Montreal Canadiens: Why the recent power-play units will work
By Omar L
The Montreal Canadiens haven’t changed the line combinations and defence pairings, but the power play units have a new look to them.
Wednesday was the last practice before the Montreal Canadiens next game against the New Jersey Devils. Besides the Joseph Morrow slotting in for Jakub Jerabek on the bottom pair with David Schlemko, and hopefully, that was just a quick look, there weren’t any other changes to their makeup at even strength. The power-play, on the other hand, was different.
The Habs have been able to capitalize on some man-advantage opportunities, but there is still room for improvement. League average is currently at 19.23% while Montreal is at 18.00%. The team has struggled with being able to put games away with a power-play goal or more importantly, using a power-play goal to help stop the bleeding in a game.
You could attribute it to a few things, the look of the power-play as a whole is where the issues lie. According to TSN’s John Lu, the units at practice were as follows:
Unit 1
Jonathan Drouin – Andrew Shaw – Charles Hudon
David Schlemko – Shea Weber
Unit 2
Alex Galchenyuk–Brendan Gallagher–Max Pacioretty
Breaking it Down
The Montreal Canadiens have gone back to the standard two defencemen three forward model on the power-play since Weber returned from injury against Detroit. Schlemko didn’t get a look with him however until the Habs took on Calgary.
When it comes to this team, I’m more of a proponent of this model over the umbrella since it frees up Weber for that one-timer. Considering the recent success the Habs have had of getting the puck to the point for the blast, that has to be one of the goals for this unit. Schlemko has been good at getting pucks on net with that soft wrister, but sliding it over to Weber could bring back some memories of how the Habs used to get things done on the man advantage.
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Hudon is one of the team’s best forecheckers, so winning puck battles along the boards and getting the puck to the point or Drouin won’t be a problem. Additionally, Shaw in front opens up opportunities for deflections or to push in some garbage.
Paul Byron‘s speed works in all situations of the game, but I think it’s a good decision for Claude Julien to go with players who can move the puck fast and have above average shots.
The same goes for the second unit. Not having Jakub Jerabek here may be due to trust, but his offensive prowess from the point may push Julien’s hand down the line.
For now, the only change has Carr as the net front presence which he is both strong and skilled enough to handle. His goal against the Flames down low along the goal line wasn’t a one-time thing exactly. The 26-year-old has excelled in getting chances in tight around the net in the AHL, and that could end up being his ongoing place of work if he keeps it up with the Habs.
Puck speed is what’s going to make the team’s man advantage successful. Goalies in this league nowadays are good enough such that if they see the shot and have enough time to get set, they’ll stop it.
What do you make of the power-play? Are there any changes that you would make? Let us know down in the comments.