|
Price goes down with the ship as the Wild defeat the Habs 7-1 |
|
|
|
|
|
The Montreal Canadiens followed up their 7-4 win over the Winnipeg Jets with a disappointing 7-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild as the team concluded their brief two game road trip. The toll of playing back to back games on the road and still missing key roster players was finally too much for the Canadiens to overcome. The Minnesota Wild were simply too strong to handle as they dictated much of the play and were always ready to take advantage of the Canadiens mistakes. While Carey Price was not as his ‘A’ game as he continues to struggle through the months of December and January, the team in front of him did not do Price any favours as they rarely challenged Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk.
Puck props & flops:
Props:
Tomas Plekanec - After struggling offensively for much of the season, Plekanec seems to have finally recaptured his ability to contribute at both ends of the ice as he scored for the third consecutive game, the last two goals coming on the Canadiens powerplay. His line with Paul Byron and Artturi Lehkonen is clicking as they all have excellent hockey sense, can defend in their own zone and know how to keep things simple and move the puck in their opponent’s end. While there was little to like about the Canadiens against the Wild, the fact that the Plekanec of old is coming back presents an interesting conundrum for head coach Michel Therrien on the second line once Alex Galchenyuk returns to the lineup.
Carey Price's Leadership - Yes, he let in seven goals. Yes, he is not performing up to the standards that fans or even himself are accustomed to. Is there a sense of panic on the team? Not at all. Price is too good of a goaltender. He will get through this under the tutelage of Stephane Waite. The big thing though is that Price could have dodged the media after the game. It would have been understandable if he refused to answer questions. Yet, there he was ready to talk and he displayed tremendous leadership by accepting responsibility for the loss. Price could have left the game after the second period. There is a strong argument that Therrien should have overruled him and forced Price out in order to protect him and keep his legs fresher for the visiting New York Rangers on Saturday. Price refused. In many ways he is the de facto captain of the Canadiens, with all due respect to Max Pacioretty. And like a captain of the sea, he was ready to go down with his ship staying in until the very end. His teammates will remember that moment and will not want to let Price down again.
Flops:
Jeff Petry and Nathan Beaulieu - The duo started off so strong together when Andrei Markov became injured. They were dominating the play on the ice as Beaulieu jumped right in and did his best Markov impersonation. Beaulieu tends to raise his level of play when he gets the opportunity to play with better partners, be it Petry, Shea Weber or even P.K. Subban a season ago. However, over the last three games Petry has especially struggled in his own end and with it Beaulieu as well. They are making sloppy mistakes, allowing players to cut into the middle and beat them. They are indecisive and reacting late to the play and in the NHL the opposition is ready to pounce on each and every mistake. Communication has obviously gone down as their signals continue to get mixed up. Offensively they have still been able to contribute but they need to sharpen up in their own end as soon as possible.
The Canadiens penalty kill - Once again the Canadiens penalty kill struggled, this time allowing the Wild to score twice with the man advantage. They are leaving lanes open, unable to tie up their man in front of the net and are not challenging their opponents enough. Not to mention, it seems that the center men are always losing those important faceoffs in their own end, leading to a quick goal. The Canadiens and assistant J.J. Daigneault need to get back to the drawing board. The team has now fallen to 23rd in the league on the penalty kill and are below the coveted 80% successful kill rate.
The rest - Take your pick. The fourth line struggled mightily in their own end as Michael McCarron, Daniel Carr and Chris Terry had difficulty clearing the puck and zone. Torrey Mitchell and Brian Flynn looked slow and were not engaged in the play, not something that Canadiens fans are accustomed to. The other defense pairings were not much better tha Petry and Beaulieu. It could have been a good opportunity to shake things up on the backend but Therrien decided to stay pat with his pairing. The first line seemed to have used up all of their magic against the Jets as the Wild proved that they are a much stronger team and should not be forgotten about in the Western Conference...
Other thoughts:
A year ago, there would have been widespread panic over such a bad loss and immediate calls for Therrien’s head. However, the likelihood is that this game was an anomaly. There have not been very many absolutely terrible games by the Canadiens this season. Although, when they do play badly they seem to do it in a spectacular fashion, ie: the 10-0 to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Whenever the Canadiens have needed to face adversity, they have been able to dig down for the most part and battle back.
Some may say that they are not winning the games against quality opponents. That their recent wins have all come against teams (Florida, Toronto, Nashville, Dallas, Winnipeg) who are not in a playoff position. A win is a win, plain and simple. Last season the Canadiens were unable to win the games that they were supposed, finding ways to lose. This year the team’s success has been due to their total team effort and the ability of many players to step when given an opportunity. I am not saying that the Canadiens will necessarily defeat the Rangers tomorrow night. But with Price’s record on Saturdays combined with their ability to usually bounce back, I expect a much better game from the team.
The Canadiens will likely have some reinforcements against the Rangers as the team sent Nikita Scherbak and Bobby Farnham back down to the St. John’s Ice Caps. All indications is that at least one of if not both Alex Galchenyuk and Andrew Shaw will return to the lineup. This would obviously be an immediate boost to the team. Since no defenseman was sent down, it does not seem as though Markov is quite ready to return.
Cheers and follow along!
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»