Rocky Mountain High: Montreal Canadiens Beat Colorado Avalanche

The Montreal Canadiens went into Colorado and snapped a 3 game losing streak Monday night. It’s another 2 points in the bank for the Habs as they continue on their journey to the playoffs. Let’s take a closer look at the game.

Dec 1, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Montreal Canadiens right wing

(8) controls the puck against Colorado Avalanche defenseman

(5) in the third period at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Oddly enough though the game featured plenty of fast skaters, very little was called. Montreal dominated the 2nd frame, and they generated 2 powerplays which resulted in a road powerplay goal which is a rarity this season. The fact that Andre Markov scored into an open cage proves that if the Habs move the puck efficiently they came open up the points for good shots.

Right now Max Pacioretty reminds me so much of Rick Nash when he played for Columbus at the beginning of his career. He gets so many breakaway opportunities and odd man rushes that if he started to bury a few more he could be a 50 goal scorer. He has the shot, maybe not the dekes but what is more important is that he has the opportunities. If he starts to bury more of them he could compete for the Rocket Richard trophy… wouldn’t that be something!

Pacioretty gets so many breakaway opportunities and odd man rushes that if he started to bury a few more he could be a 50 goal scorer.

Another noteworthy fact in this game was that the Habs managed to score the 1st goal of the game in the 1st period. Another rarity this season was sure nice to see. Jiri Sekac is playing like a man possessed, and although the goal totals are impressive (4) he’s pushing the pace and I can only imagine that it’s just a matter of time before he blossoms into a much larger scoring threat. What he needs is more opportunity, but until Therrien trusts him with more precious powerplay time, his totals will remain stunted.

Here are the players that I want to single out after last night’s performance;

• P.K. Subban – He’s playing like the player we expected at the beginning of the season. When he’s in beast-mode there is almost nobody better.
• Lars Eller – Won 62% of his draws, added an assist, tied for the team lead in hits (2), tied for the team lead in shots (6) and still only got just over 15 minutes of playtime…
• Andrei Markov – He played big minutes (over 26) and scored a powerplay goal while hitting the net 3 times. He’s a huge part of the Habs success, and what he lacks in foot speed, he makes up for intelligent positioning and stick-work.

In case you Montreal fans missed it, did you notice that instead of our white suited man ice scrapers here in Montreal, Colorado has a team of ice girls who do the scraping. Montreal already has cheerleaders in the stands, why not also on the ice?

Dec 1, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Avalanche ice girls clear the ice during an intermission in the second period against the Montreal Canadiens at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

The goaltending “battle” last night was a little less than steller, but after squandering Carey Price‘s last outing against Buffalo, I think the team came up big for him. It’s not every night he’s going to let in 3 goals, but when he does, it’s nice to know that they can score for him. He still made some big stops at the end of the game to ensure that the Habs picked up the 2 points in regulation so kudos to him.

Dec 1, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Montreal Canadiens goalie

(31) makes a save against Colorado Avalanche center

(9) in the third period against the Colorado Avalanche at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

My final thought on the game is that the Habs need to keep up the pressure and like they did in the 2nd period of last night, but for a complete 60 minutes. They should be a much higher scoring team than they are, but I feel that has more to do with coaching and systems than the personnel that Therrien has been given. His best players should be playing with his best players… oh well..

Thanks for reading!