin. Throw in a third factor--Jarred Tinordi's rawness--and you start to see there's a gap in this lineup.
Murray's played over 17 minutes in five of his last six games, and the only reason his ice-time was reduced in Phoenix was because the team just started getting hammered in the third period. Whether you like Murray or not (most people can't stomach it when he's on the ice) 21-27 shifts of his play isn't a winning proposition; it's a prayer, at best.
By the start of next season, I predict we're going to see the Emelin Canadiens fans have come to love. But until then, there's no way he can consistently be that player. Players don't just come off six-eight month rehab after knee surgery and light it up. Emelin's been in a matchup against top six forwards in virtually all of his games since returning, and he took a trip to Russia for the Olympics (abridged or not) while 75% of NHL players were chilling on the beach for two weeks. Catch-22 in his case, because who are the Habs going to play in his place?
Maybe the plan should've been to bring Tinordi up a long time ago. He needs as much NHL experience as possible to start taking some tough minutes away from Emelin and Murray, and right now he's being forced to sink or swim. This is good for him, but is it good for the Habs?
I digress. Plenty of people have suggested Gorges hasn't been on his 'A'-game in quite some time, but he's blocked more shots than anyone in the league, except for Andrew MacDonald. And if you don't think the Canadiens are going to miss that--especially with their starting goalie on the shelf--you're deluding yourself.
3) Assuming Carey Price comes back at 100%, there has to be concern that it might take him some time to get back to the elite level the Canadiens need from him. He's going from the hottest goaltending of his career to returning from a leg injury.
Makes it that much more important that the Canadiens continue to pick up cushion points without him, should he not be sufficiently rehabilitated to regain the net this week.
4) Getting back to the whole prayer thing, isn't that what putting Thomas Vanek with Tomas Plekanec and Brian Gionta was?
I mean, Therrien had to be praying that this could actually work, and then he could sell Lars Eller on a pure defensive role and alleviate some of the confusion Eller seems to have about what's expected of him.
Reality: You don't become an elite offensive player by exclusively playing north-south hockey. The very idea that Vanek would excel in minutes next to the two players with the strictest defensive roles on the team was a prayer indeed.
How defensively committed is Plekanec? He's got six points in his last 22 games, and we haven't exactly seen his game dip at all.
5) I wouldn't say the Earth shook, but on the two shifts Eller spent with Galchenyuk and Gallagher in San Jose, it looked as though he was actually alive.
And Vanek next to Pacioretty and Desharnais?
They looked great, bordering on excellent.
If Therrien wants to be stubborn--and let's face it, stubborn is his middle name--he practices Vanek with Plekanec and Gionta. He's got a better chance of finding gold buried under his house....
6) There's a lot of trepidation in the Canadiens fanbase that Michael Bournival will fall victim to the numbers game. It's most likely that he will.
The competition is stiff. But, you have to wonder if the coaching staff wants to revisit a combination that gave the Canadiens the fourth line balance they've been striving for all season; Bournival-White-Weise.
If Prust takes the space on Plekanec's line with Gionta--and this becomes Montreal's checking line (whoever's there--this is Montreal's checking line), this team becomes dynamic up front.
What does that mean?
It means Moen fights for a spot on Plekanec's line or on the fourth line.
It means Briere and Bourque find themselves on the sidelines more often than not. Hard decisions were made on Gomez and Kaberle before these guys, and it's time to start doing what's best for the team.
That said, Briere should be in competition to play on Plekanec's line, and he can fill in at fourth line centre if that's the only place available to him in the lineup. This all depends on the given opposition of the night.
As for Bourque... it's enough already. He's done an immaculate job proving that he can't help the team win.
Briere is hardly in this boat. Briere can help. Briere will help when the games matter most, even in a limited role.
7) Nathan Beaulieu can help too. He and Tinordi need to be in this lineup. They need to be in it, even if it means sitting Emelin down for a week.
Don't want to sit Emelin, then sit Murray.
Don't want to sit either of them, sit Weaver.
Now that the Habs finally have the options to balance out the forward lines, don't stifle them by not having enough puck-movers out there.
8) The Habs are 10-11 (including OT and shootout losses) when Subban plays more than 26:00.
What's more shocking about that stat, the fact that it's worse than .500, or that Subban's only played more than 26:00 in 21 of the Canadiens' 66 games?
Just so you know, Markov's played over 26:00 in 22 of their 66 games.
9) Montreal's currently at 18.8% efficiency on the powerplay (14th). Pretty sure Tinordi and Emelin aren't the answer.
Beaulieu's a given. What about finally putting a forward at the point on the second unit??
You could opt to place Plekanec there, offering his spot to Briere or Galchenyuk up front. Is it really not worth trying for a team that needs a top 10 powerplay?
10) I don't expect to see Dubnyk in Montreal if Price can't play this week, but the coaches better be more willing to see what Tokarski can offer them. Peter Budaj is way off his game right now, and that didn't matter as much before last week.
That said, Budaj's been pretty excellent against the Bruins throughout his career...
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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