Montreal Canadiens: 5 Takeaways Following Game 4

The Montreal Canadiens were the better team on the ice in Game 4. However, similar to Game 3, the better team did not prevail with the win. Montreal got the first goal of the game near the end of the second period from Paul Byron, but it was not enough this time as the Vegas Golden Knights responded with a goal in the third and then eventually won in overtime to tie the series at 2’s.

Here are the five takeaways from Game 4, and despite losing, three of the takeaways are positive.

1. Getting the First Goal – Positive

The Montreal Canadiens like a lot of us were shocked by Vegas head coach Pete DeBoer’s decision to take out Vezina candidate Marc-Andre Fleury for Robin Lehner. Lehner had played one game in the last six weeks and he gave up seven goals to the Colorado Avalanche.

The Canadiens came in with a good game plan after being severely outplayed in Game 3. They came out with a ton of zip and energy and outshot and outplayed the Golden Knights all night. Montreal came into this game with a 9-1 record when scoring first in the playoffs, and when Paul Byron scored with 1:05 left in the second period the Canadiens were looking to add one more win in that column.

Even though that was not the case, scoring the first goal of the game was huge for the Canadiens. They were able to control the pace of the game and had it not been for Brayden McNabb’s goal that squeaked past Carey Price the lone goal might have been the difference. Heading into a pivotal Game 5 the Canadiens need to weather the storm and try to strike first to help them play their style of game.

2. The Play Of Paul Byron – Positive

Paul Byron had a tumultuous season in which he was put on waivers three different times. Byron who is an alternate captain for the Canadiens was a two-time 20-goal scorer for the Habs a few years back. However, the last few seasons he has not been that great for Byron. A guy who spent a lot of time on the 3rd and 4th lines was relegated to very few minutes on 5-on-5 and was mostly kept on the team for his play on the penalty kill.

His game-winning goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs was a thing of beauty back in the opening game of the postseason, but he had not been a factor in the next ten games. However, something changed in this series as Byron has been among the best players on the ice during the four games. He scored the GWG in Game 2, set up Josh Anderson’s overtime winner in Game 3, and in Game 4 was the only Habs player to beat Lehner. Byron took a great pass from Nick Suzuki and utilized his speed to go on a breakaway and beat the goalie with a perfect shot over the glove side.

He has looked like a completely new player, and I can’t believe I am saying this but put the puck on Paul Byron’s stick more.

3. A Bad Look For The NHL – Negative

Talk about a black eye for the NHL. The last two games in this series have been some of the worst officiating that I have ever seen, and it has become a complete joke.

Chris Lee and Brian Pochmara were the referees for both Games 3 and 4, and as bad as the first game was, the second game they called was even worse with Nick Suzuki taking a sucker punch right to the face in front of Lee. Social media was abuzz with all the missed calls and it got to a point that fans, viewers, and players in the game had no idea what was a penalty and what is not.

What is even worse is that the Vegas Golden Knights have gotten 10 powerplays to the Canadiens four. That just cannot happen in a series that is this close, none of the games have been lopsided, and there just does seem to be a little bias going on, like how was this play not called in Game 3?

If the penalties differential were like 10-8, I could understand that, but a difference of six penalties over just four games is dumbfounded. I do not want to say that anyone deserves to be out of a job but Lee and Pochmara were just so lost that it takes away from the game. These two teams have worked extremely hard to get to this point and referees should never have an impact on the outcome…and so far they have.

4. The Ability to Shut Down Vegas Top Forwards -Positive

Despite losing Game 4, the Canadiens have done an incredible job in shutting down the top-six forwards of the Vegas Golden Knights. Max Pacioretty, Mark Stone, Alex Tuch, William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault, and Riley Smith entered the series with 25 goals combined between them, they have zero through for games. The “Big 4” of the Canadiens have done a remarkable job in shutting them down and giving them little ice to work with.

All throughout the playoffs, the Canadiens have given problems to the opposing team’s top forwards. Against Toronto Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner combined for just one goal. Against Winnipeg Kyle Connor, Blake Wheeler, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Pierre Luc-Dubois had just one goal and now they are shutting out the Golden Knights’ forwards. It’s an impressive feat by any standard, but now the question becomes how much longer can they shut down these top players?

5. Robin Lehner and Vegas Defeseman- Negative

While the Canadiens have been doing a terrific job against the Golden Knights defenseman it is their inability to prevent their blueline from scoring that has hurt them. If you were to have told the Canadiens before the series that after four games that the only forwards to score in the series for Vegas would be Nicolas Roy and Mattias Janmark they would have been thrilled.

However, they have also given up seven of the ten goals in the series to their blue line, which is just absurd. The Canadiens have gotten just one goal all playoffs from the blueline. They need to make a conscious effort in the next few games to limit their chances from the point and still maintain their defensive games.

Robin Lehner was terrific on Sunday night, stopping 27 shots in picking up his first win in over six weeks. Now there are reports that Marc-Andre Fleury will get the nod between the pipes for Game 5 which is really odd after how well Lehner played.

Nevertheless, the Canadiens need to drive the net and continue to get good shots and chances regardless of which goalie they happen to face.