The Montreal Canadiens double-edged sword ahead of a slow period
By Omar L
The Montreal Canadiens have a relaxed schedule to end October, but it makes their four remaining games important to maintain ground in the standings.
October is nearly over, and the Montreal Canadiens have nine NHL games under their belt so far this season. Their 4-3-2 record has earned them ten points so far good for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, which is good but also not a position of security.
After their Sunday loss to the Minnesota Wild, the Habs have 10 points and still find themselves in that second wild-card spot. But it’s not as if the rest of the league freezes when the Montreal Canadiens don’t play. The Columbus Blue Jackets earned two points against the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime while the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers are only behind by one.
The Blue Jackets aren’t expected to do much this season, and the Panthers haven’t looked as good as many thought they would after signing Sergei Bobrovksi on July 1st. However, the Lightning are going to figure it out despite their poor start, which will put more pressure on the Montreal Canadiens to perform and find a level of consistency that is good enough to compete every night.
Both Tampa Bay and Florida play a game before the Habs play on Thursday. That could see Montreal on the outside looking in before they take on the San Jose Sharks at home. On the other hand, a sense of urgency is likely what the Montreal Canadiens can use to shake things up a bit.
The big topic as far as the Habs’ play is their commitment to defence. The top line of Tomas Tatar, Phillip Danault, and Brendan Gallagher have been performing well, and they were the main reason why the Sunday game was so close (aside from Keith Kinkaid). But it’s not only scoring goals that are helping the Montreal Canadiens, but they are also responsible in their own end and don’t give up too many chances against.
That needs to spread across the rest of the lineup because the team can’t rely on Kinkaid and Carey Price to show up on a highlight reel every game. It’s not a sustainable level of play, and it will continue to cost the Habs points unless it changes.
At the same time, this doesn’t mean Claude Julien should only rely on that top line. The youth, in particular, are beginning to grow and take the next step. Jonathan Drouin is a completely different player and his growing chemistry with Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who also looks better, is working out for both of them. Then there is Nick Suzuki, who is finally getting rewarded for his generation with two goals on the season so far.
Nick Cousins has made a presence on the roster despite playing bottom nine minutes while Paul Byron is still waiting to get his groove back. The 30-year-old only has two assists in the nine games he’s played so far and perhaps playing next to Kotkaniemi can help.
It’s still early in the season for the Montreal Canadiens but not early enough to demand more of them. They won’t be getting breaks like these until December for Christmas, and there’s going to be a lot of hockey played leading up to that. Can they do it, or will their issues continue to hold them back?