Grade the Habs: A Five Game Report Card

By Kristina, AllHabs.net 

Montreal, QC – After dropping three straight games in what usually is the cozy confines of the Bell Centre, the Montreal Canadiens have compiled their worst starting home record since 1938. The collective hand of media and fans alike anxiously seems to be hovering over that giant, red panic button.

With five games under their belt and a 1-3-1 record, the Montreal Canadiens sit in the basement of the NHL at 26th in the league, cuddling with the other cellar dwellers at the start of the 2011-2012 season like San Jose (1-3-0), Winnipeg (1-3-0), Ottawa (1-5-0) and Columbus (0-5-1). Of course judging a team before the ten game mark is often unfair and does not provide an accurate litmus test for the remainder of the season; however, valid observations can easily be made at this point into the season.

GOALTENDING: C-

Carey Price has started all five games to start the season and only has one win to show for it. As he mulls over becoming the seventh youngest goaltender to hit that elusive 100-win mark, Carey has gone from demonstrating glimmers of an elite goaltender in the NHL displaying confidence, poise, and sound positioning to an average goalie at best.

To his credit, Price took the blame for letting the game against the Colorado Avalanche slip through the cracks as he owned up to letting in three goals he should have stopped. The success of the Montreal Canadiens largely rests on the shoulders of Carey Price and he must elevate his play before the Canadiens start winning games on a consistent basis. With a save percentage of .885 ranking him 43rd among goaltenders,  a 2.78 goals against average, ranking him 37th in the league and one win in five attempts, Carey gets a grade of C- to start the season.

POWER PLAY – D-

What usually is the Montreal Canadiens’ bread and butter, the powerplay is looking like a stale piece of butterless toast.  Since the lockout, the Montreal Canadiens’ powerplay has ranked fifth, first, first, thirteenth, second, and seventh in the league, respectively. After five games in the 2011-2012 season, the power play ranks 24th in the league with an effectiveness of 9.5%. That number is 10.2% lower than last year’s ending power play percentage of 19.7%. With already 21 opportunities on the season, the Canadiens need to do a better job of cashing in on their chances with the man advantage.

The Canadiens live and die by the power play and the lack of Markov excuse to quarterback the point is as stale as this piece of toast. Markov has played 52 regular season games since the 2009-2010 season and this notion of waiting  until he gets back for the power play to improve must vanish. Jacques Martin must continue to rely on his young blue liners with rocket shots in Subban, Weber and Diaz and allow them to develop some chemistry and consistency manning the back end.

The Plekanec-on-the-point experiment seems to have ended and rightfully so as his skills are far more effective on the half boards, distributing the puck. It remains to be seen if Martin plans on playing Andrei Kostitsyn regularly on the point as he did against Buffalo (bad idea). Ultimately, if the Canadiens can establish some convincing net presence with the likes of Pacioretty and Cole, get pucks on net regularly with shots from the blueline and keep it simple the team will start finishing. For now, the Canadiens have only been able to score with three penalty killers on the ice and have mustered a D- in this department.

PENALTY KILL – D-

The rule of thumb is that a team’s power play percentage and penalty kill percentage should add up to 100% to be productive. Right now, the Canadiens’ mathematical formula equates to a lowly 89.5%. That is nowhere near good enough for the Canadiens to be successful. The one bright spot is that the Canadiens have been 100% on the road, killing off 11 penalties in the process.

The best penalty killer must be your goaltender and improvements on the penalty kill have to start from the back with Carey Price. Surrendering goals such as the Rene Bourque snipe over his shoulder must be improved. Of course some of the blame can be distributed to untimely penalties such as the Raphael Diaz trip with 4:54 left to play in the Colorado game. The Canadiens need to be more disciplined and should not be ranked 12th in the league at conceding man-advantage opportunities, averaging four per game.  With five games done, the Habs penalty kill at 23rd in the league is good enough for a D-.

FIVE-ON-FIVE PLAY – B

For a hockey club that is typically known for its special teams play, the Canadiens play five-on-five has been encouraging. Of the twelve goals scored so far, ten of them have been at even strength. The third line of Max Pacioretty, David Desharnais and Andrei Kostitsyn has arguably been the Canadiens’ best line. The chemistry between Pacioretty and Desharnais is palpable and if Kostitsyn can find a way to contribute on a consistent basis by throwing his body around and netting a few goals, the line has the potential to be one of the best third lines in the league.

Tomas Plekanec appears to be in fine form thus far with two goals and two assists through five games.  Mike Cammalleri appeared to have the routine jump in his step prior to going down with a laceration against the Winnipeg Jets — his insertion back in the lineup is expected to be this week and will certainly give the Canadiens a boost. Scott Gomez has only notched one assist thus far but his play in general has been much stronger than the deplorable efforts of last season.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment in the first five games has been Erik Cole. With only one assist and a total of seven shots on net, Cole has not found his groove yet in the bleu, blanc, rouge. With his size and goal-scoring ability, Cole must prove, sooner rather than later, that his $4.5 million pay check for the next four years is worth it.

If Canadiens can maintain strong five-on-five play as they did against the Buffalo Sabres, losing a game they should have won, perhaps they can slowly rid the perception that they are not an even strength team.

FINAL GRADE – D

With a final grade of D, the Canadiens have nothing to write home about. Maybe leaving home is exactly what they need and the best remedy is a road game against the Sidney-less and Letang-less Pittsburgh Penguins.