Game 42: Habs vs. Jets

Montreal 7, Winnipeg 4:


FIRST PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- Plekanec is in, so lineup matters not quite as dire for the Habs tonight.

- So with Patrik Laine out, eyes out on Blake Wheeler who's been the Jets 2nd best forward this season.

- Not the start the Jets were hoping for, once again great work and pressure by Radulov generates zone turnover, Danault backhanding a loose puck home, and Habs grab very quick 1-0 lead.

- This isn't the first time the Danault line has been involved with an early Habs goal - they play an awfully fast and aggressive game, which I think takes a lot of teams unfamiliar with the Habs (Jets being an example) by surprise.

- Now it's Andrighetto's turn to make an impressive aggressive zone play, a perfect cross-ice pass on Flynn's tape, and he finds the top corner to give the Habs a 2-0 lead, barely 4 minutes into the game. Jets defence looking very flat-footed early.

Flynn scores his 5th of the year. #Habs up 2-0. pic.twitter.com/5HDOCPI3hu

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) January 12, 2017

- Moments after Habs nearly make it 3-0, Canadiens make very bad defensive error, with Petry and Beaulieu both chasing Stafford in the Canadiens' zone, springing Scheifele wide open for an easy goal. 2-1. Now both sides have demonstrated some pretty questionable defence, this could be a very long night for the goaltenders.

- This one's on Petry. Sorry Jeff, but this is not how you defence:

Scheifele with the easiest goal he'll score all year. pic.twitter.com/tzfQtHivfY

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) January 12, 2017

- Woes continue for Petry, as he's called for a (weak-ish) hold while on the PK.  Habs, however, survive the 5-on-3.

- Hellebuyck having significant puck issues this period - giving up rebounds, and having a lot of trouble covering up pucks. Habs forwards might want to continue to apply extra heavy pressure - there have been a lot of loose pucks presenting golden scoring opportunities.

- More shoddy defensive coverage, and again, it's Petry and Beaulieu failing to be on the same page - Perreault ties the game, Montoya more or less left out to dry.

- Plekanec top corner, 3-2 and Hellebuyck gets the hook. Hutchinson comes in, his line is 4W, 7L, 3.18, .894 in 13 starts. Not exactly the guy the Jets were hoping to lean on tonight.

- Getting Andrei Markov back into the lineup is key, but the Habs still should be concerned with how sloppy their defence has played of late. I understand that Therrien has been working on getting his blue line more involved offensively, which is an approach that I tend to agree with - but the fundamentals have been lacking of late - proper positioning and communications lapses have been the big culprits. Montreal must get this sorted out - certainly before the team starts its preparations for the playoffs.

- Kind of a missed opportunity first period - if not for some pretty bad defence by Petry and Beaulieu, the Habs could be three goals clear. Montreal certainly the better team, aided by some pretty questionable Winnipeg goaltending - which hasn't been a strong point for them this season. I suppose keep with the plan - play an aggressive game, but be a little more conscientious in the defensive zone, and who knows - the Canadiens might actually end up with a victory tonight?

SECOND PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- Fairly even period, Jets more or less down on the scoreboard because of goaltending.

- Sven Andrighetto having a little big of a statement game, no? Scores off more soft Jets zone coverage to make it 4-2, barely a minute into the period.

- Danault with a sweet, skilled goal makes it 5-2 off an end-to-end rush. Jets blue line, specifically Byfuglien, just waving his stick as Phillip skates by. Pretty awful 2nd period start by this Jets team, this game in danger of spinning completely out of control.

Another look at the Danault goal. End-to-end rush 101. pic.twitter.com/IV2MvKfhC2

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) January 12, 2017

- Paul Maurice is not having a good night. Might he be next on the coaching chopping block?

- Scheifele makes it 5-3 on the powerplay, the Habs PK unit continues to look soft at best, downright awful and disorganized at worst. Is somebody going to rattle the cages for this unit, because it sure looks like J.J. Daigneault (if he's the guy in charge) is utterly incapable.

- Weber and Emelin haven't been very good tonight, especially at even strength where they're already under -10 corsi. Habs defence in general one good reason why the Jets still have hopes of winning this game.

