Opponent: Chicago
Location: Bell Centre
Loss: 3-1
Montreal Goalie: Price (L)
Chicago Goalie: Crawford (W)
Montreal goalscorers: Plekanec
Chicago goalscorers: DeBrincat, Saad, Anisimov
Pre Game
Not really, but I was worried that after weathering the Montreal storm a good team like the Blackhawks would chip away and eventually find a way to win. I just hoped that the second game of back to back games would fatigue the Blackhawks enough that this wouldn't happen.
Dome hockey team
The 6 players we're playing in a no changes, do or die contest in the dome
Forwards
Charles Hudon
Was one of the best Canadiens on the ice tonight. He put pucks on the net, he hit opposing players, was responsible, defensively, in his own end and also did a pretty good job with puck possession.Thomas Plekanec - Game Puck
Have a look at the best player on the Canadiens roster right now, not on paper of course, but in the reality of his play. He's earned himself a spot back up on the second line and rightfully so. It's only been 4 games but, so far, this veteran Canadien has shown that he's still got some juice in him yet.Andrew Shaw
It's pretty slim pickings when Andrew Shaw is in your dome, but he got some shots on net, he got his nose dirty, made a few hits, blocked a few shots and was even .500 in the faceoff circle when called upon. Since we don't have much offensive creativity outside of Plekanec these days, we might as well put in two of our hardest workers with Plekanec to see if we can out work the opposition.
Defencemen
Brandon Davidson
Shae Weber had his first off night of the season and got chasing around in his own zone, resulting in a Chicago goal so we'll give him the night off from the dome. Brandon had a very good night for his part. He was a physical presence and put his body in harms way, blocking shots. Being responsible in your own zone is the first and foremost responsibility of a defenseman and Brandon did that tonight.
Jeff Petry
Jeff was a little better tonight and good enough to squeeze his way into the dome. Before we start worrying about Petry contributing offensively, we need him to be more responsible in his own end and tonight was a step in the right direction.
Goaltender
Al Montoya
In this age of hockey it is no longer good enough for goaltenders to just be good. They need to steal away a couple of goals from the opposition. Carey Price used to do that on a regular basis for the Canadiens. Tonight, Corey Crawford did that for the Blackhawks. Like the rest of the team, Price hasn't found his groove yet and I would give Al the go in goal in the Dome just to see if he can do better.
Post Game
The Canadiens came out flying and were rewarded, and rightfully so, with their first lead of the season. It was a bit of a fortunate shot, but when Ovechkin scored on a similar play it was raved about as being a goalscorers goal. So I'll give the same respect to Plekanec. He's been our best forward so far this season and he deserved that more than anyone else.
The Good News is that our team can skate and maintain puck possession as good as anyone in the league. They're creating shooting opportunities and taking them. They also strung together their best game up until this point. I also like the fact that good play has been recognised with the promotion of Plekanec to the second line. The team is slowly improving and with some patience we should see a quality team heading into the playoffs.
The Bad News is that the Canadiens still can't string together 60 minutes of quality hockey. They were closer tonight but obviously still not there. While the team was more consistent in their own end there is an alarming trend that I have observed. When the team is under pressure in their own zone, rather than give up possession but keep the puck in non threatening areas, the will move the puck into dangerous areas. This does help them maintain possession and clear the zone at times, but when it doesn't work, the leg work to get the puck into the slot has been done and it often times ends up as a 1-0 lead for the opposition. This is coaching. This would be horrendous if it were not for the fact that there is so much time left in the season. They're also still not scoring. To fire 42 shots on net and score one goal... again, is actually pretty impressive but for all the wrong reasons. That's a total of 4 goals on 155 shots this season. Opposing goaltenders have a .974 save percentage against Montreal shooters. Are Montreal shooters that bad? I doubt it. It's the lack of traffic that's the problem. It's rare to beat a goaltender these days on a clean shot. You need traffic in front so the goaltender can't pick up the shot so at least there's a rebound and you need traffic in front to bang home rebounds before the defence can clear or the goaltender can cover. The Canadiens, just aren't doing this enough.
