After Alex Galchenyuk took the monkey off his back on Saturday night, it looks like heat has centered around another player on the Montreal Canadiens.
The weekend didn’t turn out the way the Montreal Canadiens wanted. After having already lost their last three games, there was no better time to end a losing streak than against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the team they had a 14 game winning streak against. 60 minutes and 48 seconds later and the Leafs came out on top. The losing streak continues.
It wasn’t a bad game for the team overall. Of course there’s no room for moral victories in the NHL, especially for a team that needs the points. However, the Habs level of play and engagement on the ice has been a lot better as of late.
During this slump a lot of shade and finger points were directed towards Alex Galchenyuk. The 23-year-old hadn’t looked like himself at all even dating back to the preseason. It took that and a number of turnovers at times to start to get underneath the fan base’s skin.
Claude Julien wasn’t pleased with it either. Galchenyuk went from playing on the second line with Phillip Danault and Andrew Shaw, to the fourth line with Torrey Mitchel and Ales Hemsky. He was still getting power play time on the first unit, but until that Leafs game, wasn’t able to score.
Galchenyuk broke his own goal slump and the Montreal Canadiens’ power play troubles by scoring on the man advantage. You could see by his, the team’s, and the crowd’s reaction at how much that goal meant.
#Habs Alex Galchenyuk's powerplay goal.
— Call Out News (@calloutnews) October 15, 2017
2-2 #TORvsMTL #TOR #Leafs #MTL #Montreal #Toronto #Hockey @CanadiensMTL @MapleLeafs pic.twitter.com/dxEBhab0u9
The criticism around Galchenyuk seemed to disappear a little bit to the point where “Whipping Boy” may not be on his profile description anymore. Unfortunately, it looks like that title has moved on to another player.
Related Story: Does Galchenyuk Finish His Contract?
The Price Has Not Been Right
I know. If there was ever going to be a player that was getting shaking fists and head shakes from the fans, Carey Price wouldn’t be an option. There’s no way around it, his numbers aren’t the greatest right now.
Price has played in all five games for the Montreal Canadiens. He’s allowed 15 goals in those games and is currently sporting a .885 save percentage, which may make you scrunch up your face like you just liked a lemon. Only two of those games have had Price finish with a save percentage over .900. Price finished with a .976 and .920 against the Buffalo Sabres and the New York Rangers respectively.
If you look at the numbers, then ya it’s easy to look at Price and think that he needs to be better. Fans have definitely thought so, but to an angrier degree. Some have even quoted the famous John Tortorella line that it would be nice to get a save.
There are just two things here. One, take a few deep breaths, and two, don’t blame Price. If it wasn’t for him, some of the games may have been significantly worse.
It’s the Defence
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Two of the goals on Saturday night were read for Price. He tripped up a little bit before Auston Matthews first of the night, and was turned around in the crease before Patrick Marleau was able to poke the puck in.
At the same time, the Montreal Canadiens defence hasn’t made it any easier on him. Whether it’s a cross ice pass, a missed assignment, or a bad turnover, the blue line hasn’t made it difficult enough for the other team to score.
Here are a couple of examples:
Jordie Benn poor attempt at a clear swatting the puck right to Matthews
https://twitter.com/HabsHappy/status/919583099276746757
Jeff Petry leaves Artemi Anisimov alone in front for the tap in goal
#Hawks Artem Anisimov's powerplay goal is giving the @NHLBlackhawks a 3-1 lead.#MTLvsCHI #Montreal #Chicago #Habs @CanadiensMTL #Hockey pic.twitter.com/sRCjwkFW2w
— Call Out News (@calloutnews) October 11, 2017
Has Price been as good as he usually is? No. Not going to absolve him completely. However the Habs need to do a better job defensively. Like I’ve said, they’ve been better as a group as of late. So much so that their out playing their opponents, so you can imagine how frustrating it is to lose.
Julien has mentioned the mistakes in post-game scrums, so you have to believe that changes will be made. Hopefully they happen soon, the Montreal Canadiens can’t afford to lose more games.
Do you think Price is deserving of all this criticism? Let us know what you think down below.