By CoachK, AllHabs.net
SAINT-LAZARE, QC — 116 shots in three games. No, not for the Canadiens, but for their opposition. The Habs only had 77 shots on this road trip, but in taking advantage of their opportunities, they managed to survive what is normally an extermely difficult road swing down south. With their fourth win in a row, the Canadiens are slowly creeping their way up the Eastern Conference standings.
Some of the habits that Coach Jacques Martin has developed over this season, to his credit, have been pushed aside for the good of the team. He has stopped benching his younger players for inopportune penalties, as was the case tonight with both Benoit Pouliot and Lars Eller. He has allowed his players to come out with their guns blazing, bottling up their opponents with a two-man forecheck and capitalizing on their early mistakes. He has changed a bit, but still not enough to make me a happy camper.
The Canadiens are still pulling back once a multi-goal lead is established. Whether or not it has been addressed by Coach Martin or not remains unknown, but I will give him the benefit of the doubt. While the Habs came out with a lackluster effort in the second period against the Lightning, they regained their composure in the third, coming out with the same intensity as the first. However, once they established a three goal lead, they sat back again, and allowed the Bolts to attack without responding.
With another stellar performance by Carey Price, the Canadiens have given themselves a seven point cushion on the New York Rangers who sit in seventh in the Eastern Conference, with a single game in hand. Price has posted an amazing .974 save percentage on this three game hiatus from the Bell Centre, with a shutout to boot. Offensively, Hal Gill has been the catalyst in the last couple of tilts, scoring to open both games in Florida. Andrei Kostitsyn is on a seven game point streak, and Max Pacioretty has been reeking havoc on opposing goaltenders.
The adjustments have to continue and be more pronounced, especially against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night. If the Canadiens sit back and expect to counterattack when the Bruins make mistakes, there won’t be much success. The Bruins, with their physical superiority over the Canadiens, will abuse their forwards and defense if given the chance. The only way the Habs can beat the Bruins is if Tim Thomas has a meltdown, which sometime occurs at the Bell Centre, and the Canadiens attack with speed the entire night. Their forechecking must be relentless, as it was in the first period of tonight’s game, and they must drive the net, forcing the slow footed defenseman of the Bruins into taking penalties.
The week ahead will say a lot about how we can expect the Canadiens to play for the rest of the stretch run, and into the playoffs. However, with this week being so successful, hats off the players for giving a maximum effort.
In closing, if Carey Price isn’t given one of this week’s NHL three stars, somebody at the league should hand in their resignation.