Montreal Canadiens: 5 Takeaways for the Habs Following Game 2

The Montreal Canadiens did exactly what they wanted to do in Vegas. They earned a split in the series and now head back to Montreal where 3,500 fans will feel like 35,000 fans I swear to god. The Canadiens jumped out to a 3-0 lead midway through the second period of Game 2 and eventually held on to win by a score of 3-2.

Following a win, it’s tough to find any negatives, but even after a massive win, there is always some room for improvement. The Canadiens corrected a lot of things following their Game 1 loss. Here are the five takeaways from Game 2 with four of them being positive to just one negative.

1. Scored The First Goal- Positive

If there has been a blueprint for the Canadiens this postseason, it is that a lot of their success stems from scoring the first goal of the game. Montreal improved to 9-1 in the playoffs when they score first, and on Wednesday night in Game 2, it was Joel Armia’s first-period marker that got them going.

There is no denying that when the Canadiens get on the board first that they feel more comfortable playing within themselves. When they are not the benefactors of scoring that important first goal, they tense up and tend to make more mistakes. If these playoffs have taught us one thing about this team, it is that when they score first they are a tough team to beat.

2. Jeff Petry Restores Balance – Positive

When Jeff Petry went down in Game 3 against the Jets with an injury, there was no timetable for his return. The Habs were able to knock off Winnipeg in the next game without having Petry in the lineup. However, following a Game 1 loss to Vegas, Petry was ready to go, and not only was he battle-ready, but his eyes looked it too.

Petry did not miss a beat, registering an assist and logging 20:47 of ice time. More importantly, the insertion of Petry back into the lineup meant that the “Big 4” could go back to the normal partners. Joel Edmundson joined Petry while Shea Weber remained with Ben Chiarot playing big minutes. Dominique Ducharme’s decision of adding Jon Merrill into the starting lineup in place for rookie Alex Romanov was a bit of a head-scratcher but following a win do not expect any changes for Game 3.

3.Depth Scoring- Positive

Like most teams, the Canadiens are at their best when they are getting scoring from multiple lines. In Game 1, they got just a lone goal from the Tyler Toffoli line. In Game 2, however, Montreal got one from three separate lines. Toffoli also scored his fifth of the playoffs, extending his point streak to eight games.

If the Habs want to keep their playoff journey alive they will need their depth players to continue to score. Right now the Bleu Blanc et Rouge have two lines that have been the most reliable offensive lines in the Suzuki line and Corey Perry line. General manager of the year finalist Marc Bergevin built this team around the idea of depth, and right now they need other guys to continue to step up.

4. Allowing Vegas Defense To Score- Negative

Right now one of the key storylines around this series has been the importance of goals coming from the blue line. Five of the six goals the Golden Knights have scored in this series have come from their defenseman. The thing that is hurting Montreal, is the costly defensive zone faceoff losses that end up in the back of the net.

If the Canadiens need to fix one thing from this past game it is to be better prepared for Vegas’s set plays off an offensive faceoff win. Despite the Canadiens winning 57.2 percent of the faceoffs in the first two games, they keep getting burned following a defensive zone faceoff loss. They need to focus on those defensive zone draws to either have the winger go straight for the defenseman or make sure they do not win it so cleanly. If they can adjust to that they will have a ton of success in this series.

5. Penalty Killing +Carey Price -Positive

It is almost hysterical looking back at the Canadiens penalty kill in the regular season and seeing what it has become now. Montreal finished in the bottom third of the league at a 78.5 percent penalty kill rate during the regular season. Now, Montreal’s penalty kill has gone from dreadful to unbelievable and it all started in the playoffs. Montreal leads the playoffs with a 91.3 penalty kill percentage and has successfully killed off the last 22 penalties. Golden Knights head coach Pete DeBoer had this to say about the Habs PK:

“I don’t think it’s an accident, their penalty kill has been good as Carey Price’s game has been,” Vegas coach Pete DeBoer following Game 2.

Montreal is always confident that Carey Price will bail them out. However, players like Phillip Danault, Paul Byron, and Joel Armia are playing incredible in killing big penalties, and Shea Weber and the defense core have been stifling the opposing teams’ powerplays this postseason.