Tank you, Ed. Having watched last night's game between the Habs and the Nashville Predators, right to the bitter end -- and I chose that word deliberately -- I think this is a good time to make a prediction. Unclear the future is, but through the ice fog I see... 2018 NHL playoffs not including la Sainte Flannelle. Now I'll tell you why.But first, a word about the Nashville Predators. Last night was my first time this year to see the Preds in action, and I was curious to see how P.K. Subban (now in his second year with the team) and Alexei Emelin (acquired indirectly through last June's expansion draft) would get along together, and how they would perform against their old teammates. Subban was his usual showboaty self. His turnover led to the first Montéal goal, but a furious rush into the Habs' zone set up the second Nashville goal, which looked like being the winner until 19:05 of the third period. Subban also tried to pick a fight with the littlest Hab (Brendan Gallagher) and distributed half a dozen checks. Emelin had four solid hits, but all on the boards, not the devastating open-ice checks for which he was famous in Montréal. I wish he still wore the bleu-blanc-et-rouge.
Not that the Habs' defence was that bad last night. In spite of the absence of their star defenceman, Shea Weber -- who came to us in trade for Subban, and a good thing too! -- they did a pretty fair job, for a crew of limited talent, in keeping the opposition from having clear shots at Anton Niemi. Credit must be given to Jeff Petry, who's had a mediocre season who far, but stepped up nicely yesterday, making some impressive defensive plays and doing what he could, when he could to start breakouts. On that score, though, he's no Andrei Markov, another Russian ex-Hab who is sorely missed.
Niemi is the fourth (4th!) goaltender to pay more than one game for the Canadiens. Carey Price is on the injury list and, frankly, hasn't played all that well right from the start of the season. There are rumours, which I hope are untrue, about troubles in his domestic life which he would certainly have trouble forgetting while on the ice. Backup goalie Al Montoya is also injured. Charlie Lindgren was brought up from the Laval Rocket of the AHL, and for the first three or four games looked like being a latter-day Ken Dryden who could backstop the team at least into a payoff birth. After his last two outings though, he will likely return to Laval this weekend, shell-shocked.
Niemi played well in last night's game, staying calm in the net (unlike Lindgren) and making some good saves. He allowed only two goals regulation time and overtime, and was only beaten on the third shot of the shoot-out, leaving Nashville with a 3-2 win. The Canadiens salvaged a point only in the last minute of regulation time, on a goal by Joe Morrow (D). The Habs' first goal came on a shot from just inside the blueline by Jordie Benn (D). And that, there, tells you all you need to know about the team's future.
The problem is that the Canadiens' offence is inoffensive. They can't score. In spite of taking a reasonable number of shots, they can't find the back of the net, and are averaging somewhere in the vicinity of two goals per game. Stanley Cups aren't won like that. IMHO there's not enough offensive zone time, and too much passing when they do have control of the puck in the opposition's end. In particular, I would like to see Jonathan Drouin shoot more. The reason he doesn't may be that he's being forced to play centre, instead of sniping from the right wing. Captain Max Pacioretty seems lethargic, or perhaps the right word is "unengaged". Some are starting to compare him to Phil Kessel, when the latter was with the Toronto Maple Laffs -- good for 30 goals but not showing a whole lot of leadership on the ice.
Last night's Montréal lineup included Jakob De La Rose and Charles Hudon, who -- I've said it before and will say it again -- are B-team guys, fine in the AHL but not talented enough for the Big Team. Alex Galchenyuk tried hard, which is not something he always does. Perhaps he's heard that he's for the chop if any team who wants him can be found. Gritty Andrew Shaw tried hard too, as always, but has the problem of being a "heat score", drawing the negative attention of the refugees (the guys in stripes) at least once in every game. Brendan Gallagher, my favourite forward so far this season, took a lot of physical punishment, as usual, and at least had the satisfaction of having got in the way of the Preds' goalie on the Benn goal. But still, not one of the players named in this paragraph scored.
That's all ye know and all ye need to know. Changes in the roster there will be, but doubtful, the future is.
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