Game Seven: Blues vs. Habs

THIRD PERIOD:

- Through 40 minutes in Montreal:

- Five minutes through the 3rd, with exception to the 4h line, Habs have been sitting on the lead. That's a pretty risky strategy with so much time left on the clock with only a two goal lead. We'll see how this pans out, but I'm not feeling very assured at the moment.

Definite 2014-15 flashbacks going on here. Now icing the puck. And lead sitting. Just begging for trouble.

- Just waiting ... just waiting for the Blues first goal here. Even Price can only do so much while the rest of his team just dumps the puck away.

- Blues have 70% possession this period, with 10 minutes left. That how much the Canadiens are attempting to sit out the clock. Yikes.

- While the Habs sit, the Blues will feel increased pressure to pinch their defense, which will open up the neutral zone significantly for the Habs. 8 minutes left, we're nearing the time when St. Louis must take risks.

- Well, never mind that I guess. Great work by the Habs 4th line pays off on the scoresheet, with Subban the point shot, and Mitchell depositing the rebound. Blues defence simply sagged on that play - they look spent. Habs just opportunistic tonight. The bounces went their way, and they took full advantage.

- Well, even with the 3rd period sag, the bottom line is this team is 7-0. And Buffalo and Toronto next. So ... who knows how long this might last?


SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs will have to do a far, far better job getting out of their zone from this point forward. Blue have been dominating centre ice since the first drop of the puck. Montreal forwards have been somewhat guilty of pushing up ice a little too aggressively when the defense has puck possession, making successful passes increasingly difficult. They'll need to hang back a bit tighter, in my opinion.

- Just about every Habs chip up the boards from their zone is being anticipated and brought right straight back by a Blues defender. Over three periods, this will kill the Habs.

- Carey Price robs Tarasenko, likely not for the last time tonight, after a sloppy centre ice turnover by the Habs. Blues looking even stronger this period.

- Well, that's just crazy. Habs with the usual shoot in which is bobbled by a miscommunication between the Blues defence and forwards. Semin gains control of the loose puck and wrists a 40 footer past Allen. Montreal getting the benefit of the bounces so far. 2-0.

- Habs offence suddenly comes to life, Desharnais with an outstanding shift after the Semin goal, nearly making it 3-0, if not for a couple of tough saves by Allen. Blues definitely reeling here.

- Looks like Therrien is settling on putting his 4th line against the Blues' 2nd (Backes), and Plekanec against Lehtara.

- Desharnais line with excellent shifts this period, keeping Blues pinned in their zone, and their defense scrambling. Chances being generated - basically doing everything you'd want for your 3rd line, and more.

- Very strange period for the Blues. They started the 2nd period with fire and fury, and looked close to having the Habs on the ropes. The Semin goal just seemed to completely deflate them. They'll need to work hard to get some momentum back.

- Habs penalty kill has been a game saver tonight. Blues haven't been able to muster up much of a scoring threat with the man advantage.

- Not sure if the Blues defense is slowing down as the game progresses, but Habs wingers and pinching defensemen are being granted unmolested puck control wide along the boards.

- Just speculating, but I think another factor with the Habs powerplay struggles has been a poor-ish faceoff percentage deep in the opposition zone. Wish I had numbers somewhere to verify (or disprove) that theory.

- Blues seemed to downshift after Semin goal, and just about fluking a bank shot off the divider past Price, maybe St. Louis is collectively coming to the realizing that tonight just won't be their night.


FIRST PERIOD:

- Excellent first shift by the Desharnais line, Weise just about backhanding a shot past Allen from the slot.

- Habs doing early line matching, sending Plekanec line out to face the Blues' 4th line.

- Hitchcock does his own strategizing, putting Lehtara out against Petry/Emelin. Probably (rightly) thinks he's better to exploit that pairing than Gibert/Beaulieu. 

- Backes line by far the most dangerous so far for St. Louis.

- Sweet zone entry by the Blues, and a heck of a pad save by Price off Tarasenko. Beware the Tarasenko.

- Blues doing an excellent job clogging up the neutral zone, which has severely hampered the Habs' forward's to generate zone entry speed.

