Monday April 15th, 2013
Game Recap: Without a commitment to a defensive game, the Habs were pummeled by a non-playoff team.
| MONTREAL CANADIENS 26-11-5 57 POINTS 2nd in the East |
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS 18-21-3 39 POINTS 12th in the East |
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3 |
7 |
| FINAL | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | T |
| Canadiens | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | 3 |
| Flyers | 2 | 4 | 1 | – | 7 |
Top Scorers:
| CANADIENS | FLYERS | ||
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Scoring Summary:
| G | Per | Time | Str | Team | Goal Scorer | Assist | Assist |
| 1 | 1 | 2:45 | EV | PHI | 17 W.SIMMONDS(13) | 14 S.COUTURIER(10) | 22 L.SCHENN(7) |
| 2 | 1 | 5:49 | EV | PHI | 29 E.GUSTAFSSON(2) | unassisted | |
| 3 | 1 | 19:02 | EV | MTL | 67 M.PACIORETTY(12) | 14 T.PLEKANEC(17) | 76 P.SUBBAN(24) |
| 4 | 2 | 0:38 | EV | MTL | 11 B.GALLAGHER(13) | 67 M.PACIORETTY(22) | 76 P.SUBBAN(25) |
| 5 | 2 | 1:02 | PP | PHI | 93 J.VORACEK(18) | 28 C.GIROUX(28) | 12 S.GAGNE(10) |
| 6 | 2 | 7:30 | PP | PHI | 19 S.HARTNELL(5) | 28 C.GIROUX(29) | 44 K.TIMONEN(22) |
| 7 | 2 | 9:11 | EV | MTL | 27 A.GALCHENYUK(7) | 44 D.DREWISKE(4) | 81 L.ELLER(16) |
| 8 | 2 | 10:46 | EV | PHI | 28 C.GIROUX(13) | 93 J.VORACEK(23) | 44 K.TIMONEN(23) |
| 9 | 2 | 19:27 | PP | PHI | 19 S.HARTNELL(6) | 93 J.VORACEK(24) | 17 W.SIMMONDS(14) |
| 10 | 3 | 12:45 | EV | PHI | 19 S.HARTNELL(7) | 10 B.SCHENN(16) | 48 D.BRIERE(9) |
Shots on Goal:
| FINAL | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | T |
| Canadiens | 8 | 10 | 10 | – | 28 |
| Flyers | 17 | 12 | 4 | – | 33 |
Goaltending:
| CANADIENS | FLYERS | ||
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Record: 19-10-4 SA: 23 Sv%: .793 |
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Record: 18-16-3 SA : 25 Sv%: .893 |
Lineup Notes:
- Habs starting six: Tomas Plekanec, Brian Gionta, Rene Bourque, Josh Gorges, P.K. Subban, Carey Price
- Scratched: Tomas Kaberle, Yannick Weber, Mike Blunden, Gabriel Dumont, Brandon Prust, Alexei Emelin
What you need to know:
The head coach would have you believe that despite the Canadiens missing the post-season last year, the players have been coasting since clinching last week against Buffalo.
“Since we clinched the playoffs, our level of intensity, our level of concentration, our level of attention, the level of our work ethic have all fallen a great deal and we’ve seen the results of that.” — Michel Therrien
As reporters circulated the room post-game, each player was asked about a lack of intensity since the Sabres game — most agreed, anything to quickly end the interview after receiving a shellacking on the ice. But one player didn’t go along for the sake of going along: captain Brian Gionta.
When asked about a letdown after securing a playoff spot, Gionta said firmly, “No, nothing like that. We just haven’t played well the last two games.”
Gionta is an experienced veteran and is absolutely correct. Playoff complacency is not the culprit.
The onset of the latest rough patch came when Alexei Emelin was lost for the season. Without him the Habs are 1-3-0. Set aside the Habs win against the woeful Sabres. Buffalo players mailed in the game on April 11th; the Bulldogs had even odds of beating them that night.
Emelin’s absence from the lineup only exacerbated a situation that has existed all season but began to rapidly breakdown in the last 14 games. During that time Montreal has only won seven games.
You have read it here all season long, the Canadiens are not a very good coverage team in their own zone. They have masked this significant flaw with superb goaltending, being top-5 in goals per game and relying on a quick transition game.
And what’s happening now? Again, Gionta is correct.
“We’re not coming out of our end clean so we’re not getting a good forecheck going. Therefore we’re playing too much in our own end and in that context we’re having too many breakdowns.” — Brian Gionta
While the coach was willing to lay the entire burden on the players, he and his staff must take a healthy share of the blame. Why are the Habs having trouble coming out of their own zone?
We warned about the overuse of Andrei Markov early in the season — you are now witnessing the effect of playing him 25 minutes per game. Even tonight, in a blowout, Markov had almost 23 minutes of ice-time. He has lost a step which hampers him from skating the puck out of the zone.
P.K. Subban has entered the Norris Trophy discussion for being the top offensive defenseman but is second on the Canadiens in giveaways even in his shortened season. Turning the puck over helps ensure that the team spends more time in its own end.
