Montreal Canadiens: Battle of the goalie and the mystery of the bottom pair

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MONTREAL, QC – FEBRUARY 28: Montreal Canadiens (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

The Montreal Canadiens are back to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets, but we’re all most interested in how the defence pairings will look.

There are only two ways to go for the Montreal Canadiens. Either they build off of their 3-0 shutout wing against the Buffalo Sabres, or they continue to tread water. Even though they won on Saturday, something that I, and a lot of the fanbase, noticed was that it was a carbon copy of games of Habs past.

For a quick summary: Montreal has an okay start, the opponent spends a lot of the time attacking, the Habs spend most the time defending, and Carey Price steals it. On the other hand, that game was what the Canadiens needed. Not because Price looked like his old self, but because the luck finally went there way.

When the team was struggling at the beginning of the season, they would outshoot and out-chanced their opponents but weren’t able to convert. Whether it was on the power-play or 5-on-5, nothing went in for them. To see the Habs score on the man advantage and shorthanded is excellent. Scoring off the rush isn’t ideal, but hey a goal is a goal.

What they’ll need to do starting tonight is to prove that they can be a team that can sustain pressure for a full 60-minutes.

There aren’t as many question marks regarding who will be playing as before. Claude Julien‘s decision to going back to what was working seemed to do the trick. What we don’t know for sure is whether it will be David Schlemko or Victor Mete in on defence.

Additionally, there’s the chance that Shea Weber is healthy enough to play.

This week will be a big one for the Montreal Canadiens. After this game, they take on the Ottawa Senators and the Detroit Red Wings (twice) who have both been struggling. With the number to get into the third division spot still at four, they should have no reason not to step out on the ice with a drive to win.

MONTREAL, QC – NOVEMBER 14: (Photo by Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images) /

00-Bobrovsky

The Blue Jackets have been one of the hottest teams in the NHL winning their last six games. As much as you want to say it’s because the whole team has been clicking, but it’s mostly because Sergei Bobrovsky has gone full Vezina mode.

The 29-year-old has started in all the games during Columbus’s streak and hasn’t given up more than two goals. If you want to dive into specifics, Bobrovsky had a .966 save percentage in that stretch which included two shutouts.

It’s going to be a full-on battle of goaltending. Bobrovsky gave the Habs a lot of trouble the last time the two teams played against each other. After Paul Byron scored to tie it at one, the two-time Vezina winner stopped everything. There was also the two-on-one with Andrew Shaw and Jacob de La Rose which is still ingrained in our minds.

Just another absolutely ridiculous save by @SergeiBobrovsky. https://t.co/pWW5lC56Nd
— NHL (@NHL) November 15, 2017

The Habs may have to rely on Price to keep the game close again. It will be hard for them to try to score their way out of an early game mishaps if Bobrovsky keeps this up.

The Bottom Pair

At this rate, it’s either going to be Mete-Jerabek or Schlemko-Jerabek. The 30-year-old came back from a two-game conditioning stint with the Laval Rocket on Sunday where he went pointless but managed five shots on net. It’s been a while, but the Montreal Canadiens need to see what they have in Schlemko. If he makes his NHL debut tonight, then he’ll be someone to watch.

Giving the Forwards Some Water

There are still a handful of Habs forwards who are looking to end goalless droughts. Max Pacioretty, Jonathan Drouin, Phillip Danault, to name a few haven’t scored in a while. Hopefully, there is more shooting than passing that goes on against the Blue Jackets.

Who to Look Out For

Jeff Petry

Playing without Weber hasn’t been ideal, but Jeff Petry has been a completely different player in his absence. Julien has used him in a lot of critical situations for the Habs as he’s played well north of 20 minutes including a 29:02 night in the Nashville game.

Petry also managed to score his first goal in nine games on Saturday. Whatever has ticked in his head to make him play better has worked for the Habs benefit. Fans should expect him as well as Karl Alzner to be seeing a lot of that Columbus second line.

Cam Atkinson

The 28-year-old has started to heat up as late with four points in his last five games. Cam Atkinson currently has six goals on the season so far where two of them came in Columbus’ latest win Friday night. Despite his size, Atkinson isn’t afraid to go to the net to score. Considering net-front presence has been an issue for the Habs, boxing him and anyone else who tries to get to those areas should be a priority.

Paul Byron

Byron was a large part of the Montreal Canadiens efforts the last time the two teams faced each other. He was very dangerous on the penalty kill and managed to get a shorthanded breakaway but was stopped by Bobrovsky. Luckily he was rewarded for his efforts later in the game.

The Ottawa native has responded well to his reuniting with Drouin and Galchenyuk. He’s currently tied for second on the team in goals with six, and if he gets another chance on the penalty kill, he’ll be looking to bury it.

Know the Stats!

Brendan Gallagher is still sitting on 199 career NHL points
Considering he was out with an injury, this will be Price’s first game against Columbus this season. He is 6-3-1 against them in his career and has a .923 save percentage.
Additionally, after the Sabres shutout, Price has improved to a .890, but it’s still ways away to get back to being league average (.912)
Again, the Habs will have to watch out for Bobrovsky who is leading the league in both save percentage (.935) and goals-against average (1.91)
Although we’re all paying attention to those who haven’t scored in a while, there are players on the team who have yet to score at all. These include Jacob de La Rose, Nicolas Deslauriers, Brandon Davidson, Victor Mete, and Byron Froese.
The Montreal Canadiens will have the pleasure of taking on another team with a worse power-play than theirs as the Blue Jackets are only firing at a league-worst 9.68%
Montreal is 4-1-0 when leading after the first period, so getting the first goal of the game will be (perhaps Gallagher does it)
Even though the goals aren’t coming along as much, Droun is still the playmaker we thought he would be. The 23-year-old is still leading the Habs in assists with 12 which is giving him a team-leading 15 points so far this season.

Next: Jake Evans at the Top of the NCAA

What are your predictions for the game? Who do you think plays on the bottom pairing for the Montreal Canadiens? Can Price come up big and have another stellar performance? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments.

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