Despite Signs of Improvement, Canadiens Offensive Woes Continue
By Scott Cowan
For Game 5 on Wednesday, the Montreal Canadiens find themselves down 3-1 to the Philadelphia Flyers in their first-round series, as they’re offensive woes continue.
The Montreal Canadiens have problems with their offense.
While one could look to x reason or y reason for why this isn’t the case and why Montreal has so much offensive potential, in the playoffs, potential means nothing. Performance is what matters, and its something the Habs have been sorely lacking in.
On a sunny Tuesday afternoon in Toronto, Ontario, the Canadiens once again struggled to solve Philadelphia Flyers’ goaltender Carter Hart, who in the process now sits second on an NHL record that A) I didn’t know existed, and B) no one has come close to since 1945. At 22 years old, Hart is now the second-youngest goalie in NHL history to record back to back shutouts in the playoffs.
Only Hall of Famer Harry Lumley sits above him, doing so when he was 18, for the Detroit Red Wings in 1945. While an impressive feat for Hart, who has proven himself as the Flyers goalie of future and one of the NHL’s brightest young stars, for the Habs, it marks a new low for the team’s continued offensive struggles.
Despite a few high danger chances here and there out of Montreal’s 28 shots, Hart stood on his head, giving the Habs an ultimatum with their backs now against the wall, down 3-1 to the Flyers in their first-round series. Long removed from the days of Jaroslav Halak‘s brilliance in 2009, the Habs find themselves on the receiving end of such a performance.
Goaltender Carey Price has made up for a mediocre-at-best regular season by playing some of his best hockey in these playoffs, shocking the Pittsburgh Penguins in four games in the qualifier, and allowing no more than two goals in a game so far in this series. However, that doesn’t matter if your team can’t score, and the Canadiens have simply struggled to do that.