- There is no "off" on the Radulov light switch. There are very few players in the game of hockey that bring his intensity to the rink each night.

- Carr getting blasted in the face by Byfulien, which the officials won't penalize, of course.

- Much better 2nd period for the Habs, they came out strong, put the Jets on their heels, and extended their scoreboard lead, in spite of the Canadiens still playing soft defence, and very disorganized with their PK. Winnipeg hopes in the 3rd will rest on drawing penalties, and taking advantage through the powerplay.


THIRD PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- Jets with just 2 shots in the 2nd, only 1 shot first 17 minutes, although attempts show a slightly closer game, it was still mostly Habs in that frame:

- Jets start the 3rd fairly strong, maybe Paul Maurice had another rant at his team? Habs be wise to play a road period, slow the game down, keep the checking close.

- Andrighetto with possibly his best game of the year, not only picking up two points so far, but playing some pretty good defence in his own zone, meaning he's hustling both directions. Therrien likes that kind of effort, so the kid might stay up with the big team a bit longer than usual.

- Weber with a blast that likely went off Lehkonen to make it 6-3. Jets simply had to score the next goal, and now trailing by 3, the rest of this game is likely elementary.

- Anyway, any doubts now about how huge the Habs off season signings were? Radulov is having a Hart Finalist season, and Lehkonen - he's going to be a part of this team's future core. Strong performances by both yet again tonight.

- Jets really loose on the PK, lanes far too wide open, and slot unprotected, Lehkonen bats home a rebound to make it 7 for the Canadiens.

- Little makes it 4 for the Jets, Johnston with a poor turnover trying to carry the puck out of his zone through heavy traffic.

- Solid win for the Habs tonight, bolstered by secondary scoring support by the youngsters, with Andrighetto and Lehkonen being the brightest lights. Meanwhile Danault continues to add to the Marc Bergevin mystic of finding diamonds in the rough. Road gets much steeper for the Habs as they head down the road to face the very tough Minnesota Wild tomorrow night - again with the same lineup as tonight's, meaning the Canadiens will need another solid effort from the supporting crew if they hope to have a positive result to wrap up the mini road trip.


GAMEDAY GAME PREVIEW: HABS FACE THE NHL'S MOST MEDIOCRE HOCKEY TEAM

What do you do if you're the Winnipeg Jets? You're a team not quite good enough to make the playoffs, but you're too good to finish somewhere in the standings to gain a decent draft pick (for a very mediocre 2017 draft)?.

The Jets are the quintessential middling hockey team playing in a middling city that's almost quite literally right in the middling of a giant country. Let's go to the stats machine.

First off, the conundrum the Jets currently face at the moment.

The Jets are in that tricky "are we, or aren't we?" playoff qualification zone. Yes, they're hanging in there as a possible contender for qualification, but then as we dig a little deeper, the picture becomes even more uncertain:

Let's look at the baseline stats, to see how the Jets stack up against the rest of the League:

STAT             RAW          RANK

CF% (5v5)     49.6           22nd

GF60              2.18           14th

GF (5v5)        74               14th

GA60             2.42            22nd

PP%               16.8            19th

SV%               .916            25th

The numbers are, well ... not horrible, but not good. The Jets' shooting chart at even strength pretty much sums up their position in the NHL:

The Winnipeg Jets. Kinda dull. Kinda bad.

Not helping matters is the recent injury to their fine rookie (and arguably better player than Austin Matthews) Patrik Laine, who suffered a serious concussion Saturday night against the Sabres, after taking a serious (clean) hit near center ice from Jake McCabe. Laine's return is totally unknown - it could be days, weeks, or even months.

Laine, at the time, was the Jets leading point-getter, so for a team that on most nights struggles to generate offence, his injury comes at a particularly bad time.

Then again, the Jets are playing an injury-decimated team tonight, with the Habs again missing many key players from their lineup - the latest possibly being Tomas Plekanec, who reportedly has come down with the case of the flu. If Plekanec can't play tonight, the Habs will be icing a team with four centres that were originally designated 3rd line duty (Danualt), or 4th line duties (Flynn, Mitchell and McCarron). When your forwards lineup is comprised of just 4 top-6 forwards, you're in some serious trouble

So yes, the Jets are mediocre, bordering on bad - but they're taking on a very vulnerable and undermanned opponent tonight, so the possibility is very good that Winnipeg can muster up 2 more points in the standings.

