Is the Montreal Canadiens blue line good enough for the playoffs?
By Omar L
Omar White: I’ve looked at this in previous posts. The fact that the Montreal Canadiens have scored on the man advantage in back-to-back games is a step in the right direction. However, there are still things to improve on.
No one is looking for the Habs to score on every single opportunity, but they need to do a better job in generating more offensive pressure when the units are put to work. The go-to issues are the zone entries and of course the lack of shots. The players on the team, on both units, seem to always look for the perfect pass or the perfect play to beat a goaltender while the goal to end the slump is the way to proceed.
Jeff Petry, Jonathan Drouin, and Brendan Gallagher had a quick triangle of execution beginning with a blueline slapshot and transitioning to puck retrieval and another chance from the point seconds later. That’s what is going to lead to more success. Getting the puck off sticks quickly is a good way to keep the penalty killers and the goaltenders guessing, especially on a powerplay who has a, for lack of better choice of words, predictable endpoint in Weber.
The next step is for the Montreal Canadiens to get the second unit going. Adding Paul Byron is a logical move given his goal-scoring ability. Byron gets the most of his scoring done at even strength. However, he knows where to go in the offensive zone and is generally in the right spots to get a good shot on net. Additionally, his speed is an asset as far as puck retrieval goes.
If nothing changes with unit two, perhaps the Habs go back to the 3-2 model there as well. Victor Mete saw some time on the second unit last season, and it would be interesting if we see a pair of him and Mike Reilly. For now, it’s a guessing game, but it’ll be interesting to see where the power play goes from here.