A Winning Habit
Fansided

2019-20 Habs In-Depth Playoff Report Cards

By Sebastian High

TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 21: The Philadelphia Flyers shake hands with the Montreal Canadiens after defeating them to win Game Six of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 21, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 21: The Philadelphia Flyers shake hands with the Montreal Canadiens after defeating them to win Game Six of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 21, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, ONTARIO – AUGUST 03: Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photo/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ONTARIO – AUGUST 03: Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photo/Getty Images) /

A+. <a rel=. . . CAREY PRICE

B. <a rel=. . . VICTOR METE

SHEA WEBER. A -. Just like with Price, the Philadelphia series did nothing to modify the grade I gave Weber following the Pittsburgh series, which is good news, given that it means that the captain continued his strong play. Sure, Weber’s 3 goals and 2 assists look nice on the stat sheet, but his point production really isn’t what made him such a key part of the team throughout the postseason; that honour would go to his defensive play. Weber and Chiarot formed a very imposing and physical pairing for the Canadiens and were key in shutting down the Malkin line against Pittsburgh and the Giroux-Couturier line against Philadelphia. Weber was on the ice for 15 even-strength goals in the 10 games, 9 of which belonged to the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens also had the advantage in terms of expected goals when Weber was on the ice, with 54.23%. Weber averaged 25:15 minutes of ice time every game; even more importantly, however, he averaged 4:48 on the penalty kill, which finished at an impressive 84.44% success rate. He played his role to near perfection. Sure, he lost a few footraces, but more often than not, his positional awareness was more than good enough to offset his slowing footspeed. Watching the captain play in these playoffs has certainly made me believe that he can play at a very high level into his late-thirties.. .

A. As good as <a rel=. . . JEFF PETRY

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