All Habs Headlines: Wednesday March 25, 2015 |
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On this day in hockey history… 1980 – Montreal’s Pierre Larouche became the first player in NHL history to score 50 goals with two different NHL teams. He notched #50 for the Canadiens in an 8-4 win over Chicago, after previously scoring 53 goals for Pittsburgh in 1975-76. |
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► Montreal Canadiens: March 25
- The Canadiens practiced in Winnipeg on Wednesday afternoon. It was a therapy day for Alexei Emelin while Andrei Markov was given the day off.
- Coach Michel Therrien confirmed that Dustin Tokarski will start in goal against the Jets on Thursday.
- Missed Tuesday night’s game? Check out our game report which includes the game summary, video highlights, 3-stars and post-game quotes: Recap – Canadiens vs Predators: Preds ‘Execute One More Play’ for OT Win
- Mike Weaver gave us a glimpse of Winnipeg’s famous Portage and Main intersection on his Instagram:
► Lines and defense pairings at practice
Pacioretty – Desharnais – Parenteau
Galchenyuk – Plekanec – Gallagher
De La Rose – Eller – Weise
Prust – Mitchell – Smith-Pelly
Markov – Subban
Emelin – Petry
Beaulieu – Pateryn
► The case for the Hart
- Midway through this season when we floated the notion of Carey Price being a strong contender for the Hart Trophy, we often heard, “Goalies don’t win that award.” By now, given the overwhelming evidence that Carey Price has single-handedly carried the Canadiens to the top of the standings, those voices have disappeared.
- Travis Yost prepared a case for awarding the Hart to Price writing, “I’ve had trouble swallowing the notion that any player other than Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens could win the award this year.”
- In conclusion, Yost writes in summary, “Combine Carey Price’s massive impact to his team with the fact that no individual forward has been able to separate himself from the pack in the scoring race, and you have a perfect storm scenario – one that should end up with the Montreal goaltender winning both Hart and Vezina.”
- You can read the full story here.
► Looking ahead to the first round of the playoffs
- Regular readers will know that we are fond of the work of statistical guru Rob Vollman. This time he explores possible playoff matches warning that your Montreal Canadiens could be in big trouble if they square off against the Detroit Red Wings.
- Using possession metrics, Vollman contends that a Montreal – Detroit first round matchup could be lopsided in favour of the Wings given that the Canadiens, along with the Calgary Flames, are the two playoff-bound teams who give up far more shots than they take.
- Vollman writes, “The Flames are known for incredible third-period heroics, while the Canadiens are being bailed out by one of this season’s leading Vezina and Hart Trophy candidates, netminder Carey Price. While most teams can withstand a bad bounce or two, these are two teams that could be highly vulnerable if that luck runs out especially if they get matched up against one of the teams furthest below the green line, such as Chicago or Detroit.”
- For Vollman concern stems from the fact that “Montreal appears to be a dangerously thin team beyond its admittedly incredible topline talent.”
- We recommend that you read his full analysis here: “Potential first-round mismatches“
► Bruins fans praise Pacioretty
- It’s no secret that the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins have an ever brewing hatred toward one another. However in Boston, Bruins fans were caught on tape praising Habs’ star, Max Pacioretty.
- As part of a McDonalds’ advertisement, Pacioretty went undercover in the streets of Boston and offered Bruins fans free burgers. The burger is called “Max 67” named after the power forward.
- The Bruins fans even went to the extreme of saying “Max 67” is unbeatable, not realizing they were not only praising a simple hamburger.
- When Pacioretty finally revealed himself, “I’m Max Pacioretty, and that is my burger,” one of the fans joked and replied with, “I like the burger, but you gotta leave.”
► Dreams come true
- The Air Canada Foundation and Breakfast Club of Canada made a child’s dream come true. Carey Price and a young hockey fan are both natives of Anaheim Lake, B.C.
- Trent was given the opportunity of a lifetime to fly to Montreal and try out his slap shot on the man he looks up to, Carey Price.
►Prospect praised
- The Canadiens have a great deal of talent in their prospect pool and last year’s first round pick, Nikita Scherbak, is a perfect example. The youngster has 27 goals for a total of 79 points in 63 games this season. He not only produces though, as his +28 differential confirms.
- His Everett Silvertips coach, Kevin Constantine, praises him, “I would describe Nikita as a really, really good human spirit. That goes a little bit beyond just being a coachable player. You just sense that youthfulness and that enthusiasm in him. He’s fun to be around. He’s got an air about him, an energy about him, a caring about him. He might still make some youthful mistakes, but he’s way ahead of where I was at his age. He’s just got a nice humanity to him. When you’ve got that, you know that your coach is there to help you be a better player. So, in Nikita’s case, I’d go one step further than coachable. He’s just a good human being.”
- Constantine also went on to say, “he’s definitely one of the top offensive players in the League. But, what I think has also happened is that he’s probably developed so many other parts of his game that he makes contributions now in a way over and above just providing a team with offensive play. He’s really grown as a player to understand all of the game, how you have to play in your own end of the ice, how you have to play within the structure of the team. His main contribution has been his offense and the fact that we’re a more dynamic offensive team. That’s been his gift to us. His second contribution is being willing to learn the game, understand it, play a team game and care for team results…You’ve got to have some type of skill that can enable you to compete at that level. I think he is ready for the NHL in terms of the way he shoots the puck, the way he passes the puck and the way he sees the ice. Then, you’ve got to make sure that you’re physically ready, that you’re strong and conditioned and in shape to handle the bigger bodies of the NHL. That’s something he’s working on and grinding away at, too. He’s made some great strides there.”
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