{"id":20447,"date":"2017-12-21T11:07:55","date_gmt":"2017-12-21T16:07:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=20447"},"modified":"2017-12-21T11:09:41","modified_gmt":"2017-12-21T16:09:41","slug":"five-reasons-montreal-canadiens-playoff-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2017\/12\/21\/five-reasons-montreal-canadiens-playoff-spot\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Reasons The Montreal Canadiens Are Out of A Playoff Spot"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This week the Montreal Canadiens<\/a>\u00a0are out west. It is what some are calling a make or break trip<\/a>. The Habs are playing .500 hockey. While many fans had higher hopes at the beginning of the season, it looks like the Canadiens are out.<\/p>\n

Five Reasons The Montreal Canadiens Are Out of A Playoff Spot<\/h1>\n

These high hopes may have always been unwarranted. Indeed,\u00a0there was pessimism among some Habs fans since the summer. The TSN 690 crew<\/a>\u00a0expressed concerns and even the ever-optimistic Brian Wilde foresaw some regression<\/a>\u00a0this season.<\/p>\n

Some of us tried to stay positive.<\/a>\u00a0In retrospect, that optimism seems hopelessly naive. The worries expressed over the summer have been proven correct. The Canadiens are older, slower, and worse overall on defense. They have little depth down the middle. It remains unclear to anyone what exactly the plan is.<\/p>\n

Here are 5 reasons Habs fans are out of a playoff spot.<\/p>\n

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1. Defensive Deficits<\/h2>\n

Claude Julien<\/a><\/strong> became the Montreal Canadiens 26th coach\u00a0last year.\u00a0He is perhaps best known for a defensive\u00a0style\u00a0of Hockey. Unfortunately, the Habs defense has not been inspiring. Julien bears some responsibility<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As Eric Engels pointed out<\/a>:\u00a0 “Marc Bergevin<\/a> (laughably) referred to in numerous pre-season interviews as better than last season\u2019s, appears as though it was assembled to win the 2003 Stanley Cup. It\u2019s all guts and toughness and five pairs of legs slower than they need to be to compete in today\u2019s high-flying game.”<\/p>\n

Enter Coach Julien\u2019s defensive zone system. This system has been\u00a0described\u00a0as one in which<\/a>\u00a0defensemen protected the front of the net and suppressed shots from the crease. The center supported the defensemen down low. The wingers\u2019 first priority was to collapse into the slot. Goals against mattered less in the short term while players adapted to the system.<\/p>\n

Fans were told, Claude Julien’s defensive system<\/a> would help paper over the lack of talent on the blueline. So far, it hasn’t.<\/p>\n

2. Goaltending<\/h2>\n

Carey Price<\/a><\/strong> has struggled all season. He certainly does not look like an elite goalie worth $10 million per year. Price has a 3.09 goals against average and .903 save percentage. This is a drastic improvement over Price’s terrible start to the season of his career, in which he went 3-7-1 in 11 starts.<\/p>\n

Back up Al Montoya<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>has only played three games this season. He has also struggled with a 1-1 record.\u00a0In his only loss of the year, the\u00a0Los Angeles Kings\u00a0scored four goals late in the game. His win came in an 8-3 victory over the\u00a0Ottawa Senators. He has been injured since November.<\/a><\/p>\n

While Montoya isn\u2019t expected to suit up anytime soon, Price is currently backed up by Antti Niemi<\/a><\/strong>. Niemi has not been terrible but is not a long-term solution<\/a>. Price can’t play every game.<\/p>\n

3. Injuries<\/h2>\n

Between October 21 and November 14, nine players have found themselves on the IR. This includes Artturi Lehkonen<\/a><\/strong>, Torrey Mitchell<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Al Montoya<\/a><\/strong>, Shea Weber<\/a><\/strong>, Jonathan Drouin<\/a><\/strong>, Charles Hudon<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Carey Price<\/a><\/strong>, Nikita Scherbak<\/a><\/strong>, and Ales Hemsky<\/a><\/strong>. Add to this the early injury to young defenseman\u00a0Noah Juulsen<\/strong><\/a>. In the first 20 games of the season, the injury saga of David Schlemko<\/a><\/strong> further undermined an already depleted Habs blue line.<\/p>\n

This month, just one game into a seven-game road trip, the Canadiens announced on Monday that\u00a0Shea Weber<\/a><\/strong> is out\u00a0and there is no timetable<\/a> for his return to the lineup.\u00a0According to coach Claude Julien<\/a><\/strong>, Weber is dealing with a nagging foot injury that had previously kept him out of the lineup for six games last month.<\/p>\n

While every team struggles with injuries, the Canadiens had little room for the inevitable challenge that comes with an 82 game season.<\/p>\n

4. Scoring<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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Habs fans were rightly concerned about scoring this year. As some may recall, when the Bruins fired Julien, the B\u2019s were among the\u00a0worst in the league at creating offence<\/a>. So far this season, the Canadiens have struggled to consistently create offence. This is a problem Canadiens fans know all too well. While Montreal is top ten in the league in shots on goal per game, they are 18th in the league in power play conversions.<\/p>\n

Brendan Gallagher<\/a><\/strong> and Paul Byron<\/a><\/strong> are leading the team in goals. Phillip Danault<\/a><\/strong> and Max Pacioretty<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0have the most points at 21 and 20 respectively. This is less than half the points of league-leading players.\u00a0 Last month Marc Dumont suggested\u00a0focusing on the 4th line<\/a>\u00a0to augment production. The fourth line has indeed produced of late, including goals by Daniel Carr<\/a> and Nicolas Deslauriers<\/a><\/strong> against Vancouver and earned the praise of Coach Julien.<\/a> \u201cThey play the right away,\u201d said Julien. \u201cThey\u2019re doing what we want them to do. They\u2019re winning board battles, they\u2019re winning races and they\u2019re in the right position to score.”<\/p>\n

If you are looking to your fourth line to lead the team, your team has problems.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

5. Cap Space<\/h2>\n

What looked like good news earlier in the season now looks like an albatross around Marc Bergevin<\/a><\/strong>‘s neck. It is looking increasingly likely the Habs won’t make the playoffs. If they do, fans will be angry at the failure to sign a smart puck-moving defenseman or a solid second line centre to give the Habs some more depth down the middle. This is the $8.5 million question.<\/p>\n

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"The cap space is a nice asset to have moving forward. I'm always looking to make the team better."
WATCH: https:\/\/t.co\/622Tka4FDu<\/a> #GoHabsGo<\/a><\/p>\n

— Canadiens Montr\u00e9al (@CanadiensMTL) September 11, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n