Habs News: Montreal Canadiens, Jake Allen, Cayden Primeau, Dominique Ducharme, Erik Gustafsson

ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA | LAVAL, QC. — The Canadiens had 1-0 lead through two periods on Monday, when the Oilers scored four unanswered goals that resulted to a 4-1 win.

“We basically just defended in the third period. They created a lot of chances on the power play and they took over the rhythm of the game. They had scoring chances and we spent our energy defending. I think that’s what cost us the game tonight,” Philip Danault commented.

The Habs held on to win 4-3 on Wednesday, despite allowing two goals in the last 2:12 of regulation to the Oilers. “I liked our engagement in every aspect of the game. We applied pressure to get the puck and we went to the net. We had good puck support, which allowed us to execute quickly,” Dominique Ducharme said.

Montreal began a three-game series against Calgary with a pair of losses. On Friday, the Flames scored an early goal in the third period, that helped them win 4-2. “I don’t think we sustained enough pressure throughout the whole game. We had a minute here, a minute there. I don’t think we played as heavy and hard as we did in Edmonton the other night,” Jake Allen said.

On Saturday, the Flames scored a late goal in the first period, that swung momentum their way to win 5-2. “I don’t think we were lacking a sense of urgency in the first period. We were pressuring their defensemen. They had trouble getting out of their own zone. We had scoring chances. I thought we were executing better. I don’t think they outclassed us in terms of the way they played. We made costly mistakes,” the coach said.

Playoff Race

Montreal is headed into Monday’s game against Calgary with a four-point lead on the Flames for the fourth spot in the Scotia North Division. A loss in regulation would cut the deficit to two points with one game in hand for the Canadiens.

The cushion that the Habs had built has virtually disappeared. On April 5th, they had an eight-point lead on the Canucks, and the Flames with two and five games in hand respectively on both teams.

Since then, Montreal has won three of 11 matches. To make matters worse, all eight losses were in regulation time. Remember when the team’s biggest concern was not being able to score in overtime? I bet that they would gladly take some ‘loser’ points right now.

The Canucks aren’t out of the playoff race either. They’re eight points out from fourth place with five games in hand on Montreal and six on Calgary.

“We win the next game, we’re ahead by six points and then we go from there. We control our own destiny. Our fate’s in our hands. We play and we execute and get the wins. It’s in our hands,” Jeff Petry said when asked about the standings.

“It’s that time of the year. I think everybody knew that it was going to come down to certain teams fighting for position. It’s not just us fighting for positions, it’s teams fighting for first and second and third,” Tyler Toffoli commented on the race.

Monday’s duel against the Flames will be the fifth matchup in 12 days. The team was taking these games as a best-of-5 series. Calgary has had Montreal’s number by winning three of the four matches.

“It’s the last game of the season against them. It’s another playoff game. We need to be at our best,” the coach said.

Key Absences

There’s several unknowns about the Canadiens lineup for Monday’s match. Jonathan Drouin missed the last two matches due to illness, and Paul Byron wasn’t in uniform on Saturday with a lower body injury.

Additionally, Tomas Tatar attempted to play Saturday despite an injury, and ended up leaving the match during the fifth minute of the third period. The club announced that Tatar had a lower body injury. Drouin, Byron, and Tatar are all considered day-to-day.

If any of the three forwards are forced to sit out on Monday, Ducharme will have a look at the taxi squad for reinforcements. Jake Evans, Michael Frolik, and Cole Caufield are the forwards with the club waiting for an opportunity. The coach’s decision will depend on the number of absences and the salary cap considerations to remain compliant with the collective bargaining agreement.

Despite the fan base clamoring for Caufield to make his NHL debut, Evans was recalled via emergency basis on Saturday to slot in as part of the forward group. To make a long story short, the club had to choose between playing Caufield and Cayden Primeau. The rules surrounding the salary cap are complex. It’s the reason that teams have a specialist in the Hockey Operations department to oversee it.

Filling in for Price

Carey Price flew back to Montreal earlier in the week to undergo further treatment for his concussion, that he suffered in Monday’s loss against the Oilers. Ducharme isn’t expecting his number-one goalie on the ice in the early stages of the week.

As a result, the Canadiens will most likely have to rely on Jake Allen and Primeau for their four games this week. Allen has done a great job in the backup role this year, and will be relied to handle the starting role until Price’s return. Historically, Allen has struggled when he’s been given a heavy workload. The team needs Allen to give his teammates a chance to win every night.

Primeau made his NHL season debut on Saturday stopping 29 pucks. “I was excited to get in. You’ve got to be ready for whenever your name is called, so I was preparing every game in case that was going to happen. To be able to go in today was good. I felt good. I was maybe a little bit sloppy off the start, but I settled in and overall felt good,” said the 21-year old.

Defensive Scoring

At the start of the year, the Canadiens defenders supported the offence by contributing 10 goals through the first 10 games. Since then, the defencemen have scored a total of 11 times. In the last 15 games, Brett Kulak has been the only defenceman to put the puck in the net.

Marc Bergevin acquired Erik Gustafsson from the Flyers at the trade deadline to help generate some offence from the back end. He made his organization debut in a limited role as a seventh defencemam in the last two matches against the Flames, averaging 9:43 of ice time.

“I think the vision that he has with the puck, he moves the puck well,” Petry said following Saturday’s game where Gustafsson collected a pair of assists. His struggles in his zone from Philadelphia continued through his first weekend with Montreal.

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By Chris G., Senior Writer
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