Which just might make them believe they're playoff contenders again.

It's Al Montoya (5W, 4L, 2.76, .911) versus Connor Hellebuyck (16W, 13L, 2.65, .913). Puck drops at 7:40, EST.

          

GAMEDAY NEWS 'N' NOTES:

Fairly quiet day, Habs-related, except for reports this morning that Tomas Plekanec has come down with a bought with the flu, making him a "game time" decision for tonight's game. With Andrei Markov, Alex Galchenyuk and Andrew Shaw not joining the team for this road game, the Canadiens are right back to (possibly) having 7 regulars out of their lineup, and in Plekanec's case, one more top-ish center not being able to play.

So with Plekanec possibly not playing, the Habs went with these lines during practice:

Pacioretty/Danault/Radulov
Lehkonen/Flynn/Byron
Andrighetto/Mitchell/Terry
Carr/McCarron/Scherbak

Yeeesh. That's a pretty thin lineup, especially down the middle.

- Al Montoya was last to leave the ice during this morning's practice, so he'll be starting tonight.

- Erstwhile, the Jets lines tonight will look as such:

Ehlers/Scheifele/Stafford
Perreault/Little/Wheeler
Matthias/Lowry/Armia
Copp/Petan/Thorburn

Morrissey/Byfuglien
Enstrom/Trouba
Chariot/Postma 

Connor Hellebuyck

Game preview coming up in a bit.

Game 56: Habs vs. Sabres

FIRST PERIOD:

- Remember all those times this season Sven Andrighetto was a heathy scratch to make way for the corpses of Devante Smith-Pelly and Dale Weise? Yeah. That happened. A lot. Hopefully those days will never happen again, as Andrighetto takes a nice cross-ice pass from Pacioretty and picks the top of the net right under the crossbar. 1-0 Habs early.

- Subban with a hold that sends Patrick Kane bassackwards onto the ice. Yes, a hold, but plenty of embellishment as well. Now Buffalo gets that powerplay, which I said the Habs needed to avoid to improve their chances tonight.

- Legwand scores off a break, Dale Weise, Thomas Fleischmann and Alexei Emelin getting caught up ice badly. Big-time defensive breakdown there pretty much all-around.

- Desharnais, who was 0 powerplay points over the past 33, still remains on the first unit. Also, Tom Gilbert is out there. Deployment issues ... well ... we've talked about it many times before.

- Kane. Another Habs defensive breakdown in their own zone, Markov with soft pass up the boards generates turnover. Sabres are getting badly outplayed offensively, but Habs are making horrible mistakes. 2-1 Sabres.

- Well, what to say? Habs possession was 70+% in that period, the Sabres generating just two measly scoring chances, but Buffalo scored on both. Sabres have no business holding the lead except for the fact the Habs continue to play very sloppy, undisciplined hockey, especially in their own zone, and insist on first trying to bank the puck up the boards to clear the zone, instead of looking to make a fast breakout. It's been burning the team all season long, and it's burning them tonight. Same old story.

SECOND PERIOD:

Habs and Sabres after that period, you can see the separation. Also of note, the "managed" minutes of Markov - he played 8:24 in the period, more than any other on the ice. Sigh.

- Wow. Scrivens. Gorges, yes, Josh Gorges, scores after Scrivens started flopping all over the ice, eventually leaving Gorges a wide open net. Scrivens gets the yank, Condon in.

- LOLz. First chance on Condon goes in. Habs net minding falling apart. Puck misplayed by Condon for about the 8th million time this season, and Habs defensive pair Emelin/Pateryn do poor job covering the slot, and it's 4-1 Buffalo.

- Habs this period look like Habs we've come to know and love the past three months. Utterly incompetent in their own zone. 

- While Desharnais whiffs, Galchenyuk blasts a one-timer past Johnson. Habs now down 4-2. Montreal's powerplay seems to be more willing to do cross ice passing closer to the circle, instead of relying on one-timers only from the line. They seem much more dangerous. 

