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A Fading Rivalry, by Andrew Saadalla |
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You’d have to think that a dominant display by the Montreal Canadiens during the first 40 minutes of last night’s game against the Boston Bruins would have spilled over into the third period had Brendan Gallagher been in the lineup… or Carey Price…
Would the presence of these two stars have necessarily secured a victory for the home team? I can’t say for certain that Gallagher would have scored a goal or assisted on a second Habs’ goal in order to take a 2-0 lead, but his energy and tenacity on a ferocious fore check could have caused a turnover that might have lead to more scoring chances. Perhaps he could’ve gotten in Tuuka Rask’s face and head by habitually crashing the net, throwing the goalie- who was uncharacteristically very good against the Habs- off of his game. Gallagher might have even drawn a penalty by not retaliating when getting punched in the face after the whistle blew…
Mike Condon once again played well, but was he outstanding enough to correct his teammates’ mistakes in the 42 seconds it took for the Bruins to score two unanswered goals and take the lead? I wonder if Price would have stopped the Patrice Bergeron goal. I would’ve been fine with him glaring at Alex Galchenyuk afterwards.
Why? Because what people have failed to realize in the absence of these two players is that despite their skills and performances on the ice, their voices and actions are sorely missed. Their leadership through action is what could’ve made the difference last night, if not uniquely for maintaining or creating momentum in the third period.
Say what you will about Galchenyuk, but his weak defensive coverage on the Bergeron goal is excusable to me. I’m getting tired of repeating myself, but here we go one more time: at age 21, and as the future number one centre of the Montreal Canadiens, Galchenyuk must make the mistakes, such as last night’s, in order to learn. It’s not just a matter of racking up points and understanding what it takes to be an effective two-way center, but also a matter of acknowledging the amount of efforts it takes to succeed as a number one center. When the puck went behind the net on that play, he should’ve known that no one was going to pick up the slack for him and that he needed to take those few extra strides and swipes of his stick in order to recover it. It’s all part of the learning process, and I’ve mentioned that his development at the expense of a few goals or even a few games this season will be worth it. He’ll continue to build character, and you can bet that Michel Therrien will show him how to as well…
We all watched the game last night, and we all saw the same thing. A lack of emotion and intensity by the home team against a supposed rival cost them the game, period. Are you starting to see what I mean when I say that there is hardly a rivalry between these two teams anymore? I’ve been saying it for months and last night’s game only further proved it to me. I know I’m going to get ribbed by some of you in the comments section, and I extend a challenge to those who disagree with me to demonstrate at what point there were any hints of a bitter and lasting rivalry between the Bruins and Habs from last night’s game. I certainly did not see any.
I’ll be looking forward to the Winter Classic on January 1st 2016 because in my opinion, that match will determine the future of this rivalry and its depth. Right now, it’s pretty tame, and something’s gotta give.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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