Week at a Glance – A Big Test – Habs Hockey Report

Recap

Week at a Glance – A Big Test

Steve Farnham

December 13, 2010

Montreal, QC.– The Canadiens face another big test this week as they face three respectable opponents in the Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins and Colorado Avalanche.

The first two games are at home for the bleu blanc rouge, while the latter happens to be on the road, the first game of a seven game road trip to close out 2010.

The Canadiens were coming off of a three game winning streak, but have lost their last two starts against the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Some fans were offered a glimmer of offensive hope prior to Saturday’s game against Toronto, when Pierre Gauthier called up David Desharnais from the Hamilton Bulldogs. Desharnais leads the AHL in assists with 25, is locked in a three way tie in second place with 32 points, and is tied with Max Pacioretty for total points with the Bulldogs.

Unfortunately, the hope of these fans to see Desharnais in the lineup soon vanished, he was a healthy scratch (called up only as a security measure) and was sent back to the Bulldogs following the game.

I would have liked to see Desharnais in the lineup but it seems as though the Canadiens were never really serious about putting him in the lineup.

One day later, the Montreal Canadiens recalled Max Pacioretty to the big club. Tied for the team lead in total points with Desharnais, and also involved in the three way tie for second in AHL scoring with 32 points, Pacioretty has been on fire this season leading all AHL players with 17 goals.

It seems only logical that Jacques Martin should employ him on the second line, where we’ve seen just about everything but the kitchen sink thrown there on the left wing. It’ll be interesting to see what he’s able to accomplish, considering the confidence he has acquired so far this season, but also considering his earlier comments where he mentioned on camera that it would be in his better interest to stay the entire season in Hamilton.

As I look towards the upcoming games this week, I can’t help to be a little worried, for various reasons.

Has anyone seen P.K. Subban? He was easily spotted on the score sheet last game with his awful minus-3 rating but seriously, has anyone seen P.K. Subban since his return to the lineup? The kid’s quiet, hesitant, doubtful, he looks like the life has been completely sucked out of him. No swagger what-so-ever. I can’t imagine this was the plan when Martin decided to pull him out of the lineup. Maybe Martin should read the letter I wrote to him…

Whatever is wrong or broken with Subban, it will need to get fixed and fast.

Jaroslav Spacek left the last game favouring his shoulder, following a fighting major. It’s currently unclear when he’ll return to the lineup. Weber should get additional time on defence if his injury causes him to miss games.

It also appears Scott Gomez will continue to be out of the lineup with his groin injury.

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Now to the Canadiens’ opponents this week, first on the menu, the Philadelphia Flyers.

They’ve really been tearing it up this season and although they trail the Canadiens in the standings because of the fact that division leaders automatically get the first three positions in the conference, in reality, they are ahead of the Canadiens by five points, and the Habs have one game in hand. (For whatever that’s worth at this point of the season.) They trail the Pittsburgh Penguins by only one point for the overall NHL lead.

I find it hard to imagine that P.K. Subban will find his game against the team which seems to be at the origin of why he’s off his game in the first place. Let’s be reminded that following the first match-up between these two teams, Mike Richards had come out in front of the media crying and whining about how Subban was not being respectful towards veterans. (In the same fashion, or worse, that Martin St Louis did this week against Edmonton Oilers young gun Linus Omark)

Following this, you could argue that the Canadiens management and players could have stood more solidly behind Subban, I feel they did not. Shortly after, the Canadiens lost in Philadelphia against the Flyers in a game that saw Subban be a lot more quiet then his normal self, and it seemed to have been all downhill after that, until he was eventually pulled from the lineup.

As if back to back games are not difficult enough as it is, the Canadiens then face off against the Boston Bruins. The Bruins are only two points behind the Canadiens in the standings, while having two games in hand. They’ve been strong and steady this season, while getting superior goaltending from Tim Thomas.

Thomas has only given up 30 goals in 20 games this season, he’s 14-2-3, has a GAA of 1.51 and a Sv% of .954. He’s also accumulated five shutouts over that span. He leads the league in all these categories.

I’ve mentioned it before, I’ll say it again, whatever Carey Price was suffering from last season, Tuukka Rask has caught it this season. The poor guy can’t catch a break. He’s showing great stats with a GAA of 2.51 and a Sv% of .928, but in nine starts, he’s only 2-6-1, but he’s managed to get a shutout over his two wins.

I mention this because i’m a fan of both goalies, i’m unsure who will be getting the start agains the Habs.

Then on Sunday, Sunday bloody Sunday, the Canadiens start their seven game road trip in Colorado against the Avalanche. The west continues to stay crazy as only three points separate the second from the twelfth position. They sit in eighth position, but are only two points back of the Vancouver Canucks who are second.

It should be noted that the Avalanche have shown a good offense this season, they are currently tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins for second overall in the league, having scored 101 goals so far this season.

It is definitely a big test this week, and could go a long way to determining how the Canadiens approach their road trip that ends the month of December.

Week at a Glance:

Philadelphia Flyers (Wednesday December 15th)

Match-up: Conference.
Record: 19-7-5.
Rank: 4th in the East, trail the Pens by one point.
Streak: 2 wins.
Last 10: 6-1-3.
Leading scorers: Mike Richards (11-19) and Claude Giroux (14-14)
Upcoming: Hosts the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday, prior to facing the Habs on Wednesday.

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Boston Bruins (Thursday December 16th)

Match-up: Division.
Record: 16-8-4.
Rank: 6th in the East.
Streak: 1 loss (OT) to the Flyers last Saturday.
Last 10: 5-3-2.
Leading scorers: Milan Lucic (15-11) and Nathan Horton (11-12).
Upcoming: Play Wednesday at Buffalo against the Sabres, prior to playing in Montreal on Thursday.

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Colorado Avalanche (Sunday December 19th)

Match-up: Cross-Conference
Record: 15-10-4
Rank: 8th in the West.
Streak: 2 wins.
Leading Scorers: Milan Hejduk (11-20) and Paul Stastny (12-16).
Upcoming: Host Chicago Blackhawks on Monday, play in Chicago on Wednesday, then host the Ottawa Senators on Friday, prior to hosting the Canadiens on Sunday.

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Predictions?