"I always believe you need three goals to deserve to win a hockey game. We didn't score one."
You said it, Michel.
Therrien gave the Oilers their due for playing a solid game, even if most of it was spent in their end; a fact reflected by 29 Canadiens' shots handled by Ben Scrivens and another 21 blocked in front of him. Therrien also noted that his team just couldn't generate any kind of attack, despite that zone-time advantage.
I don't know if you chalk it up to a lack of desperation, or just a lack of cohesion, but the Canadiens didn't appear to be the better of both teams in this one.
In the first period, the parade to the penalty box played a significant role in stifling the Canadiens' rhythm, and yet, with three considerably clean scoring chances shorthanded, their fanciness seemed to undo them.
Max Pacioretty found the back of the net midway through the first period, but it was disallowed, with Brendan Gallagher having been launched into Scrivens. It was a questionable call, with Scrivens having plenty of time to get himself back into the play, but without the benefit of it being replay-eligible, there was no way of reversing it.
The Canadiens wouldn't get much closer in the second and the third, and that's a credit to an Oilers team riding confidently through a four-game winning streak.
Therrien is always talking about how he wants the Canadiens to play "in your face" hockey, and though the Oilers spent a fair bit of the night defending, they seemed to be in Montreal's face throughout the game. Everywhere the Canadiens turned, the Oilers were properly positioned to keep them to the outside, to force them to move pucks away from the middle.
With that, the Habs packed their bags and left for Calgary; lineup changes certainly pending.
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1) Depth came through for Edmonton in this one. Sure, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle brought their usual excitement to the game, but it was Nail Yakupov and Benoit Pouliot doing the damage on the scoresheet. It was David Perron helping them control play. It was Matt Hendricks being a pest, all over the ice. It was Boyd Gordon winning faceoffs and blocking shots. They'll win more hockey games if they get more out of the rest of the team. And Scrivens made some pretty great saves.
2) Tomas Plekanec was -3. Granted, it wasn't an amazing game for him and his linemates, but they had Montreal's best chances to score and couldn't find the back of the net with them. Plekanec easily could've finished the night at even, but alas, it wasn't a Selke-worthy performance for him.
3) The Oilers may not have the structure down the way Montreal does, but locking down a 1-0, then a 2-0 lead for most of the game is valuable experience for their team. They did all the little things right to manage that against a team that was batting nearly .1000 when trailing first coming into the game.
One thing that was clear, structure or not, the Oilers have the speed to skate with the Canadiens.
4) Okay, Therrien's practically impervious to criticism regarding his lineup decisions, but here's something you wonder about:
If things aren't going well on the top two lines, who does Therrien have to promote from the bottom two?
He moved Brandon Prust up to the third line for several shifts--and that was an excellent move considering Prust was one of Montreal's best forwards on the night. But when it came to David Desharnais' line, they could've used a tweak. It was a tough night for all three of them.
Promote Eller? Doubtful.
Promote Bourque? Undeserving--especially last night.
Dale Weise was demoted from the third line several times in the game.
Manny Malholtra and Travis Moen--non starters.
But if Jiri Sekac is in the lineup, that's an option. Even Michael Bournival would've been a decent option.
Hard to put Nathan Beaulieu's insertion down as a bad decision by Therrien. The kid was due, and against a team you'd expect to the Canadiens to control, this was probably good timing. But the move didn't work out very well. Beaulieu had considerable rust on his skates, and you can't really put that on him either (he was pretty good in the offensive zone, though).
Therrien had to start Tokarski in one of these two games, and it's easy to say he chose the wrong one in hindsight, granted--and not that my opinion carries any weight--it has to be tough sitting Price down when he gives you a performance like the one he offered against the Rangers Saturday, as I mentioned in yesterday's blog, suggesting that Price was a smarter option vs. the Oilers.
We know Price is starting tonight, in Calgary, where the Canadiens haven't bottled a win since President George W. Bush was in his first term.
Throwing in Sekac, Bournival and Tinordi would probably be a given with the Canadiens playing their third game in four nights.
5) Great dangles from Alex Galchenyuk in this one. And P.A. Parenteau made a lot of things happen out there. I suggested they were players to watch last night, and they were certainly doing good things. But they have to bury their chances, and Parenteau's going on three games of not managing to do that, despite ample opportunity.
Does the dam break tonight in Calgary?