Confidence Builds | Three Stars of the Week, NHL, Habs, Montreal Canadiens, Artturi Lehkonen, Cole Caufield, Carey Price
ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA — Hello there, folks! Back with another edition of my three stars of the week column!
Players will earn points each time they appear as a star in this column and at the end of the year, I will award my three stars of the season.
The Canadiens are off to the Stanley Cup Final and here are the guys who I believe were integral in getting them to this point.
☆ THIRD STAR: Artturi Lehkonen
I wanted to include Shea Weber this week and talk about his goal in game six against Vegas and the tough minutes he has logged, while playing with his hand injury, but this week he gets an honourable mention because I have to talk about Artturi Lehkonen.
Just before the playoffs, when the Canadiens clinched against the Edmonton Oilers, it was Lehkonen, Jake Evans and Paul Byron who played incredibly well to get the Canadiens the single point they needed to qualify for the playoffs. That led me to write about Lehkonen’s history as a clutch performer for the Habs.
Thursday night, with the Canadiens a goal away from the Stanley Cup Final, Lehkonen added another chapter to a growing list of big moments as a Hab. He scored the biggest goal of the Canadiens season to this point, and he has been the same as he always is with respect to hounding the opposition when he does not have the puck.
When Evans went down with his concussion after game one in Winnipeg, the silver lining was the Canadiens had Lehkonen ready to jump back in and know that he would not miss a beat, that he would be able to do all the things that Evans was doing effectively.
With the Habs heading to the Stanley Cup Final, one has to wonder if there are more chapters to be written in the book of clutch Lehkonen performances.
☆ SECOND STAR: Cole Caufield
On the most recent episode of the Canadiens Connection podcast, I said there is a reason that this Canadiens team got to this point and teams in years past did not. There’s the top four defence playing incredibly well, there are veteran guys who have been in this spot before and know what it takes and then there is this 20-year-old sniper brimming with confidence.
Cole Caufield had a point in five out of the six games against Vegas, four of them being goals and they were all goal scorers’ goals. There can be a fear that as this run goes on, the moment may get too big for Caufield and he might stumble a bit. That has yet to happen. Caufield is not only scoring goals, but that smile cannot be wiped from his face. He’s just having fun and for a player who is only two months removed from his NHL debut, that’s remarkable.
The Canadiens have needed a guy like Caufield for a long time, somebody who can create something out of nothing and get Carey Price some run support. He did that in game six, chipping a pass from Joel Edmundson over the stick of Brayden McNabb, beating him wide and using his quick release to beat Robin Lehner. A display of his creativity that was very much needed in that game.
Tampa Bay, as the defending champions, will be a tough matchup for the Canadiens and it will be interesting to see if Caufield still finds a way to deliver the production that he has to this point.
☆ FIRST STAR: Carey Price
Carey Price continues his magical play between the pipes, and he has guided his team to a spot in the Stanley Cup Final. This is a huge moment in his career, to get to this point with a team that was doubted to even win a game against Toronto in round one, is nothing short of miraculous.
As I said, there is a reason this team has gotten to this point and other Habs teams have not, they have found a system that works for them, they have a good mix of veterans and youth and everything is clicking right now, but at the center of all of that is Carey Price. If he does not make the big save at the right moment, it falls apart.
That is simply the reality of the way this team is built, they have one of the best goaltenders in the world and have devised a system that suits what they have, but when things break down Price is always ready to make a wonderful save.
The long list of incredible saves by Price during this playoff run only grows longer, but one that sticks out to me was in game six against Vegas. Max Pacioretty with a clear-cut chance in overtime to beat Price and Price turned him aside. Not the flashiest save he has made this run, but one of Vegas’ most potent scorers with all the time in the world to beat Price and Price made it look easy.
Last week I said that Carey Price was two wins away from somewhere he had never been in his career. He got those two wins stopping 63 out of 66 shots he faced in games five and six. Now he is just four wins away from leading the Canadiens to their first Stanley Cup in 28 years.
Canadiens Connection Podcast
Every Saturday, I host the Canadiens Connection podcast with Rick Stephens to discuss the latest issues involving the Montreal Canadiens. Use the player below to listen. Be sure to share and subscribe!
By Joseph Whalen, Host, Canadiens Connection podcast
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