1) With 17 goals for, believe it or not, the Montreal Canadiens aren't last in first period goals. They're two goals ahead of the Connor McDavid sweepstakes favorite Buffalo Sabres for that title.
After a gutsy win over the Columbus Blue Jackets required playoff-level desperation because of another bad start, the Canadiens got pounded in the first period by the Ottawa Senators Thursday, out-shot 20-6; outscored 2-1 in the frame.
How exhausting.
Definitely not the way you want to start the second night of a back-to-back situation.
The powerplay--the stimulus behind the Canadiens' come-from-behind heroics Wednesday--failed once again on Thursday. The line of Max Pacioretty, Tomas Plekanec and Brendan Gallagher--unstoppable against Columbus--was discombobulated against Ottawa. And Dustin Tokarski couldn't steal a victory with the odds stacked so heavily against him.
With the way the Canadiens have started games this season, with the way their powerplay has been so dysfunctional, it's nearly impossible to understand how they've accumulated so many wins.
The Canadiens have the best winning percentage in the league when it comes to scoring first, but they've only left the first period with the lead in seven of their 43 games. Considering that stat, it's remarkable that in 19 of their games they've locked down the lead after two periods--winning 18 of those.
Thursday night, the Canadiens couldn't claw their way back in the third period. Despite scoring 53 of their 109 goals in the third period this year, the effort in the last night's final frame didn't lead the Canadiens where they were hoping to go.
With that, the Habs cling to 2nd in the Atlantic Division, narrowly edging the Detroit Red Wings, who have accumulated the same amount of points (57) in one more game played.
2) The lines were a mess in Columbus. Behind what Michel Therrien had assembled as a first line, the Canadiens had nothing going until Michael Bournival and Jiri Sekac flanked Alex Galchenyuk towards the end of the second period.
Nothing carried over to the Ottawa game. The Canadiens had no flow until Sekac and Brandon Prust took their regular places next to Lars Eller.
After several shifts of struggling at centre, after getting smashed by Bobby Ryan, Alex Galchenyuk took the wing next to David Desharnais and P.A. Parenteau. The line was a defensive mess. Bournival and Dale Weise couldn't do much better with Manny Malhotra.
3) The dip in confidence from Galchenyuk is pretty normal. He's 20 years old and has barely played a third of the season at centre. People forget that.
These are normal growing pains, and it shouldn't be shocking to see him back up the middle come Saturday against the Islanders. We'll see who his linemates are for the contest.
You'll know Galchenyuk's recovered his confidence when he starts making more aggressive plays. He's not getting to the puck enough, and he's not picking it up at full speed. He's not trusting himself to carry it as much once he gets it. He showed one great burst last night--on the powerplay in the second period--charging up the ice and getting a quality attempt on Craig Anderson. He needs to build on that.
4) P.A. Parenteau has six goals in 39 games. He has one goal in his last 22 games. For lack of better words, that's appalling. He's averaged 14:55/game, ample powerplay time, and has played with good linemates for most of the year.
Heck, the coach--who can't stop mixing up the lines--has banished Parenteau to the fourth line for about three shifts this season.
Parenteau's two games into a return from a suspected concussion, so the hope is that he gets better with each game, but his competitiveness is far from adequate. He's rarely first on the puck, he rarely wins battles, he rarely obtains scoring chances. In 16 of those 21 goalless games, Parenteau's only managed two or less shots.
You'd think a supposed scorer in a 22-game drought would be the most desperate player on the ice.
5) All to say, the Canadiens need to bring a winger in here that can give them a second line behind what's likely to be Pacioretty-Galchenyuk-Gallagher.
Jiri Sekac has the upside to be a component next to Plekanec. Now the team needs a bonafide option to complete it.
Dale Weise and Brandon Prust have provided in spot duty, but if the Canadiens are marching towards the playoffs without addressing it, it's hard to imagine them succeeding once they get there.
6) Would you consider it a problem that Weise and Prust have been used in such an offensive capacity that some of their edge is missing?
You can't point the finger at either player for not standing up for their teammates. They always do, and Prust certainly does with his fists. But, if Max Pacioretty had been smoked like Galchenyuk was by Ryan last night, is there a chance there would have been no reply?
7) Pacioretty has become the most complete version of himself. It's hard to imagine him ever being better than what he is right now, and what he is right now is the definition of a 200-foot player.
He's a lethal offensive threat. He's a dominant possession player. He's the team's strongest back-checker. He's an excellent penalty killer. He's a leader.
Considering how complete Pacioretty is, he could have merit as a Selke Trophy candidate--and that's saying something, because the trophy hasn't gone to a winger since Jiri Lehtinen took it home in 2003.
In fact, the Selke trophy has only been awarded to three wingers since it was created to reward the innovative style of winger Bob Gainey (he won the first four). They are: Lehtinen (3-time winner), Craig Ramsay and Dirk Graham.
8) Alexei Emelin has been a source of frustration for Canadiens fans this season. Heck, he's been a source of much worse than frustration on social media, forums, call-in radio shows, to the point that no one seemingly gives him credit even when he plays well.
The frustration--the justified version of it--should be about his inconsistency. He played a really good game against Columbus. He got back to basics. He threw a monster hit in the first period, finishing with four in the game, and he cleared the zone effectively. That's really all you can ask for over 15 minutes of third pairing duty.
Last night, in Ottawa, Emelin was lost again. No aggression in his game. No confidence. And his awareness was completely lacking on more than half his shifts.
Will he play against the Islanders, Saturday?
Doubt it.
9) P.K. Subban's played very well at times this year. He was worthy of an All-Star Game selection, and it's not even debatable. You don't have to see the best version of Subban every night to still get something pretty great out of him, but that's the constant source of frustration with Subban; he's not the best he can be every night.
Too often, Subban's been far from the best version of himself.
He was unbelievable against Pittsburgh last Saturday. In a game where he had to step up and be responsible on every shift, he dominated. The Canadiens lost the game, but he was spectacular in the hardest matchups he could possibly face.
Against Columbus, Subban was a mess. The team was playing a dominant game, and he typically took an inexcusable penalty that led to the goal that could've buried them.
One of the greatest satisfactions in hockey is being able to personally get back a goal that you were responsible for allowing. You have to commend Subban for doing that as quickly as he did Wednesday, but he was once again on his heels on Thursday. You'd have thought he'd follow up a less-than-good performance with a stellar one, but once again, he wasn't the best version of himself.
10) So? Is it the coach? Is Subban so tired of being knocked down a peg or two, or told to be a certain way, that he just can't process it any more?
You'd like to see the reigns taken off. It's pretty clear that there's a directive for Subban not to rush the puck past the red line when the score is tied, or the Canadiens are leading by one. That's what Therrien's "playing the game situation" comment is all about. But at a certain point, if he doesn't practice doing it enough, will he be effective doing it when he gets green-lit?
Last night, down two in the third period, Subban took a rush up the ice, gave away the puck behind the Senators net, and it led to a breakaway opportunity that Nathan Beaulieu ended up foiling at the last second.