The Montreal Canadiens suffered through another disappointing week as they continue to see their Draft Lottery odds increase.
It’s been a fairly tough week for Habs fans as the Montreal Canadiens lost 3 of 4 games and were only able to muster 5 goals while allowing 15 against.
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The team’s injury woes continued as Mark Barberio suffered a concussion and may be out the year, Victor Bartley suffered a lower-body injury and Sven Andrighetto missed Sunday’s game with a lower-body injury after being decked on multiple occasions by Sens defender Dion Phaneuf. This adds to an already extensive list of injuries and continues the trend of the Habs essentially icing the St. John’s Ice Caps roster.
Their were a few 1st’s this week as both Greg Pateryn and Michael McCarron scored their first NHL goals on Wednesday and Sunday respectively. 24-year old defender Joel Hanley played his 1st NHL game on Sunday as well, registering a -1 rating. Another 1st came against Ottawa on Saturday as the Habs gave up 3 shorthanded goals in a single game for the first time in franchise history.
Habs 3 Stars of the Week
1st Star – RW Mike Brown – 16 PIM, 16 Hits, 2 Blocks
You know it’s been a rough week when you’re 1st star is a deadline waiver claim. Not to take anything away from Brown, though, as he has shown some value as a hard-hitting 4th line wing who stands up for his teammates. Brown has impressed me with his speed and willingness to throw the body. I could almost see value in extending his contract for another year as an 11th-14th forward.
2nd Star – RD Greg Pateryn – 1 Goal, 2 PIM, 17 Hits, 6 Blocks
Since finally cracking the lineup full-time in mid-February, Pateryn has shown real growth as a bottom-pairing defender. He has a nice physical edge while also maintaining solid positioning. Over the past week, he has shown some offensive ability as show-cased by his 1st career goal. His shot is a very under-rated and under-utilized asset that I think he may have some untapped offensive potential as a 2nd unit PP defender. He is quietly placing himself as a key part of Montreal’s 3rd defensive pairing for next season.
3rd Star – RW Michael McCarron – 1 Goal, -3 Rating, 19 PIM, 9 Shots, 11 Hits
McCarron’s play this week has progressively gotten better and by Sunday, he was a key part of Montreal’s most effective line with Phillip Danault and Lucas Lessio. McCarron is among Montreal’s top prospects and it was nice to see him score his 1st goal. He is quickly establishing himself as a physical presence who can skate, cycle the puck and has been Montreal’s best fore-checkers over the past few games. He’s also shown a nice ability to win face-offs and gain puck possession using his size.
Players Who Want(or Need) a Mulligan
Montreal’s Top Line – Combined for 1 Goal, 3 Assists, -18 Rating
Alex Galchenyuk, Max Pacioretty and Sven Andrighetto began the week on a torrid pace but that was quickly ended. The trio managed some offense but were on the ice for a combined 4 short-handed goals this week, including 3 against Ottawa. It was just a rough week for Montreal’s top trio and that is to be expected as they are the only line that has shown any offensive consistency over the past several weeks.
D Andrei Markov and D Alexei Emelin – Combined for 1 Goal, -8 Rating
Montreal’s default top pairing were victimized all week as teams took advantage of their lack of foot speed. Due to the injuries on defense, Michel Therrien is forced to over-play the Russian duo which is leading to their weaknesses being exploited by younger and faster players. This trend will continue unless some unheralded defenders begin upping their play or guys come back from injury.
D Darren Dietz – 3 Games, -4 Rating, 1 Shot, 6 PIM, 14 Hits and 5 Giveaways
It was not a good week for the rookie blueliner. Dietz showed some potential as a physical defender but his abilities with the puck left a lot to be desired and he consistently found himself out of position in his own end. It’s very difficult to gauge him as a long-term piece but Dietz has shown very quickly that he is not ready for the NHL. Until someone gets healthy though, Montreal will have to continue deploying the inexperienced defender.
Next: Montreal Canadiens Coaching Options
Draft Lottery Outlook
The only real positive from the week is that Montreal continues to fall in the standings and that means increased odds for winning the NHL Draft Lottery. Montreal currently sits 21st in the NHL standings and would have a 5% chance at winning the lottery if the season ended today.
I ran the NHL Lottery Simulator 100 times tonight and these were the results:
1st Overall – 9 times
2nd Overall – 5 times
3rd Overall – 4 times
9th Overall – 69 times
10th Overall – 12 times
**Editor’s note, I accidentally ran the simulator 101 times and that 101st run had Montreal receiving the 11th Overall Pick, which would be an absolute worst-case scenario for the Habs**