- Even with the horrendous defensive play, pucks are starting to go in for the Habs, Andrighetto with his 2nd, on a shot that Johnson totally misplayed. Sabres net minding also a huge ? mark tonight. We could have a 6-5, or 7-6 final when all is said and done.

- Fantastic shift by Gallagher halfway through the period, Habs continue to press and dominate offensively, Sabres only ahead because they've literally scored four goals in five scoring chances.

- Sabres defence is pretty soft in their own zone, Habs continue to pour high % scoring attempts on Johnson. Buffalo can't continue this way and hope to hold on to the scoreboard lead.

- Yet another horrible misplay via unforced error, this time it's Galchenyuk with the mistake, and he draws a penalty shot for Foligno, who converts. Habs net minders seem incapable of making many though saves tonight, not to blame them for an otherwise very poor and sloppy performance by most everyone wearing a CH. 5-3.

- Good lord. Galcheyuk. Redemption. A perfect cross ice pass off the powerplay, an almost exact replica from his first goal of the night, and it's 5-4. 

- Wild clash tonight between two teams playing some pretty horrible hockey. Who'll be bad enough to not lose tonight? Stay tuned.

THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs and Sabres through 40 minutes, 2nd period not quite so one-sided, but still Sabres hold scoreboard lead. 

- Habs have had a couple of scoring chances, but still not sensing any urgency from this team. This is a game they simply cannot afford to lose, but they're still going though something resembling motions at the moment. 

- Habs hitting posts, pucks loose in the crease off rebounds, Johnson by skill and equal parts luck, keeping the Sabres ahead, only barely.

- Habs totally swarming the Sabres zone and goal, and somehow the puck stays out, while Sabres defence, completely spent, holds on to every red shirt in sight, and don't get penalized.

- Therrien, believe it or not, appears to be shortening the bench with 8 minutes left. No more ice time for the 4th line, some players will be double shifted, I'd reckon Pacioretty and Galchenyuk. 

- It's all Habs right now, time is drawing short, and desperation increasing. Sabres are basically in a mad scramble to keep the puck out. Not sure if they can keep this up for much longer, but against the luck-tough Canadiens, anything is possible.

- Less than 2 minutes left, Condon out. It's now or never.

- And to end the night in the most Habs way possible, puck cleared out to centre is stopped by a linesman not paying attention, turning the puck over to Buffalo, who put it into the open net. Subban furious, is tossed from the game. Habs lose a heartbreaker. Again.

OH, BUFFALO. WHAT WENT WRONG?

Can I admit an error in judgment? Yeah, I know - it isn't much of a stretch to think that I've been wrong over hockey analysis, but boy, did I ever get it wrong when I picked the Sabres as the surprise sneak-in team for the playoffs this year.

Excuse me for explaining, but where did this Sabres team have to anywhere but up? Last season they finished with just 54 points, and were first in line for the top draft pick in the 2015 draft, which they lost, as we all know, the Edmonton McDavid's. Poor Buffalo. Still, they didn't come away with zipp - they did draft the wonderfully talented Jack Eichel, and via trades, brought it big names including Evander Kane, Zach Bogosian, bolstered by excellent youth such as Tyler Ennis - this Buffalo team was hardly void of capable NHL players.

Unfortunately, the Sabres season hasn't really panned out the way they hoped it would, perhaps more surprisingly, it's been their offence that's been more to blame. Generating a dismal, 2.27 GPG average, made even worse if you factor in that Buffalo's numbers have been helped by a relatively decent powerplay (ranked 8th overall), and you can see this team can't score at even strength to save a season.

So Buffalo, in the midst of a 4-game losing streak in which they've been outscored 17-8, look towards another high draft pick in 2016, one assuming to select somebody who has the ability to put pucks in the net, while the poor fans south of Niagara Falls suffer though another dismal season.

