Three Reasons The Montreal Canadiens Have Been Inconsistent This Season

2. The Montreal Canadiens’ Difficulty Transitioning

The Habs have long been criticized for their difficulty transitioning from their defensive zone to the offensive zone. They have been using the dump and chase strategy for as long as I can remember, and although it sometimes seems to work, I think it tells a lot more about the opposing team’s defence rather than their own team’s ability to attack and score.

With every team playing differently, this is definitely a reason why the Habs have been inconsistent this season. Since they don’t seem to be able to skate the puck into the offensive zone – and they can’t really predict how a team will play – it’s more about trying and seeing if it works or not.

In one game, the dump and chase could work well for them, maybe they would even have a few breakaways and get a couple of goals, but nothing guarantees that the same would happen in their next game.

A big reason why the Canadiens use this strategy is that their defence has not been the most mobile, and that definitely plays a role in their ability to transition. Which, in turn, affects the final score.

I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect the forwards to do their jobs plus their defencemen’s jobs while transitioning, which is why as long as the defence doesn’t generate enough movement to get their forwards going, the Habs will keep using the dump and chase technique, and their play will remain somewhat uneven.