Francis Bouillon can be effective in a limited role. But being asked to be an every-game player at 18 minutes per night, and now an increased physical role has taken its toll. Bouillon has played his worst hockey of the year over this most recent stretch.
Josh Gorges continues to be one of the top-10 shot blockers in the league. But it’s fair to say that he has not looked like the Gorges that we are used to seeing.
Davis Drewiske is another defenseman being asked to take on a role well-above his capabilities. There is a reason that he was so-often scratched as a member of the Los Angeles Kings. Now he is being asked to play more than 15 minutes per night, including special teams duty.
Nathan Beaulieu has a bright future on the Canadiens blueline, not the future is not now. Beaulieu has been looking worse with each subsequent start. Better to sit him or send him to Hamilton before his confidence takes a hit.
Yannick Weber is an excellent skater, a good, puck-moving defenseman and a power-play specialist. He has no physical game but compensates with smart positional play. Therrien’s failure to integrate Weber into the lineup on a regular basis puts the coach in a difficult position having to rely on Drewiske and callups to fill holes.
The return of Raphael Diaz will help with the transition game but his tendency to roam will be a concern if the Habs are spending more time in the defensive zone.
Alexei Emelin‘s loss is huge. He made good outs, slowed forwards coming into the Habs zone and cleared the front of the net. No one is capable of adequately filling his role.
Stat never tweeted when Emelin was in the lineup. #Habs have 2 hits after two periods. (Flyers have 14.) #allhabs #gohabsgo
— All Habs (@AllHabs) April 16, 2013
So what to do about it? Therrien is concerned about the time left to correct errors.
“We have to deal with the schedule. I wish we had more time to work with the players. But we don’t have much time.” — Michel Therrien
Thing is, as mentioned, defensive coverage issues have existed all season long without receiving the appropriate attention; not unlike their play while short-handed. Jeff Halpern provided a brief boost to the penalty-killing squad but it has settled once again at 81 percent efficiency placing the Habs 17th in the league in this category.
And what about goaltending, you ask? The stats-line may look ugly in the box score but Carey Price and Peter Budaj have nothing to be ashamed about. The Flyers pelted 17 shots at Price in the first period, many of them good scoring chances. Also keep in mind that the Habs were outhit 7-to-1 and dominated 57-43 percent at the faceoff dot in the period.
Price was bailing water while his defense corps kept filling the boat. Here’s just a few examples:
- A huge save by Price on Jakub Voracek as he broke in alone splitting Subban and Drewiske.
- A big save by Price on a breakaway by Ruslan Fedotenko after a Subban giveaway.
- A great save by Price on Sean Couturier after he was left alone.
On the two goals that found the net in the first period, the first deflected in off of Drewiske/Beaulieu occupying the same spot on the ice and the second found its way through a six-player screen. As the game went on, there were more and more spectators in the Habs zone. Poor defensive coverage also causes a goaltender to change his game as the actions of his teammates become less predictable.
While injuries have shone a spotlight on a hole in Therrien’s style of play, it is incumbent on him to design a game plan that restores defensive discipline with the lineup that is available to him. Then it is up to the players to demonstrate a willingness to do everything they can to prevent goals.
It’s also time for the Canadiens to skate and battle with the intensity that has put them at the top of their division. In that respect, Therrien is correct. Making slow teams look quick has eliminated their greatest advantage. But the key to success is responsible defensive play — combined with speed, it will rejuvenate the transition game that can propel the Habs attack. With just six games left, the time is now.
Injury/Roster Report:
- No new injuries.
- Ryan White received a match penalty for a head hit on Flyers defenseman Kent Huskins. The NHL has requested an in-person hearing with White to determine supplementary discipline.
| NHL Three Stars | |
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| Post-game Chatter |
Coach Michel Therrien:
- “I’m not here to talk about players. It’s really general.”
- “Everyone involved in tonight’s game was not ready to play.”
- “It’s pretty simple. It’s a game of pride. You have to come to the rink ready to play. You have to come to the rink and pay attention to detail and make sure you get the right attitude. This is exactly what we are not doing the last two games, with the results that we see.”
- “There’s no work ethic out there right now. We’re not paying attention to detail. It’s disappointing.”
Tomas Plekanec:
- “We have to go back to our game, start skating and start winning battles. For the biggest part of the season we were winning those battles, we were always first to the puck and always faster than the other teams. We let [Price] down and that definitely shouldn’t happen. He’s our goalie and we should be working to help him out a lot more than we are. He made two huge stops in that opening period and it could have been way more than 2-1 after the first.”
Brendan Gallagher:
- “[Price] made some big saves tonight and this definitely isn’t on Carey. As a group we’ve been giving up way too many chances and he still came up with some big saves in the first on a few breakaways. He gave us a chance to come back after the first period. It was only a 2-1 game because he was so good.”
Flyers coach Peter Laviolette:
- “The effort was good right from the start. The guys were skating hard, working hard, played a smart game. We went to the box a little bit too much, but short of that it was complete.”
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