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Wednesday, the Habs looked like they were playing with energy, determination and grit but tonight, none of that was on display. After cancelling their day off to practice prior to an important 3 games series against the Flames, the Tricolore seemed completely unaware of the importance of tonight’s game.
Jonathan Drouin was a late scratch, apparently suffering from a non-Covid related illness and the only player available to replace him was Erik Gustafsson. The Habs therefore dressed 7 defensemen tonight, but clearly aware of his defensive limitations, Ducharme only gave him 7 minutes of ice-time, 1 of which came on the power play.
If it had not been from Jake Allen tonight, this would have been a blow-out, 2 of the Flames goals came on chances where a Calgary player was left all alone in the slot. At the other end of the ice, Markstrom giftwrapped 2 goals for the Habs and they didn’t deem it appropriate to test him over and over again.
#23 - April 23, 2021 #MTLvsCGY
— Here's Your Replay â¬‡ï¸ (@HeresYourReplay) April 24, 2021
🎥 @Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/u5N9eVW0et
All too often this season, I’ve had to write that it wasn’t about the quantity of shots, but about their quality and taking them from the danger zone. I fear the Canadiens have just decided to cut their number of shots without improving their provenance or quality. Halfway through the 3rd, Montreal only had 24 shot attempts on Markstrom’s net, by the end of the game, they had 37 (20 actually made it through). So, at least they turned in on towards the end, but the urgency should have been there since the start.
It was an atrocious night in the face-off department from everyone but Philip Danault who won 64% of his draws. The other 3 centres were all below 30%, Kotkaniemi was even at 18.2%. Some speculated that the Habs were waiting for a couple of wins to bring in Caufield so that it wouldn’t look like a desperate move, but winning streaks are hard to come back this season. Should Drouin still be sick tomorrow, Caufield could be an emergency recall IF Lindgren is the back-up and not Primeau. If Primeau is in the line-up, Caufield isn’t an option because of cap constraints but Evans or Frolik would fit in under the cap.
If Drouin is injured then that would take them below 12 forwards and they could recall another forward under emergency, allowing them to still save that last regular recall.
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) April 24, 2021
However, to make the cap space work for it to be Caufield they would need to switch Primeau for Lindgren.
We’ll see tomorrow if Drouin’s ready to play and how the Habs deal with his absence if appropriate. It will be worth keeping an eye on the roster moves during the day for clues as to what the line-up might be when the puck drops at 7:00 PM tomorrow night.
Mercredi, le CH a joué avec énergie, détermination et ténacité mais ce soir, nous n’avons rien vu de tout ça. Après avoir annulé leur journée de congé pour pratiquer avant une importante série de 3 matchs contre les Flames, les joueurs semblaient complétement ignorer l’importance du match de ce soir.
Jonathan Drouin fut rayé de la formation après la période de réchauffement en raison de maux non liés à la Covid et le seul joueur disponible pour le remplacer était Erik Gustafsson. Les Habs ont donc été forcé d’habiller 7 défenseurs ce soir, mais clairement, le pilote est conscient de ses lacunes défensives et ne lui a donné que 7 minutes de temps de jeu dont 1 sur le jeu de puissance.
N’eut été de Jake Allen ce soir, ce match aurait été un massacre, 2 des buts des Flames sont venus de chances lors lesquelles un joueur des Flames était laissé complétement seul dans l’enclave. à l’autre bout de la patinoire, Markstrom a tout simplement fait cadeau de 2 buts au CH et l’équipe n’a pas semblé trouver approprié de le canarder pour le reste de la soirée.
#23 - April 23, 2021 #MTLvsCGY
— Here's Your Replay â¬‡ï¸ (@HeresYourReplay) April 24, 2021
🎥 @Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/u5N9eVW0et
Ce fut une affreuse soirée dans le cercle des mises en jeu pour tout le monde sauf Philip Danault qui a remporté 64% de ses duels. Les 3 autres centres ont tous eu un taux de réussite de moins de 30%, dans le cas de Kotkaniemi, c’était18.2%.
Certains ont spéculé que les Habs attendaient une série de victoires avant d’intégrer Caufield à la formation afin que ce ne soit pas vu comme un geste désespéré, mais les séries de victoires du CH se font rares… Si Drouin est toujours malade demain, Caufield pourrait être rappelé d’urgence SI Lindgren est le deuxième gardien et non pas Primeau. Si Primeau est de l’alignement, il n’y a pas de place sur la masse salariale pour Caufield mais il y en aurait pour Evans ou Frolik.
If Drouin is injured then that would take them below 12 forwards and they could recall another forward under emergency, allowing them to still save that last regular recall.
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) April 24, 2021
However, to make the cap space work for it to be Caufield they would need to switch Primeau for Lindgren.
Nous verrons demain si Drouin est prêt à jouer et comment le CH composera avec son absence au besoin. à‡a vaudra la peine de garder un oeil sur les mouvements de personnels pour des indices quant à la formation possible quand la rondelle sera déposée à 7 :00 PM demain soir.