Sorry for the prolonged absence. I was out of town over the last week, and though I was away, I still managed to catch every Habs game.
Notebook from Carolina to Florida:
1) Incrementally, the Canadiens have learned some harsh lessons this season.
There was a disturbing trend over a series of roughly two weeks in which they were letting their guard down in the third periods of games, allowing teams like the Sabres, Lightning and Islanders to catch up to them. They dealt with that accordingly.
Rarely has the team not started on the right foot, but that 6-0 stomping to the Maple Leafs sure allowed for a quick realization that they have to come prepared to play from the start of every game.
The Habs have now officially been outscored 30-28 in the second periods of games. Throughout this road trip, it was clearly their Achilles' heel. But last night, in Florida, they seemed to have righted the ship.
2) As many people have already pointed out, the loss of Brandon Prust for longer than two weeks could've done major damage to the Habs. As it stands, he's not slated to miss any longer than that, and with the schedule being light, the feeling is that they got away easy on this one.
In Raphael Diaz's absence, Alexei Emelin has been a stud.
In Rene Bourque's absence, and with Erik Cole traded to Dallas, Michael Ryder's scored 2 goals and 7 assists in 7 games.
Captain Brian Gionta has 6 goals, 2 assists in his last 7 games. That gives him 16 points in 26 games (9 goals). Remember when you thought his career was dwindling? Incredibly impressive given what he's been through over the last year or so.
Without Prust, Ryan White, Gabriel Dumont, Travis Moen and Colby Armstrong did some heavy lifting against the Panthers. Let's see how they fare against Ottawa and New Jersey later this week.
3) How about that bounce back for Carey Price against the Hurricanes? He was outstanding in the game (41 saves) and he gave his team the confidence to go out and dominate the third period after the game got dicey in the second.
Price was up to the task in Tampa too, in one of the rare games the Canadiens had to steal this season.
Great effort all around in that one, especially in the third period, over which the Canadiens out-shot the Lightning 13-2. And what a play by Brendan Gallagher to seal the deal.
and then Peter Budaj steps in for a game against the Panthers, and the Habs make it a no-contest from the start.
The Habs allowed 17 shots (technically, 16, but Francis Bouillon's snipe job on Budaj counts against).
The Canadiens come home with 8 of 10 points in the bank, and boy did they earn a mini-break with no games until Wednesday. Rookie dinner took place last night, and I'm sure the team had a great time, and I'm even more sure Brendan Gallagher and Alex Galchenyuk were thrilled to have Gabriel Dumont and Greg Pateryn there to share the bill.
Speaking of Greg Pateryn, I seem to recall suggesting he had the ability to play some games at the NHL level this season. Not going rummaging through the archives for that one, but hey, thought the kid acquitted himself quite nicely in his first two games (playing back-to-back to start your NHL career isn't exactly easy).
What did you think of Pateryn?
4) While Sidney Crosby is assaulting the league with his all-world talent, making Chris Kunitz look like the second coming of Jari Kurri, here' s a great stat from loyal follower Noah Weinstein:
The Habs have 13 players (including Michael Ryder) in double digits in scoring. That's more than Chicago. More than Anaheim. More than the Leafs (they have 11). It's more than everyone. And Brandon Prust's sitting at nine points.
Seven Habs have more than 15 points in 26 (or less) games. Those are the kind of stats that really please coaches and general managers.
5) Another stat that will really please Therrien and Bergevin: this one from RDS last night: Habs lead the NHL in goals by defensemen with 17 (18 if you count Bouillon's second goal last night).
6) Here's a great problem to have:
When Bourque and Prust return to the lineup, assuming everyone else is healthy, how does Therrien shape his lines?
Right now, Michael Ryder's playing his off-wing with Gionta and Plekanec. Anyone want to mess with that line? They're killing it!
Say Bourque plays with Galchenyuk and Eller, well, I guess the third line just gets that much stronger.
But that leaves Prust with White and Moen, or Moen and Armstrong. We all know how important Prust has been to the team this year. According to his coach, he's having the best season of his career. And we all know he's going to command more than fourth line minutes.
This will likely amount to less playing time for Alex Galchenyuk. Not the end of the world.
Here's an interesting scenario: Bourque comes back and continues on the same pace he started on. Will Bergevin consider unloading him? You have to think someone might bite...
Or, Bergevin happily moves forward with one of the deepest lineups in hockey. Ya... I'm calling them that.
7) Alright, the Habs are in first in the conference. They're three points up on the Bruins. The Bruins who have four games in hand.
The Habs play five games between now and the 23rd of March. The Bruins play eight.
Say the Bruins jump over them in the standings, are we going to be sitting here talking about how they're a better team than Montreal is?
Seems to me that both are legit contenders this season.
8) What about the Penguins?
Same amount of games played as the Habs, and they're two points behind in the standings. And yes, they beat the Habs in what can only be described as one of the most exciting, but also one of the worst games either team has played this season.
Here's the thing...
The Penguins have allowed 10 more goals than the Habs have this season, but they've scored 13 more. What do you value more?
Montreal's +18 and Pittsburgh's +21.
Getting back to those stats from earlier: the Pens have only nine players in double digits. The thing is, of those nine, five of them have 24 points or more.
That's five players with more points than any player on the Habs has (Ryder leads with 23 points, and Pacioretty has 21 points--all of them scored with the Habs, in just 22 games).
And you know the Penguins will be adding.
What they should be adding is a defenseman who can play in his own end. The Pens have allowed more than four goals against in nine games this season. The Habs have only done that six times this season.
9) Not much of a mystery as to what Marc Bergevin will likely add to the Canadiens:
-A player like Brandon Prust... most common name mentioned--Ryan Clowe.
-A more seasoned, more physical player on the blue line.
Not that trade targets have to be UFAs, but looking at one playing for a bad team right now, that happens to be a UFA, Ryan O'Byrne would be interesting. I know, I'm going to receive considerable backlash for suggesting the Habs look at bringing back a former member of the team that wasn't exactly great here, but he's turned into a very reliable player since leaving the Canadiens.
Hits, blocks shots, will stand up to anyone, and he's a crease clearer. Not exactly a bad guy to add to the depth chart. At $1.8 mil prorated, on an expiring contract, he's a lot more attractive than say... Robyn Regehr at $4.2 mil prorated.
Like I said, maybe there's someone under contract for a while longer that might be more attractive to Bergevin to add to the mix for now, and for the future.
10) Last note goes to P.K. Subban, whom some are starting to mention as a Norris Trophy candidate. Not sure I'd push the envelope that far, but can't deny how good he's been for the Habs.
Subban has 18 points in 20 games, and he missed the first six of the season, nevermind the abridged training camp.
As I noted on twitter yesterday, seems Subban's started to listen to the 40 million Habs GMs that suggest it's alright for him to try a wrist shot once in a while instead of winding up from the ice to the moon for that slapper of his.
Lethal powerplay threat. This we know. But he's also just a dominant force out there when it comes to controlling the pace of play. Sure, he gets too cute sometimes. He makes mistakes. Costly turnovers at the offensive blue line. Sometimes, he even bobbles a bit in his own end. Even if Michel Therrien and J.J. Daigneault have tried, they can't keep this kid off the ice. He's too good. And I think he's learning a few things from Markov out there.
What a luxury to have players like Subban and Markov on the same blue line. What a bonus to be getting the hockey they've gotten out of Bouillon, Emelin and Diaz. Gorges gives you all the intangibles. If this blue line gets deeper, well... consider the Habs that much more of a contender.
11) Bonus-- Just wondering: How much do you miss Mr. Gauthier?
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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