Montreal Canadiens: Breaking Down Game 3 Line By Line

Well, the Montreal Canadiens have little hope for a comeback now. This game was supposed to be different. Dominique Ducharme was supposed to be a calming factor behind the bench and help get the match ups that the Canadiens desperately needed.

That would also come with home ice advantage. With thousands of fans in the stands and tens of thousands more outside the rink, this could be the jolt the Canadiens needed. And with last change, Montreal could finally get the Danault line to shut down Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat.

What happened? Montreal fans last vestiges of hope were dashed a mere 2 minutes into the first period. And to put any doubt away, less than 2 minutes later, Victor Hedman scored the second Tampa goal. Danault scored a goal late in the first to make it respectable, but another goal in the first 2 minutes of the second period put the game out of reach.

While Montreal could come back from a 3-0 deficit, it seemed unlikely against this Tampa team, and those goals early in the period were hope killers. Sure there is a faint, dying ember of hope, but the next game or two seems like a formality. It was a nice run. Let’s look at what happened this game, and maybe peek a little eye into the future.

Forward Line 2: Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Tyler Toffoli or The Future’s So Bright, We Gotta Wear Shades

This is the only forward line that has all three players under contract, and thank the Lord for that. This line has gotten better in the Stanley Cup Finals. After being buried by Tampa’s top line in Game 1, they have steadily improved game after game.

Cole Caufield got his first point in the Finals, an assist, and Nick Suzuki has proven himself to be a future star. Tyler Toffoli has benefited from the youth and creativity of Suzuki and Caufield, and while he has gone cold recently in the Vegas and Tampa series, the line has looked more and more dangerous.

And it will continue to be for years to come. Next year is the final year of Suzuki’s entry level contract, and there is no way that Bergevin lets him go. Caufield is entering his rookie season next year as a Calder Trophy hopeful. Toffoli signed a contract with Montreal until 2024 with $4.25 million cap hit per year.

This year Toffoli had the season of his life, finishing 7th in the league with 28 goals. It would be hard to believe that he will continue with those numbers, but there should be a small drop off, especially playing with Caufield and Suzuki.

This is a line that can terrorise the league next year. Both Suzuki and Caufield are dual threats of the pass and the shot. Caufield’s pass has been the most pleasant surprise of this run. Everyone knew that he could shoot, but the amount of assists that he has accrued, and the quality of passes and zone entries he has made are top notch.

It might be the most bang-for-your-buck line in the entire league. Toffoli makes $4.25 million, Suzuki still only makes $863,333 and Caufield gets paid $880,833. Not bad for Montreal’s best offensive line, and one that looks dangerous for years to come. These are three guys that you want to watch out for on the highlight reels next year.

Forward Line 3: Josh Anderson – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Paul Byron or Searching for Consistency

This is the most enigmatic line for the Montreal Canadiens in quite some time. When all three are on they look incredible. Josh Anderson is completely unique in his size and speed. Paul Byron is one of the fastest players in the league, no question. Jesperi Kotkaniemi has a surprisingly good snapshot and can play with the puck on his stick and make some nice passing plays.

It just so rarely has been put together for them this year. Anderson flew out of the gate early in the season, but stumbled late in the season, with an 11 game pointless streak. When he is off, he is ice cold, and doesn’t provide much outside of offence and a big hit. This coming season, Anderson really has to step up and provide offence year long, not just at the start.

Paul Byron is one of the best waiver wire pick ups in the league. He is fast, can score on the fast break, and is very responsible defensively. He plays on the penalty kill, and was a big part of the Canadiens league leading 9 shorthanded goals. He is also a leader on the team, wearing the Assistant Captain’s “A” on many nights.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi is a guy that has a lot to prove, and it is hard to pin what kind of player he is. He can go through spurts of invisibility on the ice, matching Anderson’s 11 game pointless streak. And like Anderson he does not add too much outside of the offence.

But in the playoffs, it is a different story. Kotkaniemi has 5 goals and 8 points in 19 games this run, and 9 goals in 29 playoff games. Not bad. His 9 goals before the age of 21 matches totals of Wayne Gretzky, Sidney Crosby and Patrick Kane. He is quickly garnered the reputation of a playoff performer, but needs to step it up in the regular season. His 5 goals in the playoffs match his total output for the year.

Paul Byron is locked down until 2023, and Josh Anderson just finished the first of seven years on the contract he just signed. Kotkaniemi is just finishing his entry level contract. It is hard to see him earning a big contract with his output in the regular season this year and last year. Kotkaniemi seems to enjoy playing in Montreal, and Bergevin needs to justify his picking of Kotkaniemi third overall. I cannot see him walking, especially for nothing.

