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Will the Habs avenge their 2014 loss to the Rangers? Series Preview |
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The Montreal Canadiens will face the Washington Capitals in the Eastern Conference Final of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Wait, they haven't already gotten there? It seems as though everyone is ready to skip ahead and proclaim the Canadiens the certain winner against the Rangers and will obviously beat an opponent of “lower quality” such as the Boston Bruins or Ottawa Senators in the second round and so they must make it to the Conference Final. It might seem like just a hop, skip and jump to the Stanley Cup but the Canadiens must first take care of business against the New York Rangers before they can actually hop into the second round of the playoffs.
Let's examine the pros and cons of the Canadiens matchup against the Rangers:
Pro:
Carey Price - The Canadiens have one of if not the best goaltender in the world, nevermind the NHL with Price between the pipes. Despite a very rough stretch from December through the bye week, Price had very respectable overall numbers, finishing the regular season with a .923 save percentage and 2.23 goals against average. Lifetime against the Ranger, Price has simply dominated them going 15-5-1 with a .940 save percentage and 1.82 goals against average to go along with seven shutouts, top ten in the NHL in both categories. To say the least, Price really seems to enjoy playing the Rangers. Everyone still wonders what could have been the last time these two teams met in the playoffs back in 2014 had he not been “Kreidered”, injuring his knee and forced to miss the remainder of the series…
Con:
As good as Al Montoya has been as the backup to Price, is he able to carry the team and win a series should Price get injured? He had a solid season for a backup and his numbers are likely somewhat skewed from that disastrous 10-0 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets earlier in the season. His ability to step in temporarily but the team would have to play at another level in front of him to win a series. It is here that the Rangers have the advantage as should Henrik Lundqvist struggle, Antti Raanta has excelled this season and at times even took over the starting job for the Rangers. It would not be shocking should the Canadiens face him at one point during the series…
Pro:
Claude Julien - It will be the first time that Julien will face Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault in the playoffs since they were with their respective former teams and Boston defeated the Vancouver Canucks to win the 2011 Stanley Cup. Julien has worked wonders for the Canadiens since he arrived in mid February as he has helped the team regain their confidence. Under Julien the Canadiens have been playing their most consistent hockey all season and cruised their way to the Atlantic division title going 16-7-1 under his tutelage. He has tweaked their play on the ice and for the most part the results have spoken for themselves. He has the experience to keep his team even keel, not letting them get too high. As well, the Canadiens have confidence in their coach knowing that he has been there before and raised the Stanley Cup. They believe in their coach and as a result believe that much more in themselves.
Con:
The Canadiens powerplay - It was ranked as high as second but declined to 13th overall by the season’s end. While it does not sound so bad and is an improvement from a year ago, the powerplay has been a shell of itself these last few months as nothing seems to have clicked despite associate coach Kirk Muller’s constant tinkering. The Canadiens are hoping that their latest units will do the trick:
Pacioretty-Shaw-Radulov
Markov-Weber
Lehkonen-Galchenyuk-Gallagher
Beaulieu-Petry
Eventually for the Canadiens to find success again with the man advantage they are going to have to get Alex Galchenyuk playing back up to form and on the first wave. He has the second most powerplay points of any forward on the Canadiens with 15, just one behind Alexander Radulov despite having played in only 61 games this season.
Pro:
Shea Weber and Andrei Markov - Together they form the Canadiens top defensive pairing and while they might seem old on paper, these two have the smarts to outperform the Rangers. They have made for a formidable duo from the moment that Julien put them together as Weber seems rejuvenated after having played much of the season with Alexei Emelin. The two feed off each other and know where the other is going to be. Weber’s minor injury has allowed im to rest for the last ten days of the regular season and he should be in prime form for tonight’s game. These two will be a difference maker in the series.
Con:
The Canadiens offense - The team has been wildly inconsistent all season with players going long stretches without a goal. Brendan Gallagher, Tomas Plekanec, Phillip Danault, Artturi Lehkonen and Torrey Mitchell are all regulars who went more than twenty games without scoring. Mitchell has been now made disposable by the acquisitions of Steve Ott, Dwight King and Andreas Martinsen at the trade deadline. Gallagher, Danaut and Lehkonen have all seemed to regain their touch by season’s end but should they go cold again, can Max Pacioretty carry the team on his back up front?
The Canadiens only had two twenty plus goal scorers while the Rangers had four. The Rangers had an additional four more skaters who scored 15 or more goals whereas the Canadiens had five who did so. Overall the Rangers offense ranked fourth overall while the Canadiens came in 15th. Julien is trying to spread out his offense by putting Galchenyuk on the fourth line and away from tough matchups but some it is quite doubtful that the Canadiens win the series with Galchenyuk tucked away playing with Ott and Martinsen.
Pro:
Artturi Lehkonen and Andrew Shaw - These two players offer the intangibles that allow an unsung hero to step in the playoffs and shine. Shaw has already proven this feat with the Chicago Blackhawks as he was a major contributor in their past two Stanley Cup wins. Lehkonen was outstanding for Frolunda last Spring throughout their playoff run as they won the SHL Championship, contributing 19 points in 16 games. Both players have a no quit attitude and are aggressive on the forecheck while responsible defensively. Julien has 100% trust in these players to be out there in any and every situation. These are the players that will help the Canadiens get through the playoffs.
Con:
Inconsistency in the Canadiens bottom four defense: On any given night Nathan Beaulieu can be a stud or a dud. He has a tendency to raise his level of play when the stakes are high and if Julien shows some belief in him, Beaulieu will reward him with a strong game. However, if he loses his focus he can cause a bad goal, perhaps even a series. If he plays well and is able to show some consistency, it will bode very well for the Canadiens. The team also needs Jeff Petry to step up and take his game to another level. After an outstanding first third of the season, Petry has been average at best. This is likely the reasoning for pairing Jordie Benn with Petry in hopes that he will stabilize him and let him regain his ways.
Overall:
If everything goes right for the Canadiens they have the ability to sweep the Rangers. However, the likelihood of that happening is slim. Yes the Canadiens have the upper hand in the regular season but the postseason is entirely something different. Those players that are still with the team from 2014 will want to avenge their loss in the Eastern Conference Final to the Rangers and that actually gives the Canadiens an advantage. Price will be on a mission to prove himself and that can be a very scary thing for the Rangers. However, should the cookie begin to crumble it will make for a longer series. One that the Canadiens can still win but will be that much more difficult for them to overcome.
Verdict: Canadiens in six. Raanta comes in and steals a couple of games in place of Lundqvist but the Canadiens will still prevail.
Puck drops Wednesday at 7pm.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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