Montreal 2 Philadelphia 5 (Wells Fargo Center)
MONTREAL, QC.– When it was clear that tonight’s game was out of reach, we started to hear familiar phrases being uttered by fans and media alike. “Habs are getting pushed around.” “Flyers are intimidating with size.” “It’s the return of the Smurfs.” This game is “men vs boys.”
We’ve heard it all before — the Canadiens are too small to compete with the bigger teams in the league. What inevitably follows is a wish list of retread players who have worn out their welcome elsewhere. Please, spare me.
Besides, when the Habs do have a chance to get bigger, it’s ironic that it is those same people who argue the opposite. What do I mean?
Think back to the 2009 NHL Amateur Draft in Montreal where there were a number of players considered big forwards available to the Habs. They could have traded up a few spots to get Peter Holland, or down to pick up Carter Ashton. My personal choice would have been Chris Kreider, a 6’2″, 220 lb. power forward with blazing speed, and sweet offensive skills.
Montreal passed on Kreider and selected a much smaller, slower, hometown boy by the name of Louis Leblanc. The Habs-don’t-have-enough-size crowd cheered wildly.
When Pierre Gauthier went out and obtained Ian Schultz and Lars Eller (both 6’2″) from St. Louis, the size-obsessed whined about giving up their hero, Jaroslav Halak. Have you noticed that it’s all quiet these days on the Halak-worship front as he posts less than mediocre numbers with the Blues? Halak is 17th in wins, 22nd in goals against average and 28th in save percentage.
I certainly can’t forget when I advocated bringing up size from Hamilton in the 6’2″ frame of Max Pacioretty to bolster the Habs lineup. I was crucified by fans and media alike for my stance. Thanks to Jamie from HabsWatch for being one of the few that stood by me, and now can share in the knowledge that it was the correct assessment.
I won’t even begin to describe the hate-mail I got for supporting Ryan O’Byrne when most wanted to ride him out of town on a rail. At 6’6″, 230 lbs. he was the only defenseman who was intimidating to opposition forwards entering the Canadiens zone and the only one capable of clearing the front of the net. O’Byrne is doing all of that and more as he now anchors the Avalanche defense.
The folks you speak of are rather inconsistent in their opinions, so what does that have to do with tonight’s game, you ask?
The simple fact is that size had little to do with Philadelphia’s win tonight. The Canadiens proved that they could compete with the Flyers rather well in the first period. Montreal used their speed effectively to create scoring chances and handcuff the Philly defense. And the player who could have helped on the blueline was deemed to be persona non grata and shipped to Colorado.
Does the stats sheet show that the big bad Flyers punished the diminutive Canadiens? In a word, no. Hits were virtually even with Philadelphia holding a slight edge 20-19.
The game turned on a 91-second stretch where the Canadiens took three minor penalties. Jaroslav Spacek and P.K. Subban have to wear the goat horns for taking dumb penalties at a time when the Habs could ill afford them.
Discipline has been a problem all season long. The Canadiens have been shorthanded 203 times, the 3rd most in the league.
Lack of discipline has also manifested itself in bench minors. Montreal was assessed its ninth too-many-men penalty tonight. Only the Tampa Bay Lightning are worse in that category.
Special teams were an obvious factor with the Flyers going 3-for-5 with the man advantage. Montreal wasn’t a sustained threat with the power-play and went 0-for-7.
“You can’t give a team like that, with that many weapons, a 5-on-3 for so long,” said Carey Price.
Our favorite guy behind the bench, Coach K, would also make the argument that systems made a difference. He said “Gotta give the Flyers credit. They’re hemming the Habs in the neutral zone. They’re forechecking two players and causing our defense fits.”
Subban and James Wisniewski had the most difficulty with the Philadelphia pressure. There seemed to be a lack of composure. Both were rushing their passes, creating turnovers that led to scoring chances by the Flyers.
By contrast the Canadiens passive forecheck meant the majority of their shots came from the perimeter. Many of the attempts didn’t make it to Sergei Bobrovsky in the Flyers goal. Philadelphia blocked 31 Montreal shots — the Canadiens blocked eight.
So, let’s give the Flyers credit for being a more skilled team than we give credit for, having a balanced attack, and for being much better coached than our Montreal Canadiens. This shouldn’t be misinterpreted as admiration for a team that Habs fans clearly love to hate but clear recognition that this is not the goon squad of Philly team’s of the past. It is an important distinction when the know-it-alls trot out their simplistic solution that bigger is better, and the only way.
