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Sergachev lives up to the hype as the Habs lose to the Senators 4-3 OT |
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Mikhail Sergachev made his NHL preseason debut Thursday night as the Montreal Canadiens lost to the Ottawa Senators 4-3 in overtime. The 2016 first round draft pick came as advertised and was quite impressive for an 18 year old defenceman. At the time of the draft, many had said that Sergachev was the most NHL ready defenceman amongst draft eligible defencemen. They were not without reason. Yes, Thursday night’s match was an exhibition game. However, both the Senators and Canadiens had plenty of NHL players in their lineups. In 19:57 minutes of play, Sergachev demonstrated his poise, speed, smarts, strength and skill. It does not seem so farfetched that Martin Lapointe said this in July:
Sergachev collected an assist on the powerplay as he made sure that his shot was on target so that Brendan Gallagher could deflect it in. He was not afraid to make plays and dangle the puck at the offensive blue line but never put his team in jeopardy of a turnover. Sergachev quickly adapted to the pace of the game, something that is not easy for an 18 year old coming out of junior. The hype is real. There are serious questions though to be asked if he keeps up this high level of play:
1)Is if there is a realistic opportunity for him to force his way on to the Canadiens roster?
2) Are the Canadiens going to be a better team with him in their top six?
3) Would he be better served playing with the Windsor Spitfires in the Memorial Cup and Team Russia at the World Junior Championships?
The only way that Sergachev makes the team is by outplaying Alexei Emelin on the left. It is highly doubtful that general manager Marc Bergevin would trade the veteran and lifetime Canadiens Andrei Markov to make room for the young man. Nathan Beaulieu has displayed that he is a part of the solution and is ready to take on a bigger role with the team. Teams are inquiring about Beaulieu but Bergevin would need another impressive young left handed defenceman to come back. I would not be confident in a left side of Markov, Sergachev and Emelin for the Canadiens… Sergachev hits hard and plays a physical game so the Canadiens would not be missing Emelin’s strength. He and Greg Pateryn looked quite good together once Mark Barberio left the game in the third period last night. It will be interesting to see who the rookie will be paired up with for his next preseason game.
Unfortunately for Mike Condon, he let in all four Senators goals and is handing the backup goaltender position to Al Montoya signed, sealed and delivered. Condon needed a strong showing to keep him in the mix but he is struggling. He was the cinderella story a year ago and now finds himself the odd man out. Perhaps Charlie Lindgren will earn some more time in net before they the preseason is over.
Michael McCarron played a much better second game of the preseason. He was engaged and involved for each shift that he was on the ice. He created something out of nothing by driving to the net on his goal, blowing by the Senators defenceman who did not suspect that McCarron had another gear. His versatility makes him a more valuable third line center as someone needs to eat up Lars Eller’s minutes on the penalty kill and David Desharnais will certainly not be up for that task.
All eyes were also on Artturi Lehkonen whom everybody wants to love. Once again he demonstrated some positives but did not stand out. Is he ready for a top six role based on what we have seen at training camp? No. However, he has done enough to show that the talent, drive and smarts are there. My ideal third line to start the season would be Lehkonen-McCarron-Shaw. This would allow Lehkonen to get more accustomed to the NHL and get his feet wet without as much pressure of having to produce immediately. Daniel Carr would then slide up to the second line with Tomas Plekanec and Alexander Radulov.
The Canadiens had the day off on Friday are return to game action on Saturday, 3:00pm for a rematch with the Senators in Ottawa.
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Congratulations to Carey Price and Shea Weber for winning gold with Team Canada at the World Cup of Hockey. The best part of the comeback win Thursday evening was that the players will return to training camp sooner than later had Team Europe extended the series to game 3. Michel Therrien will now have more time to experiment with Weber to find the right chemistry for the top pairing. Of course, everyone is relieved that Price remained healthy throughout the tournament and that he is back to performing at his incredibly high level of play, meaning the best goaltender in the world NHL.
Cheers & follow along!
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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