The Montreal Canadiens can take a lot from the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs seeing as how the St. Louis Blues are a game away from a championship.
The 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs are nearly finished. We’ve had upset after upset and sweep after sweep leading to the final between the St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins. It’s an easy decision as to who for cheer for if you’re a Montreal Canadiens fan given the history between the Habs and Bruins.
However, it’ll always be bittersweet in situations like these. Ideally the Habs would be there battling St. Louis or whoever ended up coming out of the Western Conference, but taking a spectator’s approach is alright as long as the Bruins don’t lift the cup. After what took place in Game Five Thursday night, it looks like that honour will likely be for the Blues.
The last time the Bruins made the Stanley Cup Final was back in 2013. They were down 3-2 in the series to the Chicago Blackhawks but had a 2-1 lead heading into the final minutes of the game. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your opinion, Boston gave up two goals in 17 seconds via Bryan Bickell and Dave Bolland to clinch Chicago’s second cup in three years.
An incredible story though it looks like the Blues are going to surpass even that. St. Louis has an opportunity to win the Stanley Cup in Game Six on Sunday after defeating Boston 2-1.
Keep in mind that this was a team who was last in the NHL at a point in the season. They fired their head coach and couldn’t seem to get anything going for themselves in the right direction. It got to the point where general manager Doug Armstrong started to discuss the possibility of rebuilding or going on a short retool moving key pieces in the process.
Vladimir Tarasenko was being discussed, captain Alex Pietrangelo could’ve been on the move, and hockey minds spent months arguing over whether the team wasted a summer that appeared to be a strengthening one.
Rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington was the difference giving the Blues the goaltending they needed to compete. Each week the Blues rose in the standings moving from a wild-card spot to first in the Central Division. It was a close fight between themselves, the Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets, but the fact they were able to finish the season with 99 points was eye-opening to the rest of the league.
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And seeing as how they’re one win away from a Stanley Cup, their journey should be eye-opening to the Montreal Canadiens as well.
Goaltending is key to any team’s success, and the Habs have seen that on both good and bad angles. Carey Price has kept the Canadiens in most games since stepping up as the number one goaltender while years where he wasn’t as good (2017-18) or injured (2016-17), the team fell to the depths of the standings.
The Blues have a relentless style to their game which in some ways is reminiscent of the Montreal Canadiens. It’s almost as if the entire St. Louis roster is composed of Brendan Gallagher, Andrew Shaw, and Paul Byron. They have completely bought into the program and rarely take a shift off making each time they step on the ice worth something.
An area they do differ however is their defensive game, especially in the playoffs. Binnington has been steady, but he also hasn’t been the better goaltender in the series. That honour goes to Tuukka Rask. Binnington is making the saves St. Louis needs though and that in part comes to the structure in front of him.
This is where the Montreal Canadiens need to improve. Price needs to make four or five massive stops a night which speaks to his level as a goaltender but also on the position the Habs put him in defensively.
That must be an area Marc Bergevin tries to strengthen over the offseason which would perfect the system Claude Julien is trying to put in place. If the Habs can maintain their 5v5 scoring, improve on their power play production and become more structured in front of Price, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t have success in the playoffs.
But first, they have to make it there. The regular season is a long journey, and the Blues proved it’s never over until the 82nd game of the year.
The Montreal Canadiens don’t need to become the ’95 New Jersey Devils, though an emphasis on reliable hockey will go a long way. Additionally, it would help if the league could clear up all these officiating problems by then.