Rocket:
Passive defense: 9 goals against on a two-game road trip
Passive physical game: only 13 hits delivered…for the second game in a row.
Passive coaching: 1-4 forecheck system when Canadiens are two goals down in the third period.
This is not the way the Canadiens wanted to go into the All-Star break. Two games in which the Habs looked lethargic and unprepared and the coach could only shrug behind the bench and continue to roll four lines.
What was with Alex Kovalev? He looked completely disinterested while skating at half-speed all night. Max Pacioretty seemed to be playing alone at times. He attacked the Devil zone with speed and was strong along the boards. Max also wasn’t afraid to go to the front of the net. But until he was moved to play with Koivu and D’Agostini, he wasn’t able to be effective.
The Lapierre \ Latendresse \ Kostopoulos line has been awful for the past few games. Their checks are nothing more than stick-waving fly-bys. They have abandoned their physical game. Their only interest seems to be in after-whistle scrums. In the two game road trip, the Laps line have only 8 hits total and they were a collective -8.
Tomas Plekanec and Max Lapierre both struggled in the face-off circle hovering around 30%. Only Robert Lang won more faceoffs than he lost at 83%.
The Canadiens defense continues to be a major point of weakness. Francis Bouillon and Patrice Brisebois both played poorly tonight. Brisebois was -3.
The best Canadiens line was led by Saku Koivu. While his timing wasn’t top notch, he was solid at both ends of the ice. Matt D’Agostini played very well against Atlanta but seemed to have even more jump in his step tonight playing with Koivu. Gregory Stewart had a few good shifts and did some good work in front of the net on Gorges goal. But the Koivu line really came to life when Stewart was replaced by Pacioretty.
Carey Price allowed 4 goals on 34 New Jersey shots but he had little help from his defense. Price looked focused and sharp in the first period and made some spectacular saves in the third.
Perhaps during the All-Star break Guy Carbonneau will have an opportunity to see how an NHL coach motivates and prepares his team for a game.
Pre-game:
Koivu will play after missing 17 games with a high ankle sprain.
Tanguay, Higgins, Dandenault, Laraque out with injuries. Chipchura and Begin are scratches.
Rocket’s 3 stars:
1. Zach Parise
2. Johnny Oduya
3. Matt D’Agostini
(photo credit: AP photo)