HabsWorld.net --
It was not a pretty week for the Habs who find
themselves in a late season swoon just a week before postseason play. In
Hamilton, there will be no postseason as a rough week for them solidified their
place at the bottom of the AHL. As much as it would nice to see the
Canadiens get back to their winning ways, there is another element that should
be even more of a priority which is the subject of my Final Thought.
|
Cheers |
Cheers to…
1) Brian Gionta, who scored in back-to-back
games for the first time since early March, snapping a five game goalless streak
in the process. When you discount Ryder’s goal totals from Dallas, the
captain now finds himself as the leading goal-getter on the team.
2) Yannick Weber, for taking advantage of his
chance when he was re-inserted into the lineup. He seems much more
comfortable now than he was in his first couple of outings. Given the
issues with the blueline, it was important to get him into some games now as he
may be needed at some point in the postseason.
3) Alex Galchenyuk, who had goals in three
straight games to set a career high. He has nine points in his last ten
games despite playing more than thirteen minutes just once in that span. I
suspect they’re resting him a bit considering he’s approaching the high 80’s in
games played (adding in his time with Sarnia and at the World Juniors) but kudos
to him for still finding ways to produce in spite of that.
Jeers to…
1) Carey Price, for reasons that I don’t think
need to be dug into. Plain and simple, he needs to get out of the funk he
presently finds himself in. He has had these bouts before and has bounced
back, I expect he’ll do so again this time. Doing that sooner rather than
later though would be nice.
2 Ryan White, also for reasons that shouldn’t
require much explanation. His hit vs Philly, like several of his other
blunders this season, was an unnecessary risk at best and it’s that type of
decision making above anything else that is going to make it extremely difficult
for him to be trusted by the coaches any time soon.
3) The penalty kill, which has lost its way.
This past week, opponents scored at a 38.9% clip which knocked the Habs down to
23rd in the NHL in PK percentage, down from the 12-14 range they’ve been at
recently. I’ve long believed that they need to go back to last years’
strategy; it was the one area that was a strength in 2011-12 and the personnel
is still in place for the most part to make it successful again.
Regardless of whether or not they do that, the penalty kill needs to improve in
a hurry.
|
StatPack: |
|
SKATERS |
|
# |
Player |
GP |
G | A | +/- | PIM | SH | TOI |
| 8 | Brandon Prust | 2 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 2 | 1 | 29:31 |
| 11 | Brendan Gallagher | 4 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 8 | 13 | 56:09 |
| 14 | Tomas Plekanec | 4 | 0 | 3 | -2 | 6 | 12 | 79:19 |
| 17 | Rene Bourque | 4 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 2 | 5 | 53:50 |
| 21 | Brian Gionta | 4 | 3 | 0 | -2 | 2 | 10 | 73:23 |
| 24 | Jeff Halpern | 4 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 6 | 42:14 |
| 26 | Josh Gorges | 4 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 2 | 8 | 87:40 |
| 27 | Alex Galchenyuk | 4 | 3 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 7 | 39:23 |
| 32 | Travis Moen | 4 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 4 | 41:26 |
| 37 | Gabriel Dumont | 2 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 0 | 7 | 18:32 |
| 40 | Nathan Beaulieu | 1 | 0 | 0 | E | 0 | 1 | 14:41 |
| 44 | Davis Drewiske | 3 | 0 | 2 | +1 | 0 | 5 | 45:28 |
| 51 | David Desharnais | 4 | 0 | 2 | E | 4 | 4 | 67:52 |
| 53 | Ryan White | 1 | 0 | 0 | E | 15 | 0 | 1:31 |
| 55 | Francis Bouillon | 4 | 0 | 0 | -4 | 0 | 7 | 77:54 |
| 61 | Raphael Diaz | 1 | 0 | 0 | E | 0 | 1 | 19:29 |
| 67 | Max Pacioretty | 4 | 2 | 3 | +2 | 4 | 11 | 76:31 |
| 68 | Yannick Weber | 3 | 0 | 2 | E | 0 | 3 | 48:11 |
| 73 | Michael Ryder | 3 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 7 | 44:20 |
| 76 | P.K. Subban | 4 | 0 | 2 | -1 | 23 | 11 | 92:43 |
| 79 | Andrei Markov | 4 | 1 | 0 | -4 | 0 | 9 | 94:37 |
| 81 | Lars Eller | 4 | 0 | 3 | E | 15 | 2 | 52:16 |
|
GOALIES |
|
# |
Player |
Record |
SV% |
GAA |
| 30 | Peter Budaj | 0-0-0 | .692 | 6.00 |
| 31 | Carey Price | 1-3-0 | .852 | 4.83 |
|
Scoring |
Goals: Michael Ryder (16)
Assists: P.K. Subban (25)
Points: Max Pacioretty (37)
+/-: Prust/Subban (+11)
PIMS: Brandon Prust (104)
Shots: Max Pacioretty (151)
|
Schedule: |
April 23: Montreal vs New Jersey
April 25: Montreal vs Winnipeg
April 27: Montreal vs Toronto
|
The Dog |
With nothing left to play for but pride, the
Bulldogs managed to pick up a win in their final three games of the season.
