Canadiens Begin All Canadian Back To Back Games Tonight In Calgary (pacioretty)

pacioretty

Canadiens Begin All Canadian Back To Back Games Tonight In Calgary

By Brandon Smillie

Dec 22, 2017 • 8:56 am

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The Montreal Canadiens start the first half of an All Canadian back to back game set tonight in Calgary against the hometown Flames. After that, they head straight to Edmonton for their final game before the Christmas break.

Calgary has had a bit of a bad month by their current standards, and aspirations, going 4-4-2 in their last 10 games. You can't really fault the goaltender in Calgary for this though as Mike Smith, despite having a 14-11-5 record, has provided the Flames with .919 SP% goaltending and 2 shut outs in 30 games.

When you're able to provide that kind of stability between the pipes, and Calgary had put a pretty formidable D group in front of him, you have a better chance of beating your opponent. It's an absolute necessity. The only area Smith has appeared to struggle is the Shoot Out as he only has a .600 SP% in the two games that went that far. If he could have won those he would have a solid 16-11-3 record and help the Flames playoff hope that much more.

The Habs will need to drive the puck to the net tonight to get Smith off his game. In the few Calgary games I have seen this season it seems like Smith can be rattled and he scrambles a bit. Again, limited sample size for me and I'm not going back to watch Flames games at the moment. But if my observations are fair then that will be the best way to get him off his game and that would prove crucial.

The Flames are lead offensively by 24 year old Johnny "Hockey" Gaudreau's 13 G and 27 A (40) in 35 games. Just after him is 23 year old gritty forward Sean Monohan with his 17 G and 14 A (31) in 35 games.

Both of those players are key to Calgary's success and need to be covered well for any chance of victory tonight, but the Flames best possession player by far is Matthew Tkachuk. A steal at #6 overall in his draft year, the recently 20 year old F has 7 G and 13 A (20) in 33 games this season but his CF% (59.2) and FF% (59.3) lead the Flames in both categories. These are of course an even strength stats and Tkachuk only averages 13:50 of EV TOI a game. Comparatively, Gaudreau plays 15:25 EV and Monohan plays an average of 14:21 EV and both these players offensive zone start % is over 60 while Tkachuk only starts 45.8 % of his shifts in the OZ.

Calgary has a damn good hockey player in M Tkachuk and once he fully hits his stride and is given proper opportunity, he will be a dominant force in the NHL.

The Canadiens are looking to build off a wild 7-5 victory over the Vancouver Canucks this past Tuesday and keep their slim playoff hopes alive. The Canadiens need, at minimum, a stretch where they bank the 8-10 points in the next 4-5 games just to stay around a bit longer AND keep the winning ways going. They are 6 points back of the 2nd Wild Card holding NY Islanders and have a game in hand, and are 7 points back of 3rd in the Atlantic that is currently occupied by the Boston Bruins at 41 pts (who also hold 1 game in hand over the Habs).

Consecutive wins are the only things that can help Montreal right now and they are going to be tough to come by with Weber out for a while. But sometimes this team bands together when the days look darkest and they can surprise so we will see what kind of team they are tonight.

MORROW AND SHAW SCRAP AT PRACTICE

Speaking of "Banding Together" and "Surprises" it looks like tensions are getting high with some guys on the squad as Morrow and Shaw got into a bit of a tussle at practice on these 2 days off with Galchenyuk being the only guy jumping in to try and stop them from brawling. It's always unfortunate to see this, but it does happen with some regularity not only with the Canadiens, but other clubs as well.

It's more prevalent to me that this happens at a time before the holiday break and players know that the record they have isn't typically rewarded with playoff opportunity. So, they go into the days off knowing that not only have they put themselves virtually out of reach of their childhood dream of winning a Stanley Cup this year, but typically after the break they will hear each of their names being tossed around in trade scenarios and there will be trades. Guys will say good bye for better or worse and the game becomes a job again and not so much about chasing glory.

I expect that from a guy like Shaw. At 26 years old he is a winner. He chose to sign with Montreal when many don't and many fans want him traded. He's put in his best season so far with the team and most of the guys around him have under achieved. This is probably a very tough time for him and his competitive nature. I hope he isn't dealt, but if he is I hope its for a kings ransom of picks and an elite prospect. Go ahead, say I'm nuts, but I don't want to give up oon another player that plays hard all the time. The Habs need those guys.

