by CoachK, AllHabs.net
SAINT-LAZARE, QC — With two wins consecutively in the dreaded Sunbelt, the last stop for the Canadiens in Tampa is ultra important to win. The upcoming week will feature games against conference rivals the Boston Bruins, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals. All three of these teams are jockeying for position in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Bruins sit three points back of the top of the standings, currently held by the Philadelphia Flyers, while Pittsburgh trails their division rivals by six. Washington is a single point behind Tampa for third place in the conference, while the Habs are six back of the Bruins and the Northeast lead.
Needless to say that from this point forward, every game will have some kind of bearing on the Eastern standings. With the New York Rangers a mere five point back from the Canadiens and sixth place, it’s crucial that the Habs continue their winning streak to further solidify their playoff position.
The Lightning know all too well what this game means to them, so they will be coming out guns blazing tonight. Tampa Coach Guy Boucher, who is familiar with the Canadiens’ system, will try to exploit their injury-ravaged defense, and capitalize on their lack of speed and questionable puck distribution skills. To counteract this strategy, look for Habs’ Coach Jacques Martin to replace Alexander Picard with Yannick Weber on the blue line. Although Weber is a right-handed shot, it would benefit the Canadiens to have his offensive skills in the lineup, to help the Habs get into transition faster.
By the same token, the Canadiens need to pressure the Tampa defense and goaltender Dwayne Roloson. The latter has a propensity to “lose his cool” when there is traffic in front of the goal mouth. Look for Max Pacioretty, Brian Gionta and Lars Eller to play a big part in getting Roloson off his game. Also, like many goaltenders past their proverbial prime, Roloson is suspect in his lateral movements. With age comes a weaker technique, so his butterfly is not a strong as it once was. While he still is proficient at covering the bottom of the net, the Canadiens can capitalize on his weakness of leaving the upper tier of the net open.
Finally, there is the questionable ability to forecheck by the Canadiens. In recent games during this roadtrip, the forechecking skills of the third and fourth lines have accounted for much of the success offensively. This success is due to the relentless forechecking of players like Travis Moen and Lars Eller. Although they don’t always pick up the puck, they finish their bodychecks, and keep the opposing defensemen from feeling comfortable when making outlet passes. This is an example that the other two, more offensively talented, lines should follow.
All this being said, Coach Boucher will attempt to keep this game free wheeling and wide open offensively, while Coach Martin will try to slow it down. We have seen over this season that the Canadiens are no slouches when playing a wide open style. Given their goaltending advantage, with Carey Price being red hot, it may be the only way they can achieve success tonight.
(Photo by: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)