"Life ain't a track meet, it's a marathon". Ice Cube was talking about clubbing in this quote, but his mantra is also readily applicable to the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Canadiens currently find themselves in the midst of a four day layoff while they await the winner of tonight's game 7 matchup between Tampa Bay and Detroit. In the 4 round odyssey that is the playoffs, rest is a weapon for any team with championship aspirations.
Today's line combinations at Habs practice were: 67/14/11 8/81/15 27/51/22 25/17/21
Let's break these units down. Plekanec between Pacioretty and Gallagher is the number 1 line. In the next round, both Detroit and Tampa offer multiple lines able to both score and defend. This line will be able to generate offense without being a liability if they are matched up against either the Johnson line for Tampa or say Abdelkader/Zetterberg/Nyquist for Detroit. Pacioretty and Plekanec have had great chemistry on the PK all season long and if #67 proves to be 100%, this line could be very dangerous. Obviously, it goes without saying that Montreal needs more than 1 goal from Pacioretty if they hope to win this series. Lars Eller was the Canadiens best forward in the first round. He was a monster in the faceoff circle and his line was the Habs' best at generating chances and carrying the play. After Gallagher, Therrien has a number of right wingers he likes to move up and down the line up depending on the score, match ups and game flow. I like the addition of Parenteau to Eller's flank, because he will be able to help take the cycle game which this line has been running, and turn that puck possession into some scoring chances. Too often we saw Eller, with some combination of Prust, Weise or De La Rose, unable to finish a long stretch of possession with a chance from the home plate area.
David Desharnais had 2 assists and 8 shots in the opening round. Playing with #67 at less than full speed obviously didn't help. I actually thought Desharnais was effective down low and won a lot of puck battles against the big Ottawa D-men like Methot and Gryba. Again, extended possessions didn't result in high quality scoring chances. Adding the gritty Weise and the skilled but MIA Galchenyuk, could help the Canadiens get the secondary scoring they are searching for. The Habs have been winning with stingy defense, Price and a scoring by committee approach. If they are to continue their run, Desharnais and Galchenyuk are going to have to produce; not just chances, but goals. Perhaps being separated from Pacioretty will force Desharnais to shoot more. Both he and his linemates benefit when he expands his game beyond being a simply a set up man. Finally, we have Mitchell between Smith-Pelly and De La Rose. I like #25's game. I just think that his skating, positional play and physical edge are better suited to the 4th line at this stage of his career. De La Rose is probably not up to top 9 minutes for a contender yet. He has a place in the line up for sure, but match ups against the other team's 4th lines will lessen his burden and may result in some scoring chances his way. Smith-Pelly figures to see action on all 4 lines and it would not surprise me to see a 67/51/21 line combo at some point. I like the physical edge he brought in round 1. The question is, are his hands quick and skilled enough to allow him to flourish in the top 6? So far, the answer is no. But a run like he had last Spring could see him cement a prominent role on whichever top line does not feature Gallagher.
The Defense remains stable and word is Beaulieu will not be available before game 5. Most likely, he has a rib or shoulder issue. Pateryn was solid in stepping in and other than Gilbert being forced to his off side and Emelin's periodic brain cramps, there is not much to question with this group. They have been solid. The rest will do PK and Markov well. I expect this 6-man unit to be the equal of either team they face. Should Tampa win, fans will be treated to another marquee matchup of young blue liners with Victor Hedman lining up across from PK Subban.
This Canadiens squad is well balanced top to bottom. There are no secrets at this point. They need to score to win. Price is always capable of stealing both a game and a series, but with Tampa/Det and The New York Rangers on the horizon, that will not be enough. The Canadiens have the talent to hang with these opponents. Can they find the line combinations and the tactics to be their best when their best is required?