Habs News: Montreal Canadiens, Habs, Week In Review, Dominique Ducharme, Alex Burrows, Marc Bergevin, Stephane Waite, Carey Price, Sean Burke

ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA | LAVAL, QC. — The Canadiens began their three game homestand with a 3-1 win versus the Senators. The victory was Dominique Ducharme‘s first National Hockey League (NHL) coaching career. Jonathan Drouin picked up the puck at the end of 60 minutes and Shea Weber handed it to the coach after the game.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do with the puck, but it’s going to have a special place for me. To be having my first NHL win is something, to have it with this team – the Canadiens – is even more special for me,” Ducharme said.

On Thursday, Corey Perry tied the game with 1:24 remaining in the third period with Jake Allen on the bench for the extra attacker. The Jets picked up the extra point in overtime, when Pierre-Luc Dubois scored to lead Winnipeg to 4-3 victory.

“We managed to get a point with 90 seconds left in regulation. We showed a lot of character. We didn’t have the start we wanted. We didn’t control the puck well in the first period. We played better in the second because we were faster. We put a lot of pressure on them and got back into the game,” Ducharme said.

On Saturday, the Habs regained their offensive touch and scored seven times in a 7-1 lopsided win against the Jets.

“We don’t always look at the final score. We wanted to see our players follow the process. We’re seeing the progress in the way we’re playing. But it’s definitely enjoyable to get a result like this. We have to continue performing this way. We have to keep working on our game to get consistent results. This kind of performance is good for everyone,” Ducharme said.

Waite Fired

Following Tuesday night’s win against the Senators the Canadiens announced that they relieved Stephane Waite from his duties as goaltending coach.

“I gave this decision a lot of thought. It isn’t based on this season only. I’ve also seen a pattern over the last few years. As the general manager, my responsibility is to bring the players here. My responsibility is also to make the best tools available to our players so they can have success. I think it was the best decision to make,” Marc Bergevin explained the decision on Wednesday.

Bergevin advised Waite of the decision as he returned to his sitting spot for the third period, in order to allow him to collect his items and leave without running into his colleagues. I read and heard criticism that the general manager should have made the move before the start of the game or the following morning. Is there ever a good time to fire someone?

Carey Price was made aware of the news after the post-game press conferences were over. “It’s an unfortunate part of the business,” reacted the goalie the following day. “I’m grateful for the time I spent with [Stephane Waite]. He’s been a hard-working, dedicated goalie coach and I really appreciate all the work that he’s done with us.”

In the following days, Waite went on a media tour, speaking to anyone that wanted to listen to him. He shared that Price called him for five minutes on his way home from Tuesday’s game and the following day Price visited his former goaltending coach for 90 minutes at his residence. Waite and Price both confirmed that they still had a good relationship. The two men have been working together since 2013.

Burke Steps In

Bergevin appointed Sean Burke as the director of goaltending for the Canadiens. Burke will have the responsibility to address the patterns that the general manager has seen over the last years. Since 2016, he has been serving as a professional scout for the organization covering the Western region, and as a goaltending consultant.

Burke brings coaching experience from the time he spend as the Coyotes goaltending coach from 2009 to 2015. “Sean did very good work in Arizona. He has experience and he played the position. He’s capable of putting himself in a goaltender’s shoes. He knows what it’s like to have ups and downs,” Bergevin said. Burke played 820 games for nine different teams in the NHL.

“I think that Sean, with his goaltending experience, has been through a lot. He did good work in Arizona with Mike Smith, Devan Dubnyk and Ilya Bryzgalov. He has first-hand knowledge and expertise” added the general manager. Bergevin feels that a new voice is needed for his goaltenders.

Burke, who was living in Arizona, is currently in his 14-day quarantine. Laval Rocket’s Marco Marciano is working with the Canadiens goalies until Burke can join the team. If there’s no complications, Bergevin expects Burke to hit the ice with the team when they return from Winnipeg on March 18th.

Since 2015, Burke has had several stints in Hockey Canada’s management group, and has been interviewed for several management roles across the NHL. His new title with the Canadiens is director, which implies a management role with the organization. In December, the Panthers created a Goaltending Excellence Department that’s led by Roberto Luongo.

Bergevin didn’t get into details about a potential change in hierarchy. He confirmed that there was an adjustment in Burke’s current contract (i.e. raise) that expires at the end of the season.

Successful Power Play

The Canadiens were scoreless in the last six games on the power play in 10 opportunities at the time of the coaching changes. During that stretch, it seemed like nothing was working while the opponents were in the penalty box.

Alex Burrows was added to the coaching staff from the Rocket, and was given the responsibility of the power play unit. Since then, Montreal has scored four times in nine opportunities with the extra attacker.

“The first meeting we had in Winnipeg going over the power play, it kind of took everybody by surprise with the energy and enthusiasm he had. He’s brought a new style to our power play and he’s really focused on making sure that we’re executing, not only in games, but in practice. That excitement and enthusiasm that he brings is contagious,” Jeff Petry said about Burrows on Saturday.

“I think guys are executing well. [Alex Burrows] is doing a great job of making sure we’re on the same page, everyone knows what they have to do on the ice, and their spots,” Jonathan Drouin said on Thursday.

Overtime Failures

Thursday night’s loss to the Jets was the Canadiens’ sixth loss in overtime this season. They have yet to come out on the winning side of those game situations, and since every game this year is against a divisional opponent, the missed points are costly.

“We’re doing some good things. It’s not all bad. We’re playing a pretty sound game, for the most part. There were a couple of mistakes, but mistakes are going to happen in games and you want to limit those mistakes,” Weber said post-game.

“It hurts. It’s a completely different game at 3-on-3. We watched some video this week, but we didn’t really have a chance to practice what we’d like to do. We gave up some good chances, but we also had scoring chances as well,” added Drouin.

Ducharme was the bench boss for the last two losses in overtime. His player selection has been criticized. In the first overtime contest, he threw Philip Danault, Joel Armia, and Jeff Petry over the boards, and it took only 36 seconds for the Jets to score. The coach wanted to gain puck possession from the face-off and then send out more offensive players on the ice.

On Thursday, the overtime period lasted 4:29 before the winning goal was scored. Brendan Gallagher, a proven goal scorer, and Alexander Romanov, a mobile defenceman, were the notable players that were on the bench for the entire time.

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By Chris G., Senior Writer
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