After a shaky start, the Montreal Canadiens defensive adjustments are yielding results. New pairings and growing comfort in their own end are leading the team to play with renewed confidence. Coming off an 8-3 drubbing of the Ottawa Senators, the story for many fans in Habs land has been scoring. The Canadiens have also made some changes in the defensive line up this week. This an important side story. Recent defensive adjustments may be beginning to bear fruit.
Montreal Canadiens Defensive Adjustments Yield Results
The failure to resign blueline stalwart Andrei Markov has had significant repercussions. While Marc Bergevin signed free agent Karl Alzner and acquired David Schlemko, he had not yet found a reliable left defence partner for Shea Weber by training camp in September. As insurance, he offered contracts to veterans Mark Streit and signed Jakob Jerabek. As of today, David Schlemko will be sidelined for at least another two weeks after hand surgery to remove a bone fragment. Early this month, the Canadiens terminated Streit’s contract. Jerabek remains in the AHL with the Laval Rocket.
October Surprise
The most pleasant surprise on the Canadiens’ blue line this season has been Victor Mete. Mete impressed in training camp. He has found himself on the top pairing with veteran Weber. Last week, the Canadiens announced Mete would stay in Montreal for the foreseeable future. This is important because it means Mete will be one year closer to free agency. In a sad bit of irony, after an amazing three weeks, he began to show his age and inexperience.
Mete made some uncharacteristic bad plays in his first couple games after his roster spot was secured. Giveaways and bad line changes suggest his meteoric rise cannot be sustained over the long term. While Mete remains one of their best defencemen, it is suggestive that a 19-year old could have such an outsized impact. While the general manager insists that the answer is “in the room,” it seems impossible he will not have to find a way to improve the Habs defensive core.
Defensive Failings
As Nick Lariviere points out, one of the main problems is that the team’s defence lacks mobility. This is most evident in the transition from defence to offense. When defencemen struggle to move the puck up ice quickly, creative offensive opportunities are stifled. This is why Mete has been able to secure a roster spot. Few can skate and pass like he can.
Another challenge has been the shift to Claude Julien‘s defensive system. Aaron Ward considers Julien’s new defensive system a “major shift” for the Canadiens. To be successful, it requires communication and adaptation. The biggest issue is that players need to understand their partners. This was difficult early in the season because players seemed to have a different defensive partner every night. Early in the season, Julien noted that Alzner was struggling. More than ten games in, the only defenceman on the right side of plus-minus is bearded bad boy Jordie Benn.
New Pairings and Better Results
The Canadiens know they have struggled defensively. This week they made some changes. For much of training camp and early in the season, fans were told that Jeff Petry and Karl Alzner would be a pairing to be reckoned with. Petry is a more mobile defenceman while Alzner is a more defensive minded player. As such, it seemed to make sense. The pairing has been a bust so far. Petry is now paired with Brandon Davidson on the third pairing, while Alzner is playing with Jordie Benn.
Since the new pairings, the Canadiens have been playing better, giving up fewer goals, and appear poised in the offensive zone. The Canadiens are 3-1, the defensive has contributed 11 points, and as a whole are in a positive plus-minus territory.
Can this Success be Sustained?
The emergence of Brandon Davidson as a dependable top 6 defenceman is good news. Likewise, the new pairings while counter-intuitive also seem to be working. Sustainability will require some consistency to allow Carey Price to get comfortable with these new pairings. While Price is off to the worst start in his career, he has been playing in front of a new and less skilled defensive core. An under-explored notion among some commentators is that by blowing up the Habs defence, the consequences for Price would be dire.
The Canadiens have a big test this weekend against two central division teams. They play the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday and the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday. These back to back games are against teams with scoring punch and strong goaltending. Can the Habs defence build on their recent success?
Future Returns
As mentioned, Schlemko is approximately two weeks away from returning to action, according to reports. He will bring mobility and puck-moving ability to the back end and has the capability to play left defence (his natural position) and right defence (where he played with the San Jose Sharks). His return should boost the Canadiens lineup. It should be noted that he has been a depth defenceman throughout his NHL career, usually hovering in the 18-20 minutes per night category. While he will help this aspect of the defence, he is not a savior.
Similarly, Czech defencemen Jakub Jerabek is making strides in the AHL, and learning the North American game. He also brings strong passing and puck-moving skill to the back end, and could be NHL ready before the new year. Like Schlemko, he is not going to be a saviour for the group; but could be someone who adds a skill set that is needed.
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