Habs News: Canadiens, Bruins, Leafs Playoff Matchup, Return of Dale Weise, Best of Jonathan Drouin, Jesperi Kotkaniemi Impresses
by Chris G, Senior Writer, All Habs Hockey Magazine
LAVAL, QC. — Another successful week for the Montreal Canadiens as they collected five out of the six possible points in three games at the Bell Centre. On Tuesday, the easily beat the struggling Ducks by a 4-1 score, and won 5-2 against the Jets on Thursday night. On Saturday night, the Maple Leafs prevented the Habs of finishing the week with a perfect record as they beat Montreal 4-3 in overtime.
The Canadiens head on the road for three games as they visit P.K. Subban and the Nashville Predators on Thursday night, and then head to the state of Florida to face the league’s top team Lightning on Saturday, and then the Panthers on Sunday.
My top-5 Canadiens takes of the week
Leafs or Bruins?
Saturday night’s game against the Maple Leafs lived up to the hype. For the first time in years, both teams are good at the same time. It was a fun game to watch with a lot of scoring and chances at both ends of the rink until John Tavares ended the game by scoring the winning goal during the 3-on-3 overtime. That was Toronto’s sixth consecutive win against Montreal after losing 14 straight against the Canadiens.
It looks like there will be a first round Original-6 matchup in the playoffs as the Maple Leafs, Bruins, and Habs are currently in a tight race to determine the number two to four spots in the Atlantic Division.
From a hockey perspective, I think that Montreal would match better against Boston than Toronto, but a playoff series against their Canadian rivals would re-ignite a rivalry that I find has slowly lost its luster in the last couple of years.
Statement Win
Regardless of what was said after the game by the players and Claude Julien, I think that the Canadiens’ win against the Jets on Thursday night sent a message to the teams across the NHL. Last season, teams facing Montreal were able to win without them even having to put significant effort to do so. It’s the opposite this season. If you’re having a bad night, just like the Jets had on Thursday, the Canadiens will take advantage of it.
Montreal just finished a seven game home stand where they collected an impressive 10 of the possible 14 points and three points in the first two games of a four game sequence against tough opponents.
If Montreal has success this week against the Predators and the Lightning, will it make tougher for Marc Bergevin to stick to his plan of not sacrificing the future for a short-term fix?
Weise is back
Dale Weise is back in the organization as the Canadiens made his acquisition on Saturday from the Flyers along with Christian Folin. In exchange, David Schlemko and Byron Froese were sent to Philadelphia.
I don’t think that a winner of this trade can be determined right now. Montreal takes on approximately $300,000 more of cap hit with this trade, while contract lengths remain identical.
Let’s review this trade from Montreal’s point of view. Schlemko never played regularly in Montreal, primarily due to injuries. Bergevin signed him as a free agent in July 2017, in hopes of making him Shea Weber‘s defensive partner. That clearly didn’t work out. Schlemko was sent to the Rocket since January 8th, and didn’t seem happy to be there.
Weise had his best moments in the NHL with the Canadiens and it’s those seasons that helped him get his current contract. The team’s fourth line has struggled as of late, and they will be looking at Weise to be an upgrade in that role.
Nolin was a depth defenceman in Philadelphia, and was a healthy scratch in the last four games. I think he will have a similar role with Montreal as he will be an insurance policy on the right side if needed.
Byron Froese will be a huge loss for the Laval Rocket, but for Montreal, he was expendable. He’s an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, and it didn’t look like there was any plans for him to be recalled by Montreal.
Drouin’s best moments
Last week, Jonathan Drouin had his best moments since joining Montreal. He had three consecutive multiple point games as he collected nine points during that span against the Oilers, Ducks, and Jets. His hard work on both sides of the ice, paid off. He was especially dominating against Winnipeg as Drouin was part of four of the five goals his team scored and took nine shots.
Drouin is on pace to finish the season with a career high 67 points. That number could have been even higher if the team’s power play had more success since the start of the season.
In the game versus the Devils on Super Bowl weekend, a blown defensive coverage by Drouin led to New Jersey’s overtime goal. Drouin took ownership of that goal following the game. Is that play what led him to play harder defensively?
Let’s hope we continue to see the best of Drouin going forward.
Kotkaniemi comfortable at Bell Centre
On Saturday, Jesperi Kotkaniemi wasn’t able to extend his scoring streak to five games as he was held scoreless by the Leafs. Throughout the sequence, Kotkaniemi was playing on a line with fellow countrymen Joel Armia and Artturi Lehkonen. That trio has looked good together.
Kotkaniemi has scored all of his 10 goals this season at the Bell Centre. It’s the sixth time in NHL history that a player has scored his first 10 on home ice.
If Elias Pettersson wasn’t in the picture, I think Kotkaniemi would have had a chance to be a finalist for the rookie of the year trophy.
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