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)