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Habs season comes to an end as Rangers take series 4-2 |
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The 2016-2017 NHL season came to a disappointing end for the Montreal Canadiens as the New York Rangers defeated them 3-1 on Saturday night in game six to win the series 4-2 in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The second period once again became the achilles heel of the Canadiens as they saw the Rangers score twice to take the momentum and a 2-1 lead in the game. Hockey is ultimately a game of inches and the Rangers were able to capitalize on their opportunities.
The Canadiens will be clearing out their lockers on Monday and having their post-mortem interviews. While there will be plenty of time to talk about how the Canadiens move on from their loss, here are some thoughts on the series itself.
Puck props and flops playoffs:
Props:
Artturi Lehkonen - He was a true revelation in the playoffs. Lehkonen had come on strong to finish the regular season with ten points in his last ten games yet people still were not sure how the rookie would respond in the playoffs. Yes, his 19 points in 16 games last year in the SHL playoffs last season were impressive. However, the NHL is still another level of play and it gets that much harder in the playoffs. He was second to just Alexander Radulov in points with two goals and two assists through six games. Lehkonen is going to be a fixture with the Canadiens for years to come. He is the full package as a two way, top six player.
Brendan Gallagher - It was such a relief to see Gallagher finally back at full strength after having suffered a second hand injury in as many years. He rose up to the occasion and took his game to another level. Basically, he was a thorn to the Rangers throughout the series but also contributed three points. His joie de vivre and permanent smile was back and with it came his game.
Steve Ott - Was honestly surprised when the Canadiens acquired him at the trade deadline but he was solid all series long. His on ice antics were hilarious, especially as he tortured Mats Zuccarello. He did his job centering the fourth line and did not fade away as the series went on.
Carey Price - While everyone is ready to trade Price in order to acquire offensive help, Price had a very good series and did more than enough to keep his team in games. Unfortunately, there is only so much he can do when goals are scored when the opposition pounces on your teammates mistakes… Price had a save percentage of .933 and a goals against average of 1.86. These numbers would usually win you a series. Through six games Price in let just 12 goals. It is not his fault that his Rangers counterpart Henrik Lundqvist was up to the task and then some, nor that his teammates could not provide him a bigger cushion than just one goal.
Alexander Radulov - Just how much of a raise did Radulov earn with his excellent playoff performance? Radulov led the Canadiens with seven points as he essentially was the team’s offense. He has become indispensable to the team and Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin has little if any choice but to bring him back…
Flops:
The game 6 lineup - Claude Julien’s lineup changes made little to any sense before the game and even less so afterwards. It was unfortunate that Andrew Shaw was forced to miss the game with an upper body injury but Brian Flynn was not the right player to take his spot. Flynn had barely been able to crack even the fourth line. Torrey Mitchell should never have come out of the lineup. He was certainly not the Canadiens problem and was playing well. Julien wanted Michael McCarron to play in hopes that his energy will help his team but it should not have come at Mitchell's expense. Mitchell should have centered the third line and McCarron could have still played on the fourth with Ott and one of Flynn or Andreas Martinsen.
Alex Galchenyuk - This is not all on him. Galchenyuk was yo-yo’d around, up and down the lineup and side to side from the wing to center. He stepped up in game 2 and played a strong game three but disappeared in games 4, 5 & 6. His confidence appeared to be at an all-time low. The Canadiens desperately needed offense and regardless of his previously poor performances, Galchenyuk should have been given a chance earlier in the game to play with Max Pacioretty and Radulov, not just the last couple of minutes of the game with Price pulled.
Nathan Beaulieu - Typically he has displayed a tendency to step up in big games but he was a inconsistent as ever when he played in the first five games. He was not as involved offensively and defensively failed to tie up his man a few too many times. Perhaps though he would have benefited from playing with the same partner throughout the series and not what seemed to be an endless rotation. It's frustrating to watch as he has some talent. For weeks at a time this season he looked like he finally arrived as a top four defenseman. Now, there is just endless debate over his future with the Canadiens.
Random thoughts:
Not going to touch much on Pacioretty. Zero goals from him was unexpected to say the least. However, his effort was there. He just needed one to break through and he couldn't do it against the Rangers MVP. Pacioretty needed a true first line center to help him break out of the slump. Cue Galchenyuk.
Phillip Danault is simply not a first line center and was outplayed by Tomas Plekanec as well. The Canadiens cannot afford to go into the 2017-2018 NHL season with him pencilled in their top six.
Jordie Benn started the series strong playing with Jeff Petry but those extra minutes took a toll on him as he was weaker in games 4, 5 and 6. He started to make mistakes that Canadiens were not accustomed to seeing from him since his arrival from Dallas at the trade deadline. Bottom pairing and top penalty kill unit. That is the way to go with Benn.
Outside of Shea Weber’s three points, the rest of the defensemen has a combined four points throughout the series. Andrei Markov had just one assist. The defensemen were not nearly as involved in the attack in order for the Canadiens to succeed.
The Canadiens could have used Charles Hudon in this series to generate offense. He's been fantastic for the St. John's Ice Caps all season long and that strong play has continued into their playoffs. He would have been fine playing ten minutes a night on the fourth line as he has the talent to generate offense and would have benefitted from powerplay time.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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