Montreal Canadiens: Dominique Ducharme Will Be Put To The Test In Game 2

Everyone knew that Vegas would be a tough opponent, but since we spent the entire season in an all-Canadian division, we didn’t have a first hand opportunity to see what they were made of.

After Game 1, the Golden Knights have shown us that they are a completely different beast than Toronto and Winnipeg. This is a team that uses all 5 players at a time to mount an attack and does so with tremendous speed and skill. The Leafs and Jets relied heavily on their forwards but Vegas has the luxury of having a tremendously talented blue line to start the rush.

The strategy used by Dominique Ducharme worked wonders and allowed the Canadiens to win 7 in a row. This “trap on steroids” as I like to call it consists of clogging up the neutral zone while playing an extremely physical game. It works perfectly on teams with a weaker blue line, not so much when all 5 players go on the rush.

We saw during the first 10 minutes of the game that Vegas isn’t invincible. The Habs put a lot of pressure in the offensive zone to try to get that first early goal and the opposing team was left scrambling more often than not. Even Marc-Andre Fleury was seen flopping all over the place and if it wasn’t for sheer luck, the Habs would’ve easily grabbed a 1 or ever 2-0 lead early on.

Once our army of bleu-blanc-rouge were pushed back to the neutral zone, all seemed to have collapsed from there.

True that even when or if Jeff Petry returns, the Habs won’t have the same core of defencemen. Going up against Pietrangelo, Martinez and Theodore is no easy task regardless of how you look at it. Kulak and Gustafsson had an extremely difficult night and will have to dust it off and have instant amnesia of their performance. You can’t close your eyes for a second and leave huge gaps on the ice.

The key will be to go back to imposing that high energy/hard-hitting hockey we saw in the early parts of the 1st period during the last game. Josh Anderson is going to have to do a lot more than rush to the net once a game and play a full 60-minute hockey game. If the team can keep the forwards working hard on Fleury and grabbing the rebounds, this is where we will succeed. Brendan Gallagher has made a career out of putting in garbage goals so this is the kind of adjustment we’re going to need to see.

Of course, staying out of the penalty box will help as well. I’m not afraid to say it and I won’t get fined by my employer unlike anyone who works for the NHL, but we know the referees aren’t completely neutral. Hockey is entertainment and ratings generate revenue. Also, having teams put in the spotlight in non-traditional hockey markets is only good for the growth of the sport. Of course we all want to see Montreal vs Long Island, but the NHL desperately wants Vegas vs Tampa Bay.

All that being said however, the Canadiens have been killing a penalty all playoffs with the referee more often than not serving as the 6th player. Against Vegas though, it’s 5 on 7 with the crowd and the obnoxious noise and lights everywhere. (Seriously I have never heard an announcer scream for so long to announce a powerplay)

Do we have a shot at winning this? Absolutely. Ducharme has a golden opportunity (pun intended) to show that he belongs in the NHL. He needs to adjust the style of play. He needs to adapt his lines when you’re trailing because it’s easy to spread out ice time when you’re leading, not so much when you’re trailing. Also in the playoffs, a hard hit like the one Romanov gave Pietrangelo isn’t something to take for granted. Oftentimes it wakens the beast and that’s exactly what it did.

Discipline, intensity and jumping on the rebounds. A possible and likely recipe for success.

I still believe we can take this. You?