Playoff Performers | Three Stars of the Week, NHL, Habs, Montreal Canadiens, Paul Byron, Josh Anderson, Carey Price
ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA — Hello there, folks! Back with another edition of my three stars of the week column!
Players will earn points each time they appear as a star in this column and at the end of the year, I will award my three stars of the season.
The Canadiens lost in disappointing fashion in game two on Saturday but having taken game one they got out of Toronto with a split through two games of the series. Who played the biggest roles in that? Here are my three stars of the week.
☆ THIRD STAR: Paul Byron
Last week, both of Byron’s line mates, Jake Evans and Artturi Lehkonen, featured in the column and Byron was unfortunately left out even though he had played well. In game one against the Leafs, Byron made sure that he would not be omitted again by scoring the game-winning goal and what a goal it was.
It was the way that one would expect Byron to score a goal, beating a defenceman to the puck using his speed, but being able to beat Jack Campbell from his knees to score the game-winning goal is perhaps not the type of goal you would associate with Byron.
Given the performance of Byron’s line against Connor McDavid to close the season, the emergence of that trio against one of the best in the league was incredibly encouraging entering a series against a high-powered offensive team. Having someone like Byron who uses his incredible speed effectively to limit opportunities for the opposition and create them for the Habs is a good thing to have.
Game two was a letdown for everyone involved for the Habs but Byron’s effort in game one of the series was one of the reasons they got out of the first two games of the series with a split.
☆ SECOND STAR: Josh Anderson
Byron scored the game-winning goal of the Canadiens important game one win of the series, why is he not higher? Well, because Anderson set the tone for the Canadiens skaters on Thursday night. Like Byron, he used his speed, but also used his size to let the Leafs know it would be a long night.
Anderson got the Canadiens off and running with the first goal of the game and could have had more goals on the night, he was that much of a thorn in the side of the Leafs in game one. He used his speed to get to dangerous areas on the ice and created some really nice scoring opportunities throughout the game.
When the Canadiens made the move for Josh Anderson, that performance had to be exactly what the front office had in mind. He impacts the game when he is out on the ice and following the disappointing performance in game two, the Canadiens should consider moving Anderson to a different line to try and spark some underperforming players.
Whatever this series ends up being, it feels like Anderson will be a factor for the Canadiens. Heading back to the Bell Centre for games three and four, the Canadiens need to use the environment to their advantage, which I have no doubt Anderson will do, he just needs help from his fellow forwards.
☆ FIRST STAR: Carey Price
The Montreal Canadiens got out of Toronto with a split of games one and two because of Carey Price. It is as simple as that. Not only did he make remarkable saves in game one on the likes of Morgan Rielly, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, but his presence was felt throughout the game. The Canadiens franchise goaltender was steady as she goes, and his teammates knew they could win that game because of it.
Were it not for Price, a very lopsided loss in game two could have been even more lopsided, but he made save after save while his teammates were asleep at the wheel for much of the night. One thing has become clear, even after that disappointing loss in game two; Carey Price can steal games for the Canadiens, they just need to give him some help.
The Canadiens have way too many passengers, some of whom are guys that it is simply inexcusable for them to play as poorly as they have. The way forward for the Canadiens is will versus skill, they do not have the fire power this Leafs team does, but they were built to be a difficult team to play against. Through the first two games of the series the Leafs have had little difficulty challenging Price from dangerous areas.
The Canadiens simply need to make life easier on themselves with better effort, which would make life easier on Price. He stole game one against a dangerous offensive team, now it is on the Canadiens to respond to the counterpunch the Leafs hit them with in game two with a better effort in front of Price for the games to come.
Price can and will provide the Canadiens with big saves, but the Habs need a much better effort in front of Price to have a chance in this series.
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