The Montreal Canadiens are turning to their Winter Classic jerseys in hopes of getting back into the win column tonight against the Boston Bruins. It is either that or they have too many jerseys in stock and are looking to increase sales at the boutique. The Bruins have now surpassed the Canadiens in the standings as they sit at 51 points, 4th in the Atlantic, one point ahead of Montreal but with two games in hand. The Canadiens have truly been fortunate in that while they have been steadily sliding down the standings since December, many other teams in the Eastern conference are also struggling. In a crowded division, the Canadiens are only 7 points out of 1st place, that is only 3.5 games back. There is still much hockey to be played and as we have seen this season, anything and everything is possible.
The current pulse in Montreal though is that these are desperate times and nothing short of a desperate move would suffice fans. However, patience is a virtue and one gets the feeling that while general manager Marc Bergevin will make a trade if there is one to be made, head coach Michel Therrien is not going anywhere. At least not until Carey Price returns and he has a full and healthy lineup to work with. There are a number of lineup moves and decisions that I may not agree with, but I don’t think removing Therrien from the equation will all of the sudden solve the Canadiens woes. I still believe that Galchenyuk needs to play center in order to continue his development and progression. Dale Weise is not the solution to a linemate for Galchenyuk, especially since he did not appear at full speed over the weekend. Therrien has openly acknowledged the need to properly manage Andrei Markov’s minutes, something I have been advocating for quite some time. I would prefer if Daniel Carr or Charles Hudon were still with the Canadiens as they are capable of contributing on the scoresheet, something the Canadiens sorely need. The powerplay has improved over the past two games although it is still very much a work in progress.
This morning, Bruins head coach Claude Julien was asked to comment on Therrien’s situation and feeling the heat, he could empathize as:
Claude Julien sur la situation actuelle de Michel Therrien (rumeurs) : "Je suis dans cette situation à chaque année" #Bruins #CH #RDS
— Patrick Friolet (@PFrioletRDS) January 19, 2016Translated “I am in that situation ever year…. Ever since Cam Neely became the President of the Bruins, Julien has been on the hot seat. It was especially awkward when Don Sweeney replaced Peter Chiarelli after the end of last season and Julien’s future with the organization was in doubt and not clear. Julien is an excellent coach despite his tendency to send out goons when the game is out of hand. The Bruins know this and more often than not Julien has been able to steer the ship back on track whenever it starts to veer. This is Therrien’s first real test of adversity in the regular season in his second stint with the Canadiens and as long as the players are still playing for him and giving a solid effort, he is not going anywhere. At least not yet. While the Canadiens need goals, they need to clear their heads and cut back on their mental lapses and mistakes. This has hurt them as much as anything else throughout their slump.
There is only one change in the lineup tonight as Devante Smith-Pelly will draw back in and take back his place on the fourth line from Jacob de la Rose.
#Habs lines vs #Bruins:
Pacioretty - Plekanec - Gallagher
Galchenyuk - Desharnais - Weise
Fleischmann - Eller - Byron
Flynn - Mitchell - DSP
— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNMtl) January 19, 2016Markov-Subban
Emelin-Petry
Beaulieu-Barberio
Bartley-Pateryn
#CH #habs
— Jonathan Bernier (@JBernierJDM) January 19, 2016Victor Bartley had his first practice with the Canadiens this morning but Mark Barberio will dress for his 10th NHL game of the season. This means that he would have to pass through waivers if the Canadiens were to decide to send him back to the AHL. Chances are, Barberio is here to stay with the Canadiens through the rest of the season. While he impressed in his first five games, Barberio has seen his ice time steadily decrease over the past few, especially as he is no longer playing with Alexei Emelin. Barberio and Beaulieu have not been great together on the 3rd pairing and I would have liked to see Pateryn, another physical big body in the lineup tonight against the Bruins.
For their part, the Bruins will counter with:
Lines:
Gold: Marchand—Bergeron—Connolly
White: Beleskey—Spooner—Eriksson
Gray: Vatrano—Kemppainen—Hayes
Merlot: Rinaldo—Talbot—Ferraro
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) January 18, 2016David Krejci will not play tonight against the Habs.
Finally, I am glad that the NHL came to their senses and are allowing John Scott to play at the All-Star game:
John Scott will captain the Pacific Division All-Stars at the 2016 #NHLAllStar game. https://t.co/h8jUP8G9Sl pic.twitter.com/B1UwSS7fVH
— NHL (@NHL) January 19, 2016The handling of the Scott situation has been simply awful and embarrassing. Hopefully everyone can now just enjoy the game, especially Scott and his family.
5 Questions For Tonight’s Game:
1) Can the Canadiens make it 3 games in a row with a powerplay goal scored?
2) Will the Winter Classic jerseys inspire the Canadiens to play like they did on January 1st?
3) Do you believe the rumours that Therrien’s job is in jeopardy this week?
4) Will Zac Rinaldo be sent out in the last minute of play to stir something up, again?
5) Can Mike Condon recapture his Winter Classic magic and stone the Bruins again?
Puck drops at 7:30pm.
Cheers & Enjoy the Game! Follow @Jenbcutler