- Blues structured game starting to pay off here as we head into the 2nd half of the period. Generating increasingly more dangerous scoring chances on Price.

- Hockey is just so hard to quantify. Plekanec a wrist shot deftly deflected by Pacioretty and past Allen. Blues were pretty much totally dominating the past 7 minutes, and find themselves down 1-0.

- Well, take what you can get, I suppose. Blues really had a firm grip on this game from about the halfway mark to less than 2 minutes left in the period, and then the Habs (apparently it was Plekanec) get a sneaky goal. Still, the intangibles are heavily in favour of the Blues because they played such a structured period of hockey, which really hampered the Habs ability to sustain any kind of offensive pressure in the Blues zone. Habs should be happy they have the lead against a very good Blues team.




BEWARE, THE TARASENKO

Happy post-election day! Okay, enough politics, we have matters to attend to that really matter. Namely, tonight's CLASH OF THE TITANS, featuring the St. Louis Blues, who are off to a rocking' 5-1 start to their season, and the NHL'S BEST TEAM, the Montreal Canadiens, who are undefeated, baby!

That the Blues are off to a great start isn't particularly a surprise. They've got an excellent roster that rolls four lines, featuring the (very) talented likes of Jaden Schwartz, Troy Brouwer, Alexander Steen, and the (very, very) talented Vladimir Tarasenko, who's off to a sizzling season start, with 9 points (5 goals) scored in the Blues' six games, which just so happens to be the most in the League, at the present.

Let's see that lineup tonight:

Line 1: Steen/Lehtera/Tarasenko
Line 2: Schwartz/Backes/Brouwer
Line 3: Jaskin/Gomez/Upshall
Line 4: Ott/Brodzik/Reaves

Okay, snickers aside with Gomez starting on the 3rd line, the Blues roll two scoring and two energy lines, making them a difficult team to defend. They also play a methodical game, working the puck out of their zone with great efficiency, which forces their opponent forwards to work both ends of the ice.

Fortunately for the Habs, it would appear that this season's team is taking a far more organized approach to the game - the dividends are self-apparent with the Canadiens off to their best start in 106 years. Montreal has rolled four lines with very even splits, highlighted by exceptional performances by the Habs 4th line of Brian Flynn, Torrey Mitchel and Devante Smith-Pelly. The relentless forecheck that line has provided has given the rest of the lineup significant energy, which is a huge advantage if you have three lines that are capable of scoring.

Still, the Habs have their hands full tonight - maybe the first true test of whether this team is legitimately elite. I expect nothing less than the game to be tight checking, physical and low scoring.

Keys for the Habs? Well, if there's a weak spot for the Blues, it's their blue line, which is currently dealing with the loss of their young star defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk. which has forced St. Louis to move the relatively inexperienced Colton Parayko up next to Carl Gunnerson, who was Shattenkirk's partner. With the Canadiens possessing the luxury of the last change, Michel Therrien can mix and match his lines in an attempt to exploit the Shattenkirk absence.

Regardless, it'll be a fascinating game to watch. A true measure of just how good (or maybe great?) this Habs team is.

Carey Price will face Jake Allen.

Game Twenty-One: Blues vs. Habs

THIRD PERIOD:

- Some really bad defensive breakdowns by Habs defense, but Price makes two sparkling saves to keep his team ahead. 

- How big were Price's huge saves? Desharnais with a nice pass to spring Pacioretty alone on the wing, his snapper leaving Allen baffled. 3-1.

- Habs doing a superb job on the forecheck tonight, basically snuffing out the Blues ability to maintain any sense of consistent possession. Habs have dominated centre ice. In cruise control right now.

- Max Pacioretty looks determined to score about 200 on his birthday. Almost a hat trick tonight.

- Eller with the Cherry on tip. He's so deserved of these goals, and he's benefitted hugely since Sekac was put beside him. Really showing us just how terrible Bourque was in a Habs uniform.

- Impressive, impressive win tonight against a top-flight organization. A collective victory in so many senses. Price was strong as usual, and all four lines were really rolling. It was the kind of win you'd expect from, well, the St. Louis Blues.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Gallagher claiming during the intermission that an official said to him during the penalty that offenses by opposing teams on him won't be called. That's kind of big. We'll see if anything comes of it. 