DANAULT SURPRISINGLY LEADING CANADIENS IN SCORING

Another full effort player currently leads the Canadiens in scoring as we near the Christmas break and that's P Danault with 7 G and 14 A (21) in 34 games. That would put him on pace for about 51 points. While this isn't good for the team in that we expected that Drouin, Pacioretty, and even perhaps Galchenyuk would be producing more that Danault this season, this puts Danault on pace for a career best year and trending upward in points in each of his first 3 seasons of full time NHL duty.

He is even winning 52.5% of his draws. Danault is likely going to be a 50-60 point 2nd line C when he reaches his potential in the next couple seasons.

BRETT LERNOUT CALLED UP WITH WEBER BEING SHUT DOWN

B Lernout was called up late Wednesday night and joined the team in Calgary in a move that is in direct correlation to S Weber's injury status.

From the tweeted article below, on the Canadiens official website, coach C Julien said "He was called up because he's playing well. He's one of the best defensemen in Laval. He's stable. We saw him last year with us and he has continued to improve. He's playing some good hockey. He's tall, he's big, he plays physical. He's a good defensive defenseman."

Clearly, this should mean the 6'4", 214 pound, 22 year old defenseman will be used in a bottom pair/extra D role and with back to back games on the agenda he is likely to see his first NHL action of the season. He score 1 G and 4 A in 30 games with Laval this season.

HABS LINES AT LAST PRACTICE

Byron was not at practice, but he isn't believed to be injured.

Pacioretty - Drouin - Lehkonen Galchenyuk - Danault - Shaw Hudon - Plekanec - Gallagher Deslauriers - Froese/de la Rose - Carr

Alzner - Petry Benn - Schlemko Morrow - Jerabek

Price Niemi

HOW WILL THE HABS RESPOND TO STREAKING EDMONTON OILERS?

After tonight's game the Habs will to Edmonton to take on the Oilers who have won 3 straight and 4 of their last 5 games.

The Oilers top forward C McDavid is leading the charge with 11 points (3G 8A) in his last 10 games played. The Oil will go as far as McDavid can lead them as he is the everything for that team.

I mean no disprespect to Nugent-Hopkins, Draisaitl, or Lucic. All good players, but they lack consistency. McDavid may very well be the best player in the NHL and in spite of this there is no winger on the team that can come close to a PPG right now on the Oil. Every winger he gets is a experiment to see if they can keep up. It appears after McDavid that Draisaitl can be their next best F, usually when playing with McDavid, but even he is struggling a bit to meet his expectations.

It's been a tough year for Edmonton, just like it has been for Montreal. In fact, both teams have near identical records: MTL 15-15-4, EDM 16-17-2. Much more was expected from these two clubs but Edmonton had a bit more pressure with the Stanley Cup betting odds and the expected progression of McDavid, Draisaitl, Klefbom, and Puljujarvi. So far, they have crumbled under that pressure only to recently appear to have figured it out. The problem could be the same as in Montreal though in that can these teams win consistently. I don't think either can at this point.

The Canadiens that roll into Edmonton Saturday night could be two very contrasting teams. A win in Calgary could provide the confidence and motivation to win out to the Christmas break. A loss tonight could see a more fragile group who is looking for the bus to airport so they can go see their families and pour a stiff drink or two and reflect on a wasted season.

Either way, it's just a game and try to not let the performances of others in professional sports bring you too far down this week. If they lose out then the talks of trades really get serious, as do performances of prospects in the WJC (although, they would be important either way). There will be lots to discuss and dissect, and I'm sure we all can't wait to do that with the certainty that trades will indeed be coming.

With that I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Try to do something good for someone, no matter how small the gesture could be. Let's help each other out and try to lead into 2018 being better humans. I'm not perfect, but I'm going to try to be better and maybe make someone smile. Sounds cheesy, but I wanted to put it out there.

Merry Christmas!

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Follow me on Twitter @BrandonSmillie where I mostly stick to hockey stuff.

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