The ugly things going on are right now are twofold. Fans screaming for this change or that just aren't patient enough or perhaps knowledgeable enough to understand that 4 games does not a season make. Were they even watching the last two seasons? Every one of these line changes and defence pairings might eventually work. I personally doubt it, but I'm not prepared to throw in the towel after 4 games. Watching the games, while the results are obviously not where we want them to be, the play is improving from a game where we didn't belong on the ice against the Capitals to a game that, if you take away about 4 minutes in the first period we should have won. The play is improving and it looks like if we're patient enough we'll get the result we want.
The treatment of Alex Galchenyuk is deplorable. With the departure of PK Subban I guess management needed a new skapegoat. Who else with talent and potential can we chastise for our shortcomings? You can't preach patience on one hand, then turn around and demote Galchenyuk to the fourth on the other. It's to a point now with Galchenyuk, despite him telling the media that he just wants to improve, that I don't see him ever fitting in with the Canadiens team. He's a talented player who has, thus far, been grossly mismanaged by Canadiens (mis)management. It's too a point, with him, that I'd like to see him given a second chance under new management, whether that be with the Canadiens or not, and for me to wish away such a talent is just plain ugly.
The Canadiens need a pick me up. Media and fans have been cruel. Players are losing their way. Management is at a loss for what to do next. Luckily their next game is against the Leafs. Let's just hope they continue to be a guaranteed win.
Ole.
The Good News is that our team can skate and maintain puck possession as good as anyone in the league. They're creating shooting opportunities and taking them. They also strung together their best game up until this point. I also like the fact that good play has been recognised with the promotion of Plekanec to the second line. The team is slowly improving and with some patience we should see a quality team heading into the playoffs.
The Bad News is that the Canadiens still can't string together 60 minutes of quality hockey. They were closer tonight but obviously still not there. While the team was more consistent in their own end there is an alarming trend that I have observed. When the team is under pressure in their own zone, rather than give up possession but keep the puck in non threatening areas, the will move the puck into dangerous areas. This does help them maintain possession and clear the zone at times, but when it doesn't work, the leg work to get the puck into the slot has been done and it often times ends up as a 1-0 lead for the opposition. This is coaching. This would be horrendous if it were not for the fact that there is so much time left in the season. They're also still not scoring. To fire 42 shots on net and score one goal... again, is actually pretty impressive but for all the wrong reasons. That's a total of 4 goals on 155 shots this season. Opposing goaltenders have a .974 save percentage against Montreal shooters. Are Montreal shooters that bad? I doubt it. It's the lack of traffic that's the problem. It's rare to beat a goaltender these days on a clean shot. You need traffic in front so the goaltender can't pick up the shot so at least there's a rebound and you need traffic in front to bang home rebounds before the defence can clear or the goaltender can cover. The Canadiens, just aren't doing this enough.
The ugly things going on are right now are twofold. Fans screaming for this change or that just aren't patient enough or perhaps knowledgeable enough to understand that 4 games does not a season make. Were they even watching the last two seasons? Every one of these line changes and defence pairings might eventually work. I personally doubt it, but I'm not prepared to throw in the towel after 4 games. Watching the games, while the results are obviously not where we want them to be, the play is improving from a game where we didn't belong on the ice against the Capitals to a game that, if you take away about 4 minutes in the first period we should have won. The play is improving and it looks like if we're patient enough we'll get the result we want.
The treatment of Alex Galchenyuk is deplorable. With the departure of PK Subban I guess management needed a new skapegoat. Who else with talent and potential can we chastise for our shortcomings? You can't preach patience on one hand, then turn around and demote Galchenyuk to the fourth on the other. It's to a point now with Galchenyuk, despite him telling the media that he just wants to improve, that I don't see him ever fitting in with the Canadiens team. He's a talented player who has, thus far, been grossly mismanaged by Canadiens (mis)management. It's too a point, with him, that I'd like to see him given a second chance under new management, whether that be with the Canadiens or not, and for me to wish away such a talent is just plain ugly.
The Canadiens need a pick me up. Media and fans have been cruel. Players are losing their way. Management is at a loss for what to do next. Luckily their next game is against the Leafs. Let's just hope they continue to be a guaranteed win.
Ole.
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