Alex Galchenyuk ended his goal slump Saturday night against the Buffalo Sabres, but there are still some on the Montreal Canadiens who need to do the same.
The Montreal Canadiens were finally able to get back in the win column Saturday night. There were a lot of positives to take from it, especially the return of Carey Price. We’d all be lying if there wasn’t a part of us who worried things might go bad for him. The Habs efforts came and went as the game continued, but Price looked set and focused ending the game with a 36-save shutout.
That wasn’t the only good thing to take away from it. Alex Galchenyuk also ended his 11-game goalless drought. Unfortunately, it came after the Habs were spending a lot of time in their own zone, but the 23-year-old was able to pot the goal off a rebound.
I mentioned in a previous post that the playoffs are still within reach, and the two main things Montreal needs to do is score more and string together wins. They’re on the right track in defeating the Sabres, and Galchenyuk is one of four goalless droughts snapped.
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Jonathan Drouin had two assists in the 3-0 win but has still gone eight games without a goal. Max Pacioretty‘s slump has hit six games while it’s been thirteen for Phillip Danault. I hate to throw some negativity towards Charles Hudon because he’s been playing great for the Habs as of late, but his two-goal night was eleven games ago.
It’s only a matter of time before these goalless droughts end, but it can’t just be one goal here and one goal there. The forward group needs consistent scoring, and that’s going to come with effort and a little luck.
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Another thing we have to keep in mind is when the Habs scored in Saturday’s game. Jeff Petry‘s goal came on the power-play, Galchenyuk’s was off the rush, and Paul Byron scored shorthanded after taking advantage of a turnover from Jack Eichel. You would’ve liked more scoring to come from lengthy pressure in the offensive zone off the cycle which has been the Montreal Canadiens plan of attack.
Buffalo is what they are, and the Montreal Canadiens may not get those kinds of opportunities from better teams. In-zone pressure is the most predictive of a team’s ongoing success. If the Habs can keep that up, the goals will come, and the other droughts will end.
Saturday night was a step in the right direction for Montreal. They’re only four points out of third place in the Atlantic which is the point of attack for now. Now that Price looks like he’s back to his old self, reworking that -23 goal differential will be the next thing to improve.
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Do you think the rest of the goalless droughts will end soon? Who will be the next one to do it? Let us know down in the comments.