Not to say it's all cinnamon hearts and roses in Habs land, although the Canadiens are seeking to extend their winning streak to 4 games, an inch even closer to the possibility of getting themselves back into playoff contention. The Habs streak has been sparked by excellent play from Tomas Plekanec and Ben Scrivens, which has helped Montreal overcome the continuing lack of contribution from the team's so-called "2nd line" of David Desharnais, (Sven Andrighetto) Dale Weise and Thomas Fleischmann.

As per usual, the Habs lines tonight are all wrong. But here they are:

Galchenyuk/Plekanec/Gallagher
Pacioretty/Desharnais/Andrighetto
Fleischmann/Eller/Smith-Pelly
Byron/Mitchell/Weise

With Beaulieu apparently (?) injured, Greg Pateryn will draw in, so the Habs D will look like this:

Markov/Subban
Barberio/Gilbert
Emelin/Pateryn

Key for winning tonight for the Habs is pretty simple - don't let Buffalo, who really struggle to score goals, score goals. That means, stay out of the penalty box.

Puck drops at 7:10 EST.

Game Ten: Habs vs. Canucks

THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs and Canucks through 40 minutes. Habs more shots, attempts, possession, yadda yadda. Only the scoreboard counts:

- Habs unleash the hounds, come out of the gate at about 87 mph. Still can't generate good quality shots on Miller, though.

- Finally. Torrey Mitchell continues his remarkable start to the season, deflecting an Emelin shot from the line, and the Habs have life. They're pouring it on. Another quick one, and this game is ON.

- Semin doesn't hustle to the bench on a powerplay line change, and Habs get nailed for too many. That won't endear his chances staying in this lineup as the road trip continues.

- Canucks, of course, score on their powerplay. Off two crazy lucky bounces, of course. Habs streak ends at 9. There was no way this Habs team was going to overcome the bad breaks. So the defeat can be rationalized. 

- Yeek. Emelin recklessly pinches, then falls flat on his face, then on the breakout, puck is banked off Semin into the net. Another goal courtesy a silly bounce. Meh. Game is a total write-off.

- This game is LOLZ. Gotta take it with some humour. Just about everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong. But nobody on the Habs got injured, except for maybe a little pride. Edmonton next, in what should be a very interesting game featuring a high octane offence against a somewhat disorganized Habs defence. I'd be inclined to play Price Thursday, and Condon Friday. We'll see what Therrien decides. NOW GO TO BED EVERYONE.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs and Canucks through 20 minutes: 

- Well, decent enough first five minutes for the Habs, seemingly focused on just getting pucks on Miller. Canadiens seem to be doing a better job forcing turnovers, which will be key to any possible Montreal comeback.

- Not point producing, but Semin having a pretty decent outing tonight. One of the few Habs forwards doing a decent job covering both end zones.

- Habs pressing, but not generating Grade A scoring chances on Miller yet. Really starts (and ends) with their own zone, which has been mostly chaotic tonight, especially gaining the line with organized puck control.

- Pacioretty beats Miller through the arm with one of his awesome snap shots, puck dribbles behind Miller ... and wide. Just isn't happening tonight. 

- Beaulieu has struggled with the puck tonight, made a few careless passes in his zone, seems to be pressing a little too hard in the O zone. 

- As we go deeper into the game, Therrien would be wise to give extra shifts to his two best lines tonight - Plekanec and Galchenyuk. Desharnais line has been a mess, while the 4th line hasn't really created much momentum or energy. 

- Habs really needed a goal in the second, but couldn't quite find the back of the net. Even with zone coverage issues, and poor zone exits, the Habs have still been the better team tonight, but hockey is a game whose winners are frequently determined by good, or bad luck. Tonight, the Habs have had plenty of the later, far too much to overcome. Looking very unlikely the Canadiens can extend their streak to 10. 

FIRST PERIOD:

- Curse of the old teammate strikes again - Prust with a relatively harmless snapshot that Price somehow misplays by waving out his glove, the puck dropping behind him, and tipped into the net by McCann. An auspicious start.

- Price misplays the puck. Check. Puck drops right behind him for easy tip-in goal. Check. Gallagher rings a slap shot off the post. Check. Yup. Feels like the puck luck Gods might be making a withdrawal from the overdue Habs account.