- In any case we now have a player making an on the record claim that NHL officials have a set bias against the Canadiens. 

- Ouch. And here I was praising the Blues in the first period for their excellent zone play. Then Shattenkirk does that. Tie game on a gift.

- Pretty solid period by Habs so far - Blues have, surprisingly, sagged. Mainly playing reactionary and defensively.

- And Paciorety puts the home team on top, a brilliant 70 foot pass by Parenteau with Jackman completely disengaged, and Allen whiffs and lets it through the wickets. Blues defense a real letdown in this period.

- Habs first powerplay, they dumped every single attack, and were able to muster zero shots. Didnt even come close to registering a SOG. Feh.

- Shartenkrik with a make-up brilliant poke check on Galchenyuk on a dangerous odd man rush. You just know Alex was about to score. Just an excellent play, there.

- Habs continue to dump the puck with the man advantage, the man advantage continues to go nowhere fast. Makes you really question the aptitude of the braintrust, sometimes.

- Habs with their usual strong second period, deservedly holding a one goal lead through 40 minutes. They've played it pretty close to the chest so far, and the results have been impressive. Blues hardly threatening Price throughout the period.

FIRST PERIOD:

- So the first game of the official post-Bourque era begins. Trading one chronic underachiever for another.

- Desharnais' refusal to shoot the puck that's set on a tee and ready to be put in the net is becoming ridiculous.

- Third shift for the third line and guess what? Tarasenko given free reign to carry the puck right to Price, thanks to poor coverage by Markov and lazy non-check by Plekanec, and it's 1-0. You simply can't have these kinds of zone breakdowns against a team like the Blues. They will ruin you.

- Blues are ridiculously structured in their zone - everybody plays their position appropriately, especially backchecking forwards, and it's muted just about every Montreal attack.

- Nonetheless, beside the Tarasenko breakdown, Habs have been pretty competitive in the neutral zone, and pretty clean in their own territory - Hitchcock for the most part has avoid pulling any line matching tricks. I'm thinking that will come later in the game.

- Secak is kind of the anti-Desharnais: not afraid to charge the opposing net or shoot the puck.

- Pretty close checking period, thought possession was relatively even. Relatively happy with the results, Habs seem much more competitive tonight than they were against Pittsburgh, which itself wasn't a poor game by the Canadiens either.

GAMEDAY GAME PREVIEW:

It's gotta suck to be a Blues fan. Ozzy Osborne is one of them. I wonder if he's a die-hard. 47 years the Blues have played in this League, and they're still searching for their first title.

So many years, so many times, this organization has looked like a world beater in the regular season, only to flame out, often soon and suddenly, in the playoffs. Last year was no different. 111 points during the regular season, and a first round exit to the Black Hawks.

Really, the pieces are all there for a championship. Plenty of depth, four robust and well balanced lines, a credible defense, decent goaltending, and top-grade coaching.

Yet somehow, this team just can't find a way when it matters most.

The story this year is no different. The Blues have got a terrific lineup. They've got an incredible third line that's most clubs would love dearly as their first line. Centered by Lehtera, winged by Vladimir Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz, this trio has combined for 56 points in 18 games, and individually are the three top scorers on this team. Yowza.

It also doesn't hurt that the Blues not only have a qualified NHL coach, but one of the best hockey minds in the business plotting strategy. Ken Hitchcock, who matches his players better than anyone else on the League, frequently likes to draw opposing teams into a matchup trap, sending out his checking line against the opposing team's 4th, and then suddenly tossing either his first or third line out to expose the opponent.

Which is to say, expect Hitchcock to lean heavily on the Lehtera and Backes lines tonight against the Habs 4th line - however that's constituted by Michel Therrien.

The Habs are in deep tonight. They were already manhandled by the Pens on Tuesday night, and now they're going to face a team deep in depth and disciplined in strategy.

Carey Price will need to do some head dancing, if the Canadiens are to have much of a chance.

Puck drops at 7:40 EST.