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Price Could Be Out Another Month; Uniting a Group, by Andrew Saadalla |
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UPDATE: GM Marc Bergevin indicated in a press conference on Thursday that Carey Price's recovery from a lower body injury has been slower than expected and will be out for at least another 3-4 weeks.
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Montreal Canadiens’ head coach Michel Therrien gave a heartfelt, highly emotional press conference on Tuesday night after the Habs lost on home ice against the Boston Bruins. The loss, along with the New Jersey Devils’ win, pushed the Canadiens out of the playoff race for the first time this season.
They’re ranked 10th in the Eastern Conference, 6th in the Atlantic Division and are a single point out of contention with 50. The 9th-ranked Ottawa Senators are tied in points but have a game in hand, while the second and final wild card spot is occupied by the Devils who have played the same amount of games as the Habs and have 51 points.
The Habs have now lost five in a row. Absolutely everything that could be going wrong with this team seems to happening all at once, and the funk that they’ve been stuck in since December 3rd is simply not getting any better. This is the worst phase the Habs have gone through since the early 1940s, and their 9 points out of a possible 42 amassed over the course of the past 21 games is still the league-worst.
On top of everything, the Habs have placed Paul Byron’s name on the injured reserve. He has excelled since being claimed on waivers, and was one of the only bright spots on this team during the debacle of a season that 2015-2016 is turning out to be.
Besides that, not much has changed. Carey Price is skating but has not faced any shots yet. He has yet to have a practice with all of his equipment, and the videos posted by RDS’ Gaston Therrien have shown a player who’s clearly struggling to get full movement back in his knee. I’d be very surprised if Price plays immediately after the All-Star break. He shouldn’t be rushed back into the lineup either way.
At this rate, it’s almost impossible for the Habs to make the playoffs. Why bother bringing back the world’s greatest goaltender and most important player on the team, only to risk potentially losing him long-term to another injury?
We’ve all seen what the Habs are capable of doing without him; hardly anything. He would have to be beyond otherworldly, more so than he was during his unquestionable MVP 2014-2015 season, in order to have any chance of allowing his teammates to come close to a victory. His full and clear rehabilitation is worth so much more than making the playoffs this year, no matter how much the Montreal fan base demands it.
My attention has turned to Michel Therrien’s postgame remarks. I was watching l’Antichambre as they cut to the most emotional press conference that I’ve seen in quite a few years. Instead of sticking to his usual deflecting and short answers with very little substance to feed controversies, Therrien opted for a lengthy defense of his players.
He even called out the fans that booed Andrei Markov, saying that it’s not his fault that his body doesn’t always follow his mind’s orders. He referred to Markov as being someone who has given his heart and soul to the organization, everything he’s got as a true professional. Therrien called it “unfair” and “unjust” to criticize the players’ efforts. He repeated that several times, perhaps as a cry for help in attempting to rally his troops behind him. He might’ve tried to keep the players on his side, to not lose the locker room.
See a part of Therrien’s press conference below:
Thankfully for him, Max Pacioretty came to his defense. He said that Therrien’s been absolutely amazing throughout all of this, and that it makes it even harder to lose when playing for a coach who’s remaining positive and keeping the group united.
To me, I felt like Therrien was clearly feeling the heat. He had been there before, and was pouring his heart out possibly out of fear of it being his last presser. Guy Carbonneau had a hard time keeping his eyes on the screen where RDS was showing the conference, and Stephane Langdeau had pointed out that it was tough for his panelist to stomach what he was witnessing. I’m certain Carbonneau wasn’t alone, because I had a very hard time watching the head coach go through what he did.
Still, showing compassion towards a team and its trainers isn’t what the Habs need right now. Their upcoming games are against the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Columbus Blue Jackets (twice). If the game against Boston was a must-win and they were dominated, I can only imagine what these matchups must signify.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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