- Okay, stumble out of the gate because of Price's error, but since that goal, Habs have pretty much dominated. Miller saved by a post and a couple of bouncing pucks the Habs couldn't quite bury.

- Canadiens dominate, and Vancouver, courtesy a ridiculous bounce, take a 2-0 lead during a delayed penalty call. Puck luck all against the Habs, which during this incredibly streak, has much more often than not, been in their corner. Not tonight.

- Miller with a ridiculous save on Desharnais off a 2-0 break with Fleischmann. Ye Gods, that's enough already. 

- Very marginal interference call on Fleischmann, who was digging for the puck in the Canucks corner. Nothing going Habs way tonight.

- Prust to McCann. Again. It's 3-0. That goal wasn't luck, it was winning the faceoff deep, and Desharnais doing a poor job covering their assignments. Canadiens with a huge hole to climb out of, if they wan't to get to 10.

- Upside to this game, Habs will almost certainly not have the League's largest PDO at the end of the night.

- Habs forwards doing a very poor job coming back to, and covering their zone, also getting their clocks cleaned winning puck battles at centre ice. Price facing some howitzers from the slot, barely keeping his team in this game.

- First genuine disaster of a period for the Habs this season, they looked good out of the gate, Price let in a goal that shouldn't have been a goal, and the puck just seemed to keep bouncing Vancouver's way. This is not to take away from the Canucks - they were a superior team especially in the neutral zone, which helped them to generate turnovers leading to numerous scoring opportunities. Three goals is not an impossible lead to overcome, but it's awfully tough. 

CELEBRATING THE VANCOUVER CANUCKS LEGACY. 45 YEARS OF NOTHING

Oh, Vancouver. Whatever would you do without Toronto? For years the fans of hockey have made countless jokes about the ineptitude of the Maple Leafs, now 48 years since their last championship. But ya know what, Vancouver? At least Toronto, in all of their futility, actually has won a championship. 15 of them, as a matter of fact.

You? Nothing. Nada. Zilch. in 45 years.

Oh sure, you've been to the big show. Three times, as a matter of fact. Once in 1981, when your club made an improbable, only to get steamrolled by the Islanders in four games. And then there was 1994, when you managed to heartbreak your followers by losing to the Rangers by one goal, in the 7th game.

And then, of course - 2011, where you choked the big one - up 3-2 to a reeling Boston Bruins team, you managed to lose the first chance of clinching in Boston, and then you got destroyed by the Bruins in game 7, right in your own rink. Your fans were not pleased. Many moaned. Many cried. Many rioted in the streets.

Now? You're still nothing. You're a team whose previous general manager somehow managed to find a way of converting two premier goaltenders, Roberto Luongo, and Cory Schiender, into career backup Jacob Markstrom (career .896 SP), Shawn Matthias (no longer playing for you), and Bo Horvat (okay, you at least got SOMETHING). Still, to take two Grade A- commodities and to convert them into so little ... well, it basically set the table for the Canucks' grand decline. Once a League leader, Vancouver's hopes are now pinned on making the post season. That's about it.

Woe, Vancouver. Tonight you have to take on the team that's off to the greatest season start in NHL - the Montreal Canadiens, who are setting new records with every recorded victory, now at 9 - the most of any team to win in regulation to start a campaign. You have to face the likes of Max Pacioretty, P.K. Subban, Tomas Plekanec, Andrei Markov, and Brendan Gallagher, whom, by the way, comprise 5 of the top 6 players in the NHL in +/-.  Oh, right. One other thing. Carey Freakin' Price, the best hockey player on the face of planet Earth.

Oh sure Canucks fans, you'll tell us YES BUT WE HAVE THE SEDIN'S!! Well, goodie good for you. Are you referring to the twin brothers of 35 years of age, both playing on your first line, both with a combined point total of 9, two less than Pacioretty? We're shaking in our boots. We're shaking.

You cannot hide. You must face us hockey's caged ring like the dogs you are. You must capitulate to the awesome offensive and defensive power that is the Montreal Canadiens. You will be thrashed. You will be humiliated. And, at the end of the night, you, like so many of your fans, will shead many tears.

Puck drops at 10:10 EST. You'll want to stay up for this one.