Unfortunately, that lone victory wasn’t enough to prevent the team from
finishing dead last in the AHL for the first time in franchise history. On
the plus side, they can only go up from there.
|
News and |
– Steve Quailer (concussion) and Patrick
Holland (upper-body) both missed the final three games with injuries.
– The Bulldogs scored first in just 23 of their
76 contests this season.
– For the second straight year, Hamilton’s
leading scorer had a point total that was the lowest of all Bulldog scoring
leaders in franchise history.
– Approximate lines from the final game:
Forwards:
Hudon – Tenute – Colberg
Archambault -Belzile – Kristo
Bournival – Nokelainen – Leblanc
Hagel – Vail – Stortini
Defence:
Beaulieu – Ellis
Tinordi – St. Denis
Ross – Pateryn
|
Results: |
April 19:
Hamilton
4, St. John’s 1
April 20:
Rochester
5, Hamilton 1
April 21:
Rochester
4, Hamilton 1
|
StatPack: |
|
SKATERS |
|
# |
Player |
GP |
G |
A |
+/- |
SH |
PIMS |
| 2 | Greg Pateryn | 3 | 1 | 1 | -3 | 12 | 6 |
| 4 | Adam Ross | 3 | 0 | 0 | E | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | Jarred Tinordi | 3 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 3 | 0 |
| 8 | Nathan Beaulieu | 3 | 0 | 3 | E | 6 | 7 |
| 11 | Joey Tenute | 3 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 4 | 0 |
| 12 | Zack Stortini | 3 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 19 |
| 13 | Steve Quailer | 1 | 0 | 0 | E | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Kyle Hagel | 3 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 0 |
| 18 | Michael Bournival | 3 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 6 | 2 |
| 20 | Louis Leblanc | 3 | 1 | 0 | -3 | 7 | 4 |
| 24 | Danny Kristo | 3 | 0 | 0 | +2 | 10 | 0 |
| 25 | Sebastian Collberg | 2 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 5 | 0 |
| 26 | Petteri Nokelainen | 3 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 1 | 6 |
| 32 | Frederic St. Denis | 3 | 1 | 0 | -2 | 7 | 0 |
| 44 | Morgan Ellis | 3 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 5 | 2 |
| 47 | Alex Belzile | 2 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 5 | 0 |
| 49 | Phillipe Lefebvre | 2 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 4 | 0 |
| 53 | Charles Hudon | 3 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 5 | 0 |
| 54 | Brady Vail | 3 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 2 | 2 |
| 56 | Olivier Archambault | 3 | 1 | 1 | E | 2 | 4 |
|
GOALIES |
|
# |
Player |
Record |
SV% |
GAA |
| 29 | Robert Mayer | 1-0-0 | .968 | 1.00 |
| 34 | Dustin Tokarski | 0-1-0 | .815 | 5.00 |
| 50 | Jacob Gervais-Chouinard | 0-1-0 | .917 | 3.03 |
|
Scoring |
Goals: Gabriel Dumont (16)
Assists: Nathan Beaulieu (24)
Points: Beaulieu/Dumont (31)
+/-: Lefebvre/Nattinen (+6)
PIMS: Zack Stortini (241)
Shots: Louis Leblanc (161)
|
Final |
One of the nice things about this
upcoming week is that it appears all of the games will have some meaning in the
standings with the Habs still fighting with Boston for the division title while
trying to fend off Toronto to ensure they have home ice advantage in the first
round. That, along with their recent struggles, should provide ample
motivation to avoid too much complacency down the stretch. That said, I
believe it would be wise for Montreal to take advantage of the fact that they
have a playoff spot locked up and rest some of their players.
As it stands, the club has three
healthy scratches up front, a number that is sure to jump in the coming days as
players are recalled from Hamilton with their season ending. Obviously I’m
not saying they all should play but with Ryder and Prust both nursing recent
injuries and several of the defencemen being overworked, there’s an opportunity
to give some of the youngsters/extras some playing time in advance of the
postseason where they could be counted on if injuries arise or players struggle.
As much as I’d like to see the team get on a roll heading into the playoffs,
having as many players as healthy as possible is the top priority to me.
Here’s hoping we get the best of both worlds after the buzzer sounds in Toronto.
If you have any questions/comments, please feel
free to drop me a line at [email protected].
