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Habs Outmatched and Outplayed by Flames |
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A 1-0 loss to the Calgary Flames, who extended their winning streak to four games last night, was just another example of the Canadiens being outmatched by a superior opponent. “The Canadiens have also taken more minor penalties (96) than any other team in the NHL,” a fact transcribed by Sean Gordon of the Globe and Mail, in his morning column.
If the penalty count for Montreal isn’t emblematic of their struggles to contain the pressure applied by their opponents, I don’t know what is. The other side of it obviously pertains to the powerplay. Colleague Conor McKenna of the Team990 (whom I made a wager with that the Canadiens would come back and win in the third period) had the line of the night: “When the Canadiens get a powerplay they should take a penalty and even things up at four on four.”
And I wonder if the Canadiens have as little faith in the man-advantage as their fans do. In a 1-0 game, at what used to be a raucous Bell Centre, the team was awarded a powerplay with less than eight minutes remaining in the third period. You could hear a pin drop…
With 2 minutes left, and the Canadiens down a man, muffled murmers of “Go Habs Go” sounded like wounded cries from animals hoping to be put out of their misery.
It was loud in the building for precisely two minutes of last night’s game, when the Canadiens managed to sustain some pressure, and offensive momentum sparked by Scott Gomez booting a breakaway—a play that Miikka Kiprusoff admitted to being beat on: “He had me big-time!” Aside from that, rhythm was killed with untimely parades to the box, and execution on the nine scoring chances they created on the night just wasn’t there. Not to take away from “Kipper”, who made 4 excellent saves last night, but lack of execution is killing this team.
And if Gionta, Gomez, Cammalleri, and Plekanec can’t provide it, no one else seems capable of supporting their efforts. Fair or not, people are giving up on the promise of Guillaume Latendresse. Fair or not, people are completely over Andrei Kostitsyn. When you consider how much everyone complains about these two players, and the fact that no one aside from the primary scorers of the team rank ahead of them in the offensive depth chart, lack of execution isn’t hard to comprehend. Moreover, it’s become expected.
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-Tomas Plekanec was targeted last night, after he was the best player in the game last time these two teams met, earlier this season. Even if they effectively kept him off the scoresheet, Plekanec really deserves to be commended for the consistency in his effort, and his persistence to initiate contact and win battles.
-Jaroslav Halak was really excellent last night. Had he not been…
-Mike Cammalleri goes from scoring 39 goals next to Iginla, to being paired with Maxim Lapierre. If that isn’t an indication that the Canadiens need another solution up front, what is? Dare I say it’s time to give Sergei Kostitsyn another chance? He doesn’t deserve it, but what are the Canadiens to do?
-“It’s no secret; that’s the kind of game I thrive on,” said Dion Phaneuf of last night’s physical affair. Bold prediction: Phaneuf will be a crucial cog on Team Canada’s blueline in February if he remains healthy. His physicality is only matched by Chris Pronger, and when provoked he becomes even more imposing. His timing is as extraordinary as his instinct, and if you engage him from within a couple feet of the boards he’ll make you pay big-time—no matter how big you are.
-Jarome Iginla and Olli Jokinen were Calgary’s best last night, and it was no surprise to see them combine on the game’s only goal. Less surprising was the class Iginla exhibited in his post-game commentary, in commending a Montreal team that’s been characterized as small, for providing a physical test, and a big challenge.
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How long can Jacques Martin afford to wait before making major changes to the powerplay’s composition? Moreover, Perry Pearn coached an abysmal powerplay in New York last season. Is he unaware of how difficult it is to score with the man-advantage if you’re moving up the ice and into the zone at the pace of a turtle? Watching Redden and Roszival run a powerplay breakout for two years wasn’t enough to convince him that guys like Mara and Hamrlik are going to struggle to create that crucial odd-man opportunity over the line that enables offensive control?
The Montreal Canadiens had the best powerplay in the league for two consecutive seasons for many reasons. But they wouldn’t have set up all those beautiful one-timer goals between Markov and Kovalev if it weren’t for the break-ins that Mark Streit’s speed and poise created.
It’s all good to have Gomez rush from his own end, but with two men behind him they don’t have the numbers to gain sufficient control in the zone. Forget about creating traffic necessary to score; they’re spending 1/3rd of their powerplays in their own zone. Will it be much longer before they put a forward on the point?
With one powerplay goal in six games, will it be much longer before they mix up the units they’ve created?
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The larger issue is that there’s only so much Jacques Martin can do with the players he has. The injuries on defense would be hard to overcome for any team. The lack of production from players the team desperately needs to produce would concern any coach.
With 18 games filed away, the Canadiens are emerging as a team with limited ability to pull off an upset and marginal confidence to win the games they should, in convincing fashion. They have 1 regulation win, against the New York Islanders.
C’est la vie! But the more these patterns prevail, the smaller their window becomes to snap out of it. Next up: The Phoenix Coyotes (10-7-0).
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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