The Montreal Canadiens concluded the month of November on a positive note. With a record of 8 victories, two regulation losses and three more in extra time (8-2-3), they’ve proven yet again that they depend on so much more than the output of a single player. Having secured 19 out of a potential 26 points mostly without the help of their number one goaltender Carey Price (he only played two games), the Habs find themselves once again at the top of the NHL overall standings. The Dallas Stars are a point behind with one game in hand.
The month of November was marred by numerous injuries, and players who occupied regular roles on Michel Therrien’s lineup began dropping like flies. Carey Price, Torrey Mitchell, Alexei Emelin, Alexander Semin, Devante Smith-Pelly (missed one game), and Brendan Gallagher were all injured this month, making the injured reserve list for the Habs longer than all of last season’s combined. Last year, only five players were injured, and four of them came during the playoffs: Nathan Beaulieu, Lars Eller, P-A Parenteau and Andrei Markov.
The character and the depth of this hockey team certainly favors the Canadiens’ luck. They’ve scored 43 goals in 13 games, averaging 3.31 per game in November, and this despite some key elements missing in their lineup. With 88 goals to their name thus far, the Habs are the best team in scoring and are tied for first in terms of goals per game average at 3.5.
With that in mind, let’s review the month of November, starting with the goalies.
Goalies
Mike Condon has continued to impress in his rookie season by offering solid performances in Price’s absence. At times, the 25-year-old backup goalie has let in questionable goals, and was replaced by Dustin Tokarski during the Colorado Avalanche game after having allowed more than three goals for the first time in his young career.
Nevertheless, he has nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to November’s performances, and certainly won’t have time to think about them as Price has once again injured himself last week and is expected to be out of the lineup for at least 6 weeks, according to RDS.ca. If this information is accurate, the Habs’ organization should think twice about rushing their franchise and most valuable player back into the heat of the action. It’s not as though Condon hasn’t held down the fort, given his 5-2-3 record in the month of November. On a possibility of 20 points, he helped his team get 13, which is very respectable for a backup goalie. He’ll have to do slightly better over the course of the next few weeks, as there’s surely a certain amount of pressure that’s being mounted on his shoulders. However, he is not to be blamed for any of the losses incurred last month.
Defensemen
P.K. Subban added 9 points in 13 games to keep his great start to the season going. Nathan Beaulieu, Jeff Petry, Tom Gilbert, Alexei Emelin and Greg Pateryn have all put out good performances as well, and are hugely responsible for the low number of goals allowed. The Canadiens are in fifth place in the overall standings with regards to goals against, having played on average two games more than the four teams ahead of them.
Emelin’s injury has given Pateryn the opportunity to establish himself as someone who is ready to play regularly in the NHL. With this team, he could easily fill in the fifth or sixth defenseman role, despite Emelin’s excellent start to the season.
During the home-and-away games against the New Jersey Devils at the very end of the month, Andrei Markov showed signs of fatigue, despite him being in tremendous shape. Perhaps Therrien should consider lowering his ice time a little more or simply ask him to sit out the second games of back-to-backs.
Forwards
Torrey Mitchell, Brendan Gallagher and Alexander Semin’s injuries have given other forwards a chance to impose themselves and seize the opportunity to temporarily or permanently earn themselves a starting role on either of the four lines. In Sven Andrighetto’s case, he’s scored two goals and has demonstrated a very mature hockey sense for someone who has very little NHL experience. He has shown great signs playing with Lars Eller and Alex Galchenyuk, and could be the permanent solution on that line’s right wing.
Devante Smith-Pelly has looked good playing alongside Max Pacioretty and Tomas Plekanec. He managed to score two goals during the New York Rangers game by going directly to the front of the net and completing his line mates’ plays. The latter had an excellent month of November, even if many maintain that Pacioretty is merely a shadow of his explosive usual self. Both he and Plekanec put up 12 points in their last 10 games, and are tied in team lead with 24 in 25 games.
Finally, Alex Galchenyuk’s awakening has pushed all fans, the organization and the player himself to breathe out a collective sigh of relief. Electrifying in his last five games, he scored 5 goals while adding two assists to his name. Although he scored two of those goals playing on Pacioretty and Plekanec’s line (including once on the powerplay), his position will definitely remain at center, and with the welcomed addition of Andrighetto, he could finally find his consistency.
Unfortunately the Bud Holloway and Christian Thomas experiments have been inconclusive, as they’ve played only one game during the month of November.