A Winning Habit
Fansided

Who should the Montreal Canadiens Hope to Play in the Semifinals?

By Kieran Drover

Feb 25, 2021; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Montreal Canadiens Nick Suzuki Mandatory Credit: James Carey Lauder-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 25, 2021; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Montreal Canadiens Nick Suzuki Mandatory Credit: James Carey Lauder-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next

Montreal Canadiens vs. Colorado Avalanche

Montreal Canadiens, Jesperi Kotkaniemi
MONTREAL, QC – JANUARY 12: Jesperi Kotkaniemi #15 of the Montreal Canadiens looks to play the puck past Carl Soderberg #34 of the Colorado Avalanche during the NHL game at the Bell Centre on January 12, 2019 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Colorado Avalanche 3-0. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /

This year’s Colorado Avalanche boast arguably the NHL’s most talented roster, scoring to the tune of 3.52 goals per game and led by one of hockey’s most formidable top lines consisting of Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, and Mikko Rantanen.

However, their talent stems far beyond their first forward line and into the back-end where they are supported by the likes of Cale Makar and Samuel Girard – two defencemen who have both been mentioned in the Norris Trophy conversation this season.

As a result, the Avalanche can be defined by a very open style of play, using their speed and skill to tire out the opposing side, which is the opposite of the Canadiens. This postseason, the Canadiens have relied more so on a tight and structured game where they have used their size and physicality to their advantage – particularly in their own end.

Being built from the back out, the Canadiens top four defencemen have been key in their success thus far, providing that physical presence that’s helped them shut down the likes of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and Nikolaj Ehlers to just one goal over an 11-game span.

There is reason to believe they can do the same against Colorado given their recent success in the first two rounds, but with the majority of them on the plus side of 30 (Shea Weber, Ben Chiarot, and Jeff Petry), it wouldn’t be easy for them to keep up with the Av’s this deep into their playoff run.

The Av’s lineup is very unforgiving, carrying three first-round picks in their bottom-six. With all due respect to Toronto and Winnipeg’s bottom-six veterans like Joe Thornton and Nate Thompson, Colorado’s Tyson Jost, Andrei Burakvosky, and Alex Newhook won’t give Montreal’s defence many extra breaths.

The Av’s star power can be devastating and a matchup against Montreal would ultimately come down to talent against heart. The Canadiens have shown it can be the most important factor already, but on a greater stage, it would be interesting to see if they could recreate that magic yet again.

Home/Editorials