UPDATE: The Tampa Bay Lightning have proceeded to place two former Canadiens players on waivers:
Waivers: GABRIEL DUMONT
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) January 27, 2017
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MICHAEL BOURNIVAL
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With only 32 games left to go for the Montreal Canadiens this season, it would be fitting that we take a look back at their last 25 games in order to understand where the team stands heading into the final stretch.
Currently, the Habs are fifth overall in the National Hockey League with 65 points in 50 games, tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins (48 GP) and Chicago Blackhawks (51 GP). They are seventh in goals for with 150 and goals against (125), while leading the Atlantic Division and sitting in the fourth position in the Eastern Conference.
Throughout their last 25 games, the Habs have an 11-8-6 record, meaning they have secured 28 out of a possible 50 points (56%). Moreover, they have managed to score 79 goals, which averages out to approximately 3.16 goals per game while allowing a total of 65 against, averaging 2.6 goals against per game.
Their relative success comes at a time when nearly everyone braced themselves for yet another epic collapse in the standings as the team has been decimated by injuries to key players. Andrei Markov has not featured in 20 of the last 25 games while number one centre Alex Galchenyuk attempted to make a comeback that lasted no more than five games between January 14th and the 21st. He also missed 20 games between December 6th and today, while his good friend Brendan Gallagher missed the last 11 with a hand injury.
Additionally, Carey Price has not quite looked like himself for roughly six weeks until he started performing significantly better over the course of the last three-to-four games. Granted, a multitude of defensemen have unsuccessfully attempted to fill the void left behind by Markov, from Mark Barberio to Zach Redmond and even Ryan Johnston.
Unfortunately, inconsistent performances by those three have forced general manager Marc Bergevin to pull the trigger on a trade that brought in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nikita Nesterov. Bergevin admitted that discussions between Steve Yzerman and himself began approximately four-to-six weeks ago, and though certain members of the media will have you believe that it has nothing to do with Markov’s injury, the timing seems a little too coincidental…
Talks between both organizations started up again roughly four days ago- surely at around the time that Bergevin realized that in light of Price’s .921 save percentage, the All-Star goaltender could use some help on the back end. No one is ready to declare Nesterov the savior of the blue line, but he can certainly do no harm and has 26 games of playoff experience under his belt including against the Habs.
Finally, it’s important to note that the Habs are seventh in the league with an average of 2.98 goals per game, sixth in goals against (2.48) and second on the power play with a 23.5% success rate.
To play slightly above .500 hockey and maintain impressive numbers throughout the last 25 games, in light of all of the injuries, should satisfy most fans. There are no two ways about it. This is a team that is ready to succeed in the upcoming weeks, and the imminent return of both Markov and Galchenyuk will only help bolster a roster that has held its own during their absence.
NOTE: In my last poll, I asked if Tomas Plekanec was truly injured or if his best days are behind him. 58.54% of the 400 respondents agreed with the latter.
During last night’s media scrum, Bergevin noted that Markov has been progressing well and should be ready to return next week.