The past week was a “bounce back week,” for the Montreal Canadiens, who needed to show that they can overcome the blowout from the Columbus Blue Jackets the week before. While the Canadiens have posted a 3-1 record in the last two weeks, they needed to show that they can win without relying solely on Carey Price. The Habs did just that this past week, as the team came together and played with improved aggressiveness and speed.
The week started against the Boston Bruins, a game in which the Canadiens won 3-2, despite being outshot 42-22. While the end result did not reflect this disparity, it was evident that the Canadiens needed to work on getting more shots on net and letting less of them get through.
The next game was Thursday against the Los Angeles Kings, which the Canadiens won convincingly by a score of 4-1. This game had a great feel to it, as the Habs controlled the tempo throughout the game using their speed. The Canadiens again found themselves outshot 24-23 due to a lack of discipline in the final period. Despite this disadvantage, as well as the inability to match the Kings for physicality, however, the Habs were able to use their speed to push themselves to victory.
On Saturday, the overall team game was even better as the Canadiens beat the Detroit Red Wings 5-0. The Habs took control very early with two quick goals and never let up. In yet another sign of progress, the Canadiens outshot the Red Wings 37-25. This game proved that Price doesn’t need to make the big saves in order for the Habs to win.
On Sunday, the Canadiens lost 3-2 to the Chicago Blackhawks. The Canadiens seemed to have no gas left in the tank after playing its fourth game in six days. The good news is that Al Montoya bounced back from his 10-0 loss spectacularly by stopping 33 of 36 shots. Had it not been for Montoya, the deficit could have been much worse than 3-2. Despite obvious symptoms of fatigue, the team fought hard until the very end.
The First Line
The game winner against the Bruins, was scored by Paul Byron, who was playing his first game on the top line with Alexander Radulov and Alex Galchenyuk. The trio continued to produce well throughout the week, including Byron’s three goals in the first three games of the week.
With Radulov as the playmaker and Galchenyuk as the sniper, Byron’s role has become that of the speedster. With him on the line, it has become much easier to start and convert breakout chances, and creating scoring opportunities has become the hallmark of this top line.
Radulov and Galchenyuk have yet to cool off since being paired together over two weeks ago. Galchenyuk is currently seventh in scoring in the entire NHL with 16 points (6G, 10A) in 15 games. It’s safe to say the impact of Radulov playing with him has made Galchenyuk the player he has been so far this season, and their communication seems to be strong as well. Following Thursday’s 4-1 win over the Kings, Michel Therrien noted that that they seem to be very close, despite his inability to understand exactly what they say to each other.
Not to be overshadowed, Byron has turned heads this past week, scoring three goals and bringing his total to five for the year. He would have likely had another goal against Detroit, but the decision was reversed. Byron currently ranks tied for third on the team with former line-mates Phillip Danault and Torrey Mitchell. He keeps proving night in and night out just how smart Marc Bergevin was for acquiring him on waivers. Byron will likely be put back lower in the lineup in the near future, but he has proved he can be serviceable anywhere.
The New Third Line Centre
Thursday night, Therrien decided to shake up his lineup by bringing Danault up to the third line and scratching David Desharnais. In his chance for a bigger role, Danault shined scoring a goal and creating multiple scoring chances with his line-mates Max Pacioretty and Andrew Shaw. His performance earned him the first star of the night. Danault followed Thursday’s performance with another goal on Saturday.
If Danault continues at this pace, he may even make Tomas Plekanec expandable. While not the most gifted offensively, Danault makes up for it with his great defensive play. However, when he does score it is always a nice bonus. Plekanec, on the other hand, needs to either begin producing as a second line centre or find himself elsewhere. If he continues to flounder, the Canadiens either will have to try Danault in that role or trade Plekanec in a package for a better second line centre.
Max Pacioretty and Andrew Shaw
Last week, both Shaw and Pacioretty were being criticized for not showing enough emotion out on the ice. This week, they were part of what was the second best line for the Habs, trailing only the Byron-Galchenyuk-Radulov trio.
The two players seemed to get involved more often, especially Shaw who scored his first goal in over 10 games on Saturday and then proceeded to be the best forward in Sunday’s loss. Despite not scoring on Sunday, he got in the dirty areas which is something that was expected of him when he arrived in Montreal. If he can continue the way he has played this weekend, he will be very effective in his role for the Canadiens.
As for Pacioretty, his improved play in front of the net certainly served as a boost for the rest of the team, who is undoubtedly looking to their captain for leadership. Although he has yet to break his scoreless streak, it seems like only a matter of time before his goal slump ends and he’s back to lighting up the lamp.
Overall Thoughts
The Canadiens look like a much better team than they were at this time last week. It seems as if they really woke up from that horrific loss over a week ago, and the players appear to be generating chemistry despite the changes in rotation.
The biggest lingering concern for the near future is that the Habs have been getting into penalty trouble late in games. If this continues, it could cost the Canadiens a game or two that they should have won. In a league where teams play 82 games, you need to get every point that you can get to make the playoffs. While the Canadiens are way ahead in the standings, a huge slump could occur and those early points could end up saving them in the long run.
Either way the Habs had a great week, and they will certainly look to carry that momentum into Tuesday night’s game against the Florida Panthers.
Click here for last week’s report.
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