Montreal Canadiens: Trying to keep the dream alive against the Islanders

The Montreal Canadiens are going to try their hardest to put up a winning effort as they finish off their five-game homestand against the New York Islanders.

It’s been an eventful second half for the Montreal Canadiens even though they’ve only seen one game since the end of the bye-week. They couldn’t get the extra point in the shootout against the Bruins and unfortunately also lost Phillip Danault and Andrew Shaw in the process.

Danault we knew about considering how bad it looked, but Shaw’s injury was made news Monday morning. The 26-year-old sustained a lower-body injury at some point during the game and will be out without a specific timeline. Shaw was placed on injured reserve as well which gave the Habs room to claim Logan Shaw off waivers.

Either way you look at it, a relatively weak Montreal Canadiens team just got a lot weaker. With Claude Julien not addressing media until later today, we don’t know exactly how the lines will play out or whether L. Shaw plays. There’s a better chance that he doesn’t and that the coaching staff returns to the idea once he gets a practice or two under his belt.

If so, we can assume the forward lines could go as follows:

Alex Galchenyuk – Jonathan Drouin – Charles Hudon

Max Pacioretty – Jacob de La Rose – Artturi Lehkonen

Paul Byron – Tomas Plekanec – Brendan Gallagher

Nicolas Deslauriers – Byron Froese – Daniel Carr

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However, Claude Julien had Byron down the middle, Froese on the wing, and Carr up with Drouin and Galchenyuk on Sunday’s practice so that could be an option as well. The Habs will have to count on the entire team firing on all areas to pull off a win. Not just because of their injuries, but because the New York Islanders are a team on a mission.

The Islanders have won their last two games, and a third in Montreal could have them leapfrog both the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers for the second wild-card spot. John Tavares has been doing what he does best all season as he leads the team in scoring with 22 goals and 30 assists. However, Josh Bailey has quietly had an incredible year as well.

The 28-year-old, also a pending free agent, is 11th in the league in points with 50. You also can’t forget about rookie Matthew Barzal who has quickly made a name for himself on the Islanders with his play and level of production.

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On the other hand, the Islanders have had moments of getting in their own heads and giving games away to other teams. These last two wins are on the heels of a five-game losing streak which had them be outscored 25-10.

Montreal has weapons of their own though in Alex Galchenyuk and Max Pacioretty who have continued to play better as of late, more so in Pacioretty’s case. The team captain has three goals in as many games but he’s also playing with more of an edge and engagement that we saw from him a lot this season.

Additionally, Galchenyuk is coming off scoring his 100th career goal on the power play last Saturday yet his play away from the puck has improved immensely. Is there a chance we see him play at center now?! Probably not.

Arpon Basu of The Atletic had a great point on this.

Seems so simple right?

The Habs are going to work with what they have and we’ll see if they can come out on top against the Islanders. The playoffs are still a very slim possibility for the team, and a win can keep the dream alive. Lose, and it’s another slap back to reality.

Next: Update on Danault

What are your predictions for the game? Can the Habs hold off the Islanders regardless of their injuries? Will Pacioretty score another one? Let us know in the comments.