The Canadiens are off for the All-Star break with their next game coming on February 1 in Washington, D.C.
Plus/Minus
▲ Mathieu Darche had a goal and an assist. He was the best forward after the first period.
▲ Roman Hamrlik had an assist. He and Yannick Weber were among just three Canadiens with a plus-rating.
▲ What can we say about Max Pacioretty? With injured ribs, Pacioretty led the team in hits and was the first to stand up for his teammate when David Desharnais was blindsided by Scott Hartnell.
▲ Carey Price was solid facing 35 Flyers shots and allowing just one even-strength goal.
▲ Referees Chris Rooney and Ian Walsh called a fair and relatively consistent game.
► David Desharnais played well but his addition to the power-play is clearly a failed experiment.
All Habs game stars
1. Mathieu Darche
2. Roman Hamrlik
3. David Desharnais
Roster notes
Alexandre Picard and Tom Pyatt were healthy scratches. Mike Cammalleri has a shoulder injury. Andrei Markov and Josh Gorges are out for the season with a knee injuries.
(photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images)
I think size is one of the factors that you have to consider when choosing a player. But… that doesn’t mean all tall players are good players than the small ones. Let just say that… tall players have more advantage than the others. =)
The Flyers looked like the strong team that they are last night. The one thing that they’re (almost) guilty of is letting off a little towards the end…. but it seems an all too common tendency.
Pacioretty looks like he’s ready to stay.
Although I don’t believe size is the most important factor… just as the Habs were using their speed as you mention… having a couple of big mean players with decent hands would certainly open the ice more to some of our smaller, quick, sharp shooting players…. like Gionta and Cammalleri.
I’m all for it. Sign me up.
Size vs the Flyers is absolutely an issue. It wasn’t in last year’s playoffs vs the Caps or Pens, who don’t play particularly big. But the Canadiens have been more or less manhandled by the Flyers over the past 2 seasons; nowhere was it more evident than in the playoffs. Removing the game 3 win from the mix, the Canadiens were outscored 16-2 in the series. The Canadiens couldn’t get near Leighton whatsoever. Everything was from the perimeter and Michael Leighton will NEVER have 3 shutouts in a playoff series at any level ever again. Yes, size is an issue.
When they get their speed game going, the Habs are a formidable team. The trouble is they rarely sustain it long enough to beat a team like the Flyers, especially in the playoffs. Sure, the Canadiens competed well in the first period before they took a hat trick of dumb-dumb penalties. But a hockey game is 60 minutes, not 16. They fell behind, and once they’re behind, they are more or less doomed. The Flyers have always been a rough & tumble team with skill to boot. The Canadiens have been more or less soft but skilled. The resulting record speaks for itself. 9 wins for the Flyers vs 4 for the Canadiens since the major overhaul. Outscored 40-25 over that period. Sure, the Canadiens beat the Flyers 3-0 this year, but that was all Price, and the Flyers may have went in to that game expecting an easy ride considering what a pushover the Habs were. After that, they beat the Habs 3 consecutive times, scoring 13 goals in the process and giving up 7.
The Canadiens don’t have far to go to be competitive vs the Flyers, but they do need some bodies that can make them wince in pain once in a while. They foolishly sent O’Byrne packing and they’re paying for it now. Hal Gill is huge but it would be interesting to see whether he or Peter Popovic would win the title of Gentle Giant. Spacek and Hamrlik are soft. Subban and Weber are strong boys but still pretty raw, and let’s face it: they don’t scare the likes of Carter, Richards, Hartnell, or even Briere. It’s a moot point since they’re hurt, but Markov and Gorges aren’t particularly rugged either, though they don’t need to be since they are so positionally sound. Up front, we all love the smaller guys, but it definitely is an issue when they have to skate twice as far and burn twice as much energy just to establish some form offense. They can’t sustain.
I agree with you that the Flyers are no longer the pack of drooling goons that personified their teams of the 70’s. They are a very skilled team that also took toughness and size in to consideration and they’re reaping the benefits.
I hope these 2 teams don’t meet in the playoffs because I fear we’ll be having this discussion all over again.
Comments are closed.