The Canadiens may be 8-2, but it sure seems like they're playing with fire. Last night's game against the Flames--their first win at the Saddledome in 12 years--was about as poor of a game as you can play without losing it, and the inability to score first through all but one of these opening 10 games is a troubling sign, if you're looking for one.
Montreal's got a .000 win percentage when leading after one period, because they haven't led a single game after one period.
The Canadiens are 3/29 on the powerplay this season. And they're not getting enough practice in games, in that situation. At home, the Canadiens have drawn a total of eight powerplays in four games--tied for the least in the league, but the other three teams have only played two and three home games, respectively. Shockingly, they've scored on three of those eight powerplays, and yet, they haven't managed a single goal on 21 opportunities in the other buildings they've played in.
On the bright side, the Habs have vaulted into 5th in the NHL on the penalty kill, managing an 88.4% success rate. Can't emphasize the importance of that enough because the Habs are leading the league in times shorthanded (43).
The speed game is there. The Habs are dominant on the bubble. But if their trouble drawing penalties and scoring on powerplays aren't indications that they can be a lot more intense and be a lot more committed to the inside lanes on the ice...
I digress...8-2.
That's about as far as I can delve into the Canadiens before mentioning Carey Price. He should be the only name mentioned in this blog, and he will be when it comes to things that went right for the team in Calgary last night.
Pick one of the 37 saves Price made as your highlight of the night. Maybe you like one of the three he made in the shootout. There was nothing the Flames could do to solve Price, and there was nothing the Canadiens could do to save him. And yet, by the time that 6th Calgary powerplay came on in the third period, you just knew Price had already netted the team one point, and their shootout prowess got them the other.
So long as Price remains unbeatable, the Habs have a chance to fix the blemishes without other teams exposing them.
Therrien's done a magnificent job producing wins with his lineup choices--curious as they may be. Could the Canadiens have used the speed of Jiri Sekac or Michael Bournival last night? Perhaps they'd have been options over Lars Eller (5:46 of ice after a brutal penalty at 16:01 of the second period pushed Therrien to park him for the rest of the game), and Rene Bourque (7:47), and yet, they got assists (no they didn't, but they made the play happen) on Tom Gilbert's first goal as a Canadien (nice to see Habs fans cheering for Gilbert, for once).
Still, If Therrien was going to shorten the bench so much with the team playing back-to-back, it being their third game in four nights, doesn't it make sense to have fresh legs to turn to??
I digress... CAREY F. PRICE (in Mike Boone's voice).
Here's
my hit on the morning show with Elliott Price, Shaun Starr and Conor McKenna of TSN 690. I'm breaking down the broken powerplay, the Rene Bourqueless Canadiens--and what they'd look like, the shootout prowess of this team (nice goal, Parenteau!) and the Dale Weise-Bourque connection for an offensive zone faceoff in overtime!?!?!?!
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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