The Montreal Canadiens will be in trouble if they rely on Shea Weber’s shot

The powerplay became way too predictable, and to make matters worse, they were very stagnant and stationary. Nick Suzuki was a breath of fresh air for the Habs. He would fall victim to the ‘Look for Shea Weber’ complex, but he would also show creativity and look for other players on his unit, even helping with puck retrieval. Besides that, there’s nothing much to show for the team’s powerplay.

Teams caught on to Montreal’s strategy. His goal totals at 5v5 remained relatively consistent (ignoring the injury year of 2017-18), but his scoring on the man-advantage took a nosedive.

Weber put up 14 goals in 58 games last season, only scoring five on the powerplay while he had 15 this season with only three PPGs. It gets worse when you look at the team’s stats at that strength.

According to Natural Stat Trick, were last in the NHL in expected goals-for on the powerplay (30.09), second-last in scoring chances for (215), and fourth-last in high-danger chances for (97). This tells us that not only are the Montreal Canadiens not generating enough on the PP but when they do, their shot selection is poor.

Why? Because when there are two available options to pursue, nine times out of ten, it’s going to Shea Weber. Teams read that, and the opportunity is blocked, leaving the Habs to scramble to get the puck back if it’s blocked or chase it down upon the clear.

Montreal has been putting in some work on their special teams, and it looks as if this will be one of their units for the Stanley Cup Qualifier:

Brendan Gallagher, in front of the net, is a no-brainer. That’s his bread and butter, and he’s willing to take the brunt force of penalty killers to score. Suzuki, on the left, is another good idea given what he’s done this year to prove it. Tatar in the slot is another smart decision by the coaching staff.

The 29-year-old led the team in powerplay goals with 8 goals. Suzuki and Jeff Petry had the most assists on Tatar goals with four apiece, and the rookie was able to find him for some short but precise passes to the slot. Reuniting them with Weber at the point and Jonathan Drouin on the left could be a useful plan to start with.

However, that will all be for nothing if the mentality is to get Weber the puck as soon as possible. By no means am I saying the Montreal Canadiens shouldn’t pass it to him or take him off that top unit. They need to do more to keep the penalty killers guessing.