Habs

Habs vs Rangers Preview, Gallagher Out 6 Weeks, Emelin IN & 5 Questions

By Jennifer B Cutler

Nov 25, 2015 • 12:23 pm

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The Montreal Canadiens face off against the New York Rangers tonight at Madison Square Gardens in what will be a battle for the top spot in the Eastern Conference standings. A quarter of the way through the 2015-2016 NHL season, the Montreal Canadiens find themselves leading the Atlantic division with a 16-4-2 record and tied with the New York Rangers and Dallas Stars for the lead league with 34 points. The Canadiens actually sit at at 3rd overall as they have played one more game than the Rangers and the Stars have won one more game. Few could have predicted the Canadiens would be in the position that they are in today before the season began. Their unbelievable start of 9-0 was incredible but they have since settled back to Earth.

Most of the Canadiens good fortune throughout last season and today has been due to their exceptional fortune of staying healthy. They were challenged a few weeks ago when Carey Price suffered a lower body injury but rookie backup goaltender Mike Condon more than answered the call as he provided the Canadiens an opportunity to win in almost every start. As Price returned, Alexei Emelin suffered a minor lower body injury but again the Canadiens had the personnel of young NHL ready defencemen ready to step up. Nathan Beaulieu has been playing excellent hockey next to Jeff Petry, shouldering additional defensive responsibility against the opposition’s top lines while Greg Pateryn has proven that he can play each and every day. Torrey Mitchell then suffered a (say it with me) lower body injury in last Friday’s match against the New York Islanders and the Canadiens called up Sven Andrighetto as an extra forward. Mitchell will be out for another 7-10 days. It was good timing for Andrighetto as it turned out that Devante Smith-Pelly had a (surprise!) lower body injury and would miss Sunday’s rematch against the Islanders. And so the Canadiens called up Bud Holloway to act as the team’s 13th forward as Andrighetto got the call to play next to Alex Galchenyuk and Lars Eller. Finally, the injury bug landed on Brendan Gallagher Sunday night when he fractured two fingers blocking a Johnny Boychuk shot which required surgery. We now know that Gallagher will be out at least 6 weeks while he recovers.

Many thought that the injury to Price would prove to be costly to the Canadiens as so many believed that it would be difficult for the team to continue to succeed without him in the lineup. While long-term that is probably true, especially since the Canadiens had zero confidence in Dustin Tokarski to start a game so that Condon could rest, short term the Canadiens were more than able to survive and stay at the top of the standings. The injury to Gallagher is long-term though, and it will be very difficult for the Canadiens to replace what he brings to the team on and off the ice. Gallagher had been on pace for a career year as he had 9 goals and 10 assists through 22 games. Over an 82 game season that would project to 33 goals and 37 assists. While perhaps those numbers are somewhat over-reaching, there is no doubt that his presence in front of the net and determination will greatly be missed. Gallagher has proven to be invaluable to the Canadiens. He was rewarded with a long term contract last season rather than Bergevin’s usual bridge contract to restricted free agents coming off of their rookie deal. This season he was officially added to the Canadiens leadership core with an ‘A’ stitched on to his jersey.

The Canadiens are leading the league with the Dallas Stars for goals scored per game, averaging 3.55. Their success has been due to the ability to roll four lines that have all been able to step and contribute. How will the Canadiens be able to replace Gallagher’s offensive contribution? This will not be an easy task. In their first test tonight, the Canadiens lines will look like:

The good news is that Smith-Pelly is healthy and ready to return to action. Will he be able to at least temporarily replace Gallagher on the top line with Tomas Plekanec and Max Pacioretty? After practice yesterday, Therrien explained his reasoning as:

Plekanec and Pacioretty often face the opposition’s best and they need a winger who could handle the additional defensive responsibilities. Smith-Pelly fits that bill as he already kills penalties and Therrien was not afraid to have him along with Torrey Mitchell and Brian Flynn play against top players such Sidney Crosby and/or Evgeni Malkin. Smith-Pelly has had some success playing with elite players such as Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry when he was with Anaheim. With his weight loss this season he has proven to faster and more aggressive. He could be a stop gap on the top line for now but chances are he will not be the solution for 6 weeks. Therrien could have chosen to break of the Desharnais-Fleischmann-Weise line but it is understandable that he was hesitant to do so given how consistent and successful they have been. It is also obvious that Alex Semin would not be able to keep up with the top line as well. The Canadiens options at RW are limited. While we have recently learnt that Bergevin is amongst the most active general managers in terms of being in contact with his fellow gm’s, I doubt that he will pull the trigger button and make a panic move. Bergevin will only make a deal if it makes sense.

As for the rest of the Canadiens lines, Andrighetto will get another look next to Eller and Galchenyuk. His speed caused havoc for the Islanders and Galchenyuk looked rejuvenated playing with someone who can keep pace with him. Playing on the road though, will Therrien try to shelter their minutes? At practice yesterday, Emelin participated but played alongside Jarred Tinordi on the 4th unit. After the morning skate today, Therrien confirmed that Emelin would play tonight against the Rangers, relegating Pateryn back to the press box.

The Rangers will counter with:

The game tonight is being touted as practically an epic battle between two elite teams. Carey Price and the Habs shutout the Rangers 3-0 in their first match of the season. Tonight should be another goalie duel between the NHL’s best. It will be a tough first test for the Canadiens without Gallagher, but it will be a good measuring stick nonetheless.

5 Questions:

1) How long with Smith-Pelly last with Plekanec and Pacioretty?

2) Will Andrighetto continue to spark Galchenyuk and Eller? Could he be the permanent solution to that line's woes?

3) With Emelin is ready to play and Pateryn sitting, do you leave Beaulieu with Petry or does Emelin reclaim his spot? Therrien would not confirm his plans for the D pairings.

4) Do you want Bergevin to make a trade to get a RW or are you willing to give Smith-Pelly or AHL prospects like Holloway or Michael McCarron a chance?

5) Will Special Teams decide the game tonight? The last game saw 10 penalties but no goals scored either on the powerplay or shorthanded.

Puck drops at 7pm!

Cheers & Enjoy The Game!

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