Two weeks ago, the Montreal Canadiens had two cases of players entering the NHL’s COVID list, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Joel Armia. At the time, it was a question of if a week of rest would be good for the team in this condensed schedule, or if the further condensing would be worse.
I think that the answer is clear now.
Directly after the break, the Canadiens demolished the second place Edmonton Oilers 4-0, and then sent the Senators packing in a similar 4-1 win.
Two weeks later and the Canadiens look like a tired team that struggles to get much offensive zone presence, and where defensive breakdowns become more and more common.
Obviously no one would pick to have a COVID outbreak and there was nothing to be done. But, it might be the thing that sinks this season that started so promisingly.
This season seems specifically concocted to bring out the worst of captain Shea Weber. The 35 year old defenceman has the ability to be a physical shut-down d-man and has one of the hardest shots in the league on the power play.
But, age comes for everyone, and boy does Weber look every bit of his 35 years. The Man Mountain is a domineering presence in front of the net but is not the fleetest of foot.
Ever since Chiarot went down with a broken hand suffered in a fight, Habs fans have had to suffer through the pairing of Weber and Edmundson. Suffering is not quite the right word, but the eye test has not been great on the two.
They can regularly get hemmed in their zone by fast forwards, and seeing a blistering Weber slapper on the power play has become a more and more rare occurrence.
A 6-3 loss against those same Ottawa Senators, 3-2 overtime win against Edmonton, 3-2 loss to Toronto, and a pair of 4-2 and 5-0 losses against Winnipeg.
What do all these have in common? The Canadiens were scored on at least once in the first or last minute of periods, often times more than once. In the Ottawa, Toronto and first Winnipeg games, the opposition scored in the first minute of the game.
That’s generally a lack of mental preparation and mental toughness. It was a problem last year, and it has come back to rear its ugly head this year.
Fatigue has come, and it is still early. There is at least a month left to go with 4 more back-to-backs. Its not going to get any easier.
The defence is not the only place where the fatigue has sent in. The offence and power play that have been revitalised under Dominique Ducharme and Alexandre Burrows have dried up. The powerplay has been 1-for-14 since the Ottawa loss, and a big problem with that is the zone entries have been off.
Too many times the Canadiens power play have tried to enter the offensive zone, only to dump it in, and have to retrieve it from their own zone again. Its a problem that can remedied by moving your feet more and making better decisions. These are hard to do when you are tired and fatigued.
Is there an answer for this? Well, we have heard so much about this mythical depth that the Canadien’s have, its time to call up some players.
Because it is not just the regular season we are looking at. Much has been made about making the playoffs and seeing what happens, because anything can happen in the playoffs.
But less can happen when you are dealing with a dead tired team. It seems like a no brainer that Cole Caufield will be called up, as he has been tearing up the AHL. Ryan Poehling is a centre with some NHL experience, and could be used to give certain guys a night off. Same with Jordan Weal.
They aren’t good options, but to give some of the veterans like Paul Byron a night off. Even Corey Perry, who has been fantastic, could maybe be used to a greater effect in the playoffs, if he gets a night off or two.
There are no easy answers, as Montreal is not in a good enough playoff position to rest players in preparation for the post-season, but the injuries are piling up. First line forward Brendan Gallagher, top pairing defenseman Ben Chiarot and #1 goaltender Carey Price are all missing time, and the playoffs are no guarantee.