The Montreal Canadiens Calling it a Season After Game 6 Elimination
The Montreal Canadiens season came to a close in Game 6 against the Philadelphia Flyers after a hard-fought series. Nick Suzuki scored twice in the loss.
If you told someone at the beginning of March that the Montreal Canadiens would have eliminated the Pittsburgh Penguins in a playoff-qualifying series and then push the top seed in the Eastern Conference to 6 games in the first round of the playoffs, there is a good chance you would have been called crazy. However, that situation became a reality when the NHL shut down due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
As a result, in their plan to return to play, the NHL introduced an expanded, 24-team playoff format that saw the Montreal Canadiens come in as the last seed in the league. In a best-of-5 qualifying series, the Montreal Canadiens outplayed the Pittsburgh Penguins more often than not, booking their ticket to playoffs in the process.
Given the playoff format, the NHL opted to determine the matchups using the seeding of teams. Therefore, the Montreal Canadiens would end up playing the Philadelphia Flyers who were flawless in their four Round Robin games, earning them the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
The trend throughout the series has been that if you score the first goal, you win the game. The Philadelphia Flyers wasted no time scoring 28 seconds into the first period as Travis Konecny scored off a deflected shot for the 1-0 lead that Artturi Lehkonen ended up tipping in. While it may have looked like a soft shot, Carey Price nonetheless had no chance of seeing it.
In a series that saw head coach Claude Julien sidelined due to hospitalization leading to Kirk Muller taking over as interim head, goaltending duels, young talent, two blowout wins and Brendan Gallagher out for the remainder of the series due to a hit that saw Matt Niskanen suspended, the series nothing short of memorable.
For one last time this year, let’s see how it all went down.
Not the Start They Wanted
The trend throughout the series has been that if you score the first goal, you win the game. The Philadelphia Flyers wasted no time scoring 28 seconds into the first period as Travis Konecny scored off a deflected shot for the 1-0 lead that Artturi Lehkonen ended up tipping in. While it may have looked like a soft shot, Carey Price nonetheless had no chance of seeing it.
The Montreal Canadiens would have to break that trend if they wanted any chance of extending their playoffs. However, they proceeded to let in a second deflected shot from Kevin Hayes, allowing the Flyers to go up 2-0. Derek Grant and Tyler Pitlick assisted.
On their first powerplay of the night, the Montreal Canadiens managed to bring their deficit down to one thanks to Nick Suzuki, who managed to both create traffic down the middle and complete the play. Suzuki tapped in the puck off Joël Armia’s shot. Jonathan Drouin also assisted on the powerplay goal.
Canadiens Take Control but are Unable to Tie up the Game
The Philadelphia Flyers once again extended their lead by two goals as Michael Raffl got the puck through the five-hole. Travis Sanheim and Jakub Voracek got the assists. Raffl’s goal would end up being the game-winner.
Nick Suzuki scored his second of the night with a quality pass from Jonathan Drouin to bring the Canadiens back down to 3-2 deficit. Joël Armia got his second assist of the game on the play. Jonathan Drouin received his 7th point in 9 games.
A Tough but Hard-Fought End to their Season
The Philadelphia Flyers came out in the third period, and what would be the Montreal Canadiens final 20 minutes of the season, determined to close out the series. From the very start, the Flyers looked to hold onto their one-goal lead and initiated head coach Alain Vigneault’s infamous trap system to keep the Montreal Canadiens off the scoreboard. To the dismay of the Canadiens, they succeeded.
Final Score: Philadelphia Flyers (3) – Montreal Canadiens (2)
A Series of Surprises
The Montreal Canadiens showed in their series against the Philadelphia Flyers that there are several pieces on their roster that are not far off in terms of contending on a yearly basis. As per the usual Carey Price was nearly flawless against the Pittsburgh Penguins and did not let in more than three goals in a single game to the Philadelphia Flyers. Shea Weber also led the Canadiens defence and showed that his age has yet to affect his play/
The biggest surprises of the Montreal Canadiens’ time in the NHL’s bubble in Toronto came from 20-year old centres Nick Suzuki and Jesperi Kotkaniemi. From the month of February up until the NHL’s shut down, Nick Suzuki had become one of the team’s most reliable forwards. It was already expected that Suzuki would play a big role in the Canadiens post-season, but none expected him to elevate his game to this level.
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In 10 games played, Nick Suzuki had 7 points (4 goals, 3 assists) and was one of the Canadiens’ most utilized players, recording 21:13 of ice time in Game 6. However, those who have been following the young forward in his juniors may not be as surprised as Suzuki was known to up his game in the playoffs with the Owen Sound Attack in the OHL.
In comparison to Suzuki, the 2019-20 regular season was a different story altogether for Jesperi Kotkaniemi. After a strong, 34-point rookie season, Kotkaniemi struggled mightily to elevate his game to the next level, dealt with injuries and would eventually be sent down to the Laval Rocket in the AHL.
It was here that the Kotkaniemi’s season would take a positive turn as under Joel Bouchard, Kotkaniemi would become Laval’s first-line centre and would go own to record 13 points (1 goal, 12 assists) in 13 games played. When the NHL returned, it was evident in their very first game back that Kotkaniemi had trained in his off-time and would play with newfound confidence.
In his 10 post-season games, Jesperi Kotkaniemi notched four goals, would control the pacing of the game whilst on the ice in many of his shifts and elevated his physical game, although he may have taken it too far in game 5. Both Nick Suzuki and Jesperi Kotkaniemi have the chance to be important pieces down the middle for years to come for the Canadiens if these playoffs are to be taken into consideration.
Moving Forward
It will be interesting to see how Marc Bergevin approaches the offseason. As of their elimination in Game 6, the Montreal Canadiens will officially select 16th overall in the draft. While they missed out on the lottery, the organization is around the selection area that often sees talented players fall to them. Such was the case in 2019 when the Canadiens selected Cole Caufield 15th overall in 2019.
From a performance standpoint, there is much for the general manager to be pleased with. As previously mentioned, Nick Suzuki, the main piece of the Max Pacioretty trade in 2018, performed well above expectations and Jesperi Kotkaniemi, selected 3rd overall in 2018, demonstrated why the team made the choice they did that.
However, it cannot be forgotten that had it not been for the expanded playoff format, the Canadiens would have been far from playoff contention. It would make sense for Marc Bergevin to stay the course and build for the future, which means that several changes may still come. Tomas Tatar now has a year remaining on his deal.
After a career-year in points in the regular season, the team may look to acquiring assets for what essentially the throw-in piece in the Suzuki trade. Max Domi is another player whose future role with the team remains in question. In his first season, Domi managed to reach 72, but his second season with the Canadiens saw a dip to 44 points. In the playoffs, Domi was unable to get on the board and only recorded 3 assists. An RFA this summer, many will keep an eye on how Marc Bergevin approaches the situation.
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Putting a potentially busy offseason aside, fans of the Montreal Canadiens got to see their team partake in two extra rounds of hockey that would have seemed inconceivable back in the spring and for many, that is all they could have asked for.
As Shea Weber said in his post-game interview, the Canadiens may be closer than people think.