by Michael Ham-Fan, Staff Writer, All Habs Hockey Magazine
MONTREAL, QC. — The Montreal Canadiens have had the stranglehold of the Ottawa Senators since the end of the third game of Round 1, when Canadiens forward Dale Weise gave a 3-0 series lead to his team with a big overtime goal.
Since then, Montreal have lost two in a row and their overall play seems uninspired. The Senators are back in the series and a very crucial Game 6 is coming up on Sunday.
Here are, again, a few thoughts on the series so far:
- The Canadiens are what I like to call an effort-based team. They are not an overly talented team on offense or on defense in the way that although they have depth, they do not have a lot of elite talent except for the obvious few. Despite that, they won 50 games this regular season. Carey Price is certainly the most important factor for winning, but the other one would be the effort level that the team can show. They have been very consistent in that aspect throughout the season. When they are on their game, the Habs forechecking ability is very effective. One of the reasons why I think the Habs have been lackluster in the last two games is that they tried playing it too safe, and their effort level became flat. They lost that killer-instinct that was confusing the Senators’ defense in the first three games.
- Another reason for the recent slump has been the power-play. Not only is the Canadiens power-play not scoring goals, but it has been losing momentum for the team. Like TSN analyst Ray Ferraro recently said on TSN 690, the Habs power-play bases their play on long passes through the crease or back to the point. The Senators have cut those passing lanes and have been defending the shots from the point extremely well, making the Habs power-play nearly irrelevant.There are two changes that I would bring to the Habs power-play. The first one is to keep the passes short and fast. It reduces the chances or turning it over and it opens up more shooting lanes. The second change is that I would put Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau back on the power-play. After an incredible first game, Brian Flynn has not contributed enough to the team. I would make a switch and bring Parenteau back in the lineup, especially to work on the power-play.
- After the first game of the series, seeing a shaky Andrew Hammond in front of the Senators net brought to me a concerning thought of seeing Craig Anderson later in this series. It happened after two games. Craig Anderson is a savvy veteran that has been a solid goaltender for most of his career. Although the Canadiens have not challenged him enough, Anderson has displayed a good amount of skill and confidence that allowed his team to get back in the series. He currently looks very comfortable in his net and his presence has created doubt among some Habs supporters. The Canadiens have to get more bodies in front of him, but granted that is not easy with the big Ottawa defense. He could very well steal the series for Ottawa if he keeps playing as efficiently as he has been since Game 3.
- As a Habs fan, I will say this: Erik Karlsson is one dominating defenseman. I am a big supporter of the Habs but I am also a big supporter of good hockey talent. I was initially a bit biased about Erik Karlsson as Senators’ fans have been raving non-stop about this player for the last few years. While watching this series, I have realized that he is a great and complete defenseman. His skating is absolutely effortless and his defensive play is not as bad as his reputation says. Just like P.K. Subban is an incredible young talent for the Habs, Karlsson is definitely a good one for Ottawa also.
- With all this said, I do think that the Canadiens get their competitiveness back in Game 6 as the game is going to be more important to them. It is easy to say that all playoffs games are important, but with a team that fuels on emotions like the Habs are, the meaningfulness of the game plays a good part in the effort level. One can say that the coaching staff has to get their team ready, but it is not hard to understand on from psychological perspective that the players can be unconsciously less focused with a 3-0 lead in a series. I think that Montreal is winning Game 6.
To get ready for Game 6, check out Game Day here.