Canadiens Desperate For Win Tonight Against Maple Leafs (pacioretty)

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Canadiens Desperate For Win Tonight Against Maple Leafs

By Brandon Smillie

Nov 18, 2017 • 7:20 am

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Tonight at 7 pm the Montreal Canadiens finish up their 6 game home stand with a match up against Original Six rival Toronto Maple Leafs. The Canadiens have gone 2-2-1 so far and to say that record has been a disappointment would be an understatement. The Canadiens truly needed a minimum of 4 wins, but realistically 5, to really cement there status in the race for the playoffs. Disappointing regulation losses to the Minnesota Wild and (ugh……….) Arizona Coyotes have even the the silver lining searchers like myself struggling to remain hopeful of a playoff appearance this year.

This team can play very well, we know this from seeing them consistently out skate teams, out shoot teams, and because of some of their fancy stats. But this team is one established, puck moving, offensive LD away from being truly considered a more complete hockey team (yes, yes, the C issue is still around, but hear me out). I honestly believe the team can score, not the top scoring team, but they have offence. It just hasn’t worked out this year so far and could sorely use that above mentioned LD to help it along. I will say this though, the statement before the season by Marc Bergevin about him feeling this D is better than last years is REALLY blowing up in his face. I think next summer he wont make such a statement about parts of his team.

The Canadiens enter tonights game after losing their last game 5-4 to the brutal Arizona Coyotes in regulation after blowing 3 separate leads. This game felt like some one broke my hockey spirit and threw it into a pallet fire…. I’m not kidding. I don’t think I have felt this disappointed watching hockey since the Habs were eliminated by the NYR in last years playoffs, and any other playoff elimination before that. I think that if the Canadiens can’t put together a string of 6 wins over the next 8 games (with games against the Leafs , Senators, and Red Wings twice) then this team is going to go from being able to make their playoff destiny, to depending on other teams to struggle for any playoff hopes. Not ideal.

So, tonight the Canadiens take to the ice for a traditionally spirited game against the Leafs. A game that is usually unpredictable in that it didn’t matter where either team was in the standings, the game would be good. I say that full well knowing the Habs won every match up for a couple years until this seasons OT loss to the Leafs on Oct. 14, 2017.

The Habs will be looking to channel some of that Hockey Spirit for this one. There is little doubt in my mind that this club is struggling mentally. The season has been hit by the unexpected (Price’s play), injuries, and loads of bad bounces that have added up to a completely brutal first 20 games and has fans scouting the 2018 NHL Draft Prospects with the mindset of “Well, it would be great to get THAT prospect…. So it will be up to the Canadiens players to give the fans their money’s worth of effort tonight to keep the hope alive for fan and player alike.

Montreal will likely face a Matthews-less Leafs tonight as their star forward is still sidelined with a possible back injury that has forced him to miss 4 straight games. Not that it has hampered the Leafs much as they have gone 4-0-0 in his absence and outscored their opposition 12-5 in the process. The Leafs really don’t have a very good defence, but F Andersen has found his game lately and is doing much better at giving his team timely saves to keep and build momentum.

The importance of scoring first is almost lesser than the importance of sound defense tonight. Montreal SHOULD score tonight, likely score a few times with the defense the Leafs have, so it would be more demoralizing to the Leafs if they can keep them to the outside and keep them off the scoresheet for big parts of the game. If they can execute a plan like this and skate them hard Montreal could end up on the PP before the Leafs and capitalize. To accomplish that while really bogging the Leafs down and keeping chances down will work on them. A Babcock coached team typically likes to slow down other teams by walking right on the line of “right to ice… and “interference…. He coached constant interference defense in Detroit and he has been working to implement it in Toronto as well. If the refs do their job, it takes that away from the Leafs and forces them to skate and make plays under pressure. Habs must push this and coach Julien has to get on the refs about interference early if its apparent that Babcock is implementing that early and often until he gets called out for it.

The Leafs have an above average shooting percentage (11.7), PK (81.43), PP (22.73), and PDO (101.8). They are playing good hockey, no two ways about it. This game could galvanize the teams resolve before the next stretch of games, or it could be humiliating and demoralizing as a loss will be followed by a barrage of doom and gloom articles from Toronto heavy media outlets and the ordinarily negative Montreal media will start telling us about how many players are currently on drugs, getting divorced, want to be traded, etc.

It must be tough to be a professional hockey player in Montreal if you actually give media an ounce of your attention outside of forced pre-post game scrums.

No injury updates to relay either folks. Just your standard, Saturday rivalry game against the best Leafs team Toronto has iced in decades. Should be fun!

Go Habs Go

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