This could also be the line that has the most to prove next year. Kotkaniemi was picked third overall, one more than Brady Tkachuk, and Bergevin has taken a lot of flack for the choice. Kotkaniemi has to prove he should have been picked that high. In the playoffs he has performed well, but he has not been good enough during the regular season.

Anderson was traded in the offseason from Columbus for fan favourite Max Domi. Domi and Anderson both finished with the same amount of points, but Anderson provides energy and physicality off of the puck, which is something that Domi does not. I like the presence of Anderson on the team more than Domi, but Anderson needs to find consistency and prove he is definitively better than Domi.

Paul Byron has a fairly large cap hit ($3.4 million per year), and was waived multiple times this season. This was mostly due to his larger cap hit and the flat cap this season. It would be hard to see Byron being waived in past seasons, but Byron has to step up and prove that he is worth that large cap hit.

Look for these players, even if they are not on the same line next season, to play with a chip on their shoulders. These guys all have something to prove, and hopefully they can prove they are worth it on a consistent basis next year.

Forward Line 4 – Corey Perry – Joel Armia – Eric Staal or One Last Ride?

This is the line that might see the most change in the offseason, although it is possible that all three return. Joel Armia is becoming an Unrestricted Free Agent along with Corey Perry and Eric Staal. All these guys need contracts, and they might not come in Montreal.

Joel Armia is the most likely to return. Since being traded from Winnipeg in a salary cap dump, Armia has looked great as a middle 6 option, and has been brilliant killing penalties. The contract that just finished was for 2 years and $2.6 million per year. He might be a guy that will get signed later due to the expansion draft. Signed before, he would be a prime target to be picked, as a steady force that can score goals and kill penalties on a cheap contract.

Corey Perry might be the most likely to come back, simply because he will not require a big cap hit, played very well in the regular season and the playoffs, and will not be a big target to be picked in the expansion draft. Perry finished with over 20 points after missing the first couple of games on the taxi squad and has proved himself to be a great leader for a young team.

Eric Staal will be an interesting player in the offseason. As past of this fourth line in the playoffs he has been good. He is tied for 5th on the team in points in the playoffs, and has been part of a line that has consistently brought momentum back to the team. He has had some lapses in judgement, like the pass to Nick Roy that resulted in a goal in the Vegas game, but overall has played well.

The regular season was a different story. He scored an overtime winner in his first game in a Montreal uniform against the Edmonton Oilers, but produced little else. 21 games, 2 goals and 1 assist is just awful no matter how you look at it. And his cap hit is something else. Montreal managed to get Buffalo to take half the cap hit, which was $3.25 million. After this year he will not garner near that much money, but will he go right down to league minimum? Does Montreal want him back? What is the real Eric Staal, the regular season or the playoffs?

This is where some of Montreal’s younger offensive prospects can be brought up, but how many are ready for the big show? While Perry and Armia should return, Staal might walk off in free agency if he wants anything more than the minimum.

Defensive Pairing 1 – Shea Weber – Ben Chiarot or Stable On and Off the Ice

With the expansion draft coming up, Montreal is either going to lose a big piece on defence, or the back up goalie. Either loss would be huge to this club, and would leave a big hole in the back end.

In Game 3, Weber and Chiarot both finished with one assist. Chiarot finished a 0, and Weber a +1. This is pretty impressive in a 6-3 loss in the Stanley Cup Final. They got back to their physical, defensively sound and smart game. And it definitely helped to have the Danault line out against the Point line to help shut down Tampa’s best line.

Ben Chiarot signed as a free agent, and many fans worried that he would follow in the footsteps of the last defensive defenceman that Montreal signed out of free agency: Karl Alzner. Alzner had a big contract coming out of many solid years in Washington, but had cratered as a Canadien. His contract ended up being buried in the minors and eventually bought out. Chiarot proved that he was no Karl Alzner.

He has been Weber’s steady partner for years now, and has provided good physical offence that makes up for the fact that he provides little offence. Next year is the last year of his $3.5 million contract, and he might be up for a little bit of a raise considering how steady he has played and the amount of minutes he plays a night.

Shea Weber is the captain and should not be going anywhere. He has missed some major time due to injury lately, and has played through injury this playoffs, but has still been dominant. The question is how long can he keep this up. At 35 years old and 20+ minutes a night for years in a very physical style of play, Weber might see some decline.

The question is if Montreal leaves him open to be picked by Seattle. If Montreal goes with the traditional format of protecting 7 forwards, 3 defenceman and a goalie, they would have to be leaving open one of