Montreal Canadiens: An Overtime Period to Win the Cup

Imagine the Montreal Canadiens are a single overtime period away from winning the Stanley Cup, who should Claude Julien play to win the game?

Overtime has to be the best hockey there is. When team’s play knowing that the next goal will win it all, things definitely get more intense. It’s the best at the Bell Centre when the Montreal Canadiens have their fans at the edge of their seats waiting for the game-winner.

3-on-3 was one of the greatest additions to the NHL in recent memory. Coaches hated it at first because it was hard to actually implement a system. It would start out that way, but eventually it would turn into constant breakaways and odd-man rushes going back and forth.

It’s great isn’t it? Definitely beats the shootout. The Canadiens didn’t have much issue in the overtime last season. According to sportingcharts.com, the Habs were second in the league with overtime wins with 11.

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As good as overtime is in the regular season, nothing can compare to how it is in the playoffs. Every game is so important, and since there are no points in the playoffs, the only way a team benefits is by winning. Some of the greatest Stanley Cup winning goals have been those Game 7 overtime winners.

So picture this. The Montreal Canadiens are in the Stanley Cup Final. It’s Game 7 and the game is tied and has to go to overtime. However, Bettman decides to do something cool for once and allows three-on-three in the playoffs (I know it would never happen, but just work with me here). If that happens, and it could only be one trio, who should Claude Julien put on the ice?

Stanley Cup Winning 3-on-3

Most important thing about 3-on-3 is skating. With all the open ice, you have to be able to skate well. Additionally, there will be a lot of stop and starts with the interchanging chances.

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You’ll also want to have a center that does well on the face-off so you can get the initial possession, and obviously enough skill between the three players to finish on their chances. Fortunately Carey Price will be able to save the skaters and make a game-changing stop if they need one.

The Canadiens best skating defenceman is Jeff Petry so he’s a given to be played. He wouldn’t be jumping up in the rush at all because of the risk, but if they were able to sustain some pressure in the offensive zone, he would be a point-shot option.

Alex Galchenyuk had five overtime goals for the Canadiens last season. A stat like that can’t be ignored so he may have to go on. The only problem is whether he can win the face-off. He’s a 45.5% on the face-off over his entire career. That explains why Phillip Danault was paired with him sometimes since he was over 50%. Either way, Galchenyuk has to be on.

Final spot has to go to the lethal sniper Max Pacioretty. He only scored two overtime goals, but assisted on four of them. Two of those assists in fact were Galchenyuk goals.

Overtime is a race to see who can score first. With the offence talent these three have, it wouldn’t take long for the Canadiens to find twine.

Next: Pursuing Andreas Athanasiou

Who would your 3-on-3 heroes be? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!