"I saw it coming this morning," Michel Therrien noted after the game. A coach and a visionary, Therrien made us all aware that he knew the New Jersey Devils represented a significant drop in emotional investment for his team after they ravaged the Maple Leafs on Hockey Night in Canada, Saturday.
In the same breath, Therrien gave the Devils a lot of credit. They forechecked very aggressively, they rocked the Canadiens back on their heels, and they finished a couple of key plays--one or two less than they needed. When all was said and done, the Habs drove home from the Bell Centre with two points in hand, all of them with a debt of gratitude to Carey Price, who was exceptional on the night.
When Price wasn't there, Subban was. The superstar defender for the Canadiens pulled two pucks off the goal line and made another play to deny a shorthanded goal when the Devils broke out on a 2-on-1 that he was left to handle.
We made it through an entire press conference before Arpon Basu of NHL.com raised his hand to share an observation with Therrien about the fact that Subban's defensive highlights seem to be as pervasive as his offensive ones. The coach agreed, emphatically.
As far as I’m concerned, he’s playing his best hockey. His focus is in the right place.Don’t forget, whether you’re an offensive defenseman or a stay home defenseman there’s one thing in common, you’re a defenseman. So if you’ve got the talent to bring some offense...that’s great. But you never want to risk putting your team in trouble with your talent. You need to play well both ways. This is what P.K.’s doing right now, he’s doing a fabulous job with our team.
He loves the challenge, because we’re putting him out there against the top players in the league game in game out. He loves that challenge. Good athletes, when they are on top of their game, this is what they like. They like that challenge.
This is the challenge that we’ve given him, and it’s not a coincidence that we’ve had success and picked up wins.
His focus is there, and he’s certainly one of the best defensemen right now.
The other key cog in this game was David Desharnais, who notched two beautiful assists on goals for Rene Bourque and Max Pacioretty. It wasn't Desharnais deft passing ability that was lauded after the game, it was his battling to loose pucks and his willingness to sacrifice himself to make plays that were indicative of what he's done differently between struggling terribly and succeeding mightily--traits that Therrien admired in his post-game comments:
"David Desharnais has to be a warrior to succeed in this league; a warrior in his own way."
To borrow a line from Mark Twain, "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.". For too long, Desharnais wasn't fighting to allow his talent to take over. Now that he is, he's become one of the most influential actors in winning efforts.
With key contributions from those select players mentioned above, the Canadiens found the resources to win a game that didn't belong to them. Jersey will have a crack at revenge come tomorrow, but you can expect the Canadiens to be much better prepared for that challenge. *****************
1) The mental strength of Alex Galchenyuk...it's pretty apparent. Not just cause he scored what proved to be the winning goal in this game, but because he came out hard and confident, and he played a great game up until that point, and as a couple of chances slipped away from him, he was tempted to hook an opposing player to get the puck back and he relented.
Lesson learned? Absolutely!
Confidence broken? Not at all.
This kid is a special player.
2) Couldn't escape a thought that ran through my mind yesterday: Imagine the magic Subban and Markov could've made together over two years of missed hockey for the latter?
Shame we were deprived of it...
If either one of these two were to win the Norris Trophy this season, they'd have each other to thank for it. The way they're playing, if they keep it up, they could be the first pair to win the award.
It's not without bias that I'm making these comments. I do get to watch these two every time they play.
It is rare to have a defense pairing that features two players as gifted as Subban and Markov are. Aside from Shea Weber and Seth Jones, I'm not sure there's a pair that fits that bill. And even at that, Jones isn't quite on the level that Suter was when he played with Weber.
Looking at Keith and Seabrook, it's pretty clear-cut which one of them gives them the reputation they have as one of the best pairings in the league.
But the way Subban and Markov control the game individually, and how much better they make each other and the team... wow.
3) Alexei Emelin set up the winning goal, and it was pretty much the only solid play he made in the hockey game. It was a rough night for him-- showing the effects of five games in eight nights. Therrien can't overextend Emelin, knowing how important he is to the team's success. Let's not forget, Emelin will be on Russia's Olympic squad, and his minutes need to be managed here in Montreal to ensure he's playing his best hockey when it counts the most.
4) Travis Moen's not really getting enough credit for how good he's played this season. He certainly got his share of criticism for the way he played last season.
Moen's been excellent on what's now one of the league's best penalty kills. He's shutting down great players night in, night out. He's blocking shots and he's enabling offensive zone pressure. And last night, he threw a hit that woke his team up in the second period.
5) The struggle for Brian Gionta has been hard to watch. He's a great example of a player that still provides value, even when he's not scoring. If that weren't the case, the fact that he hasn't scored in 14 games would garner far more attention. It helps that the team is winning, and a big part of that is the role Gionta is playing alongside Plekanec.
But, still, it's hard to watch the well dry up for Gionta. It seems after those two bicep surgeries to both arms, his shot has suffered significantly. It seems the only way he'll score is if he knocks one in from the goalmouth-- chances he steered wide over the last number of games. Things will unblock for him, but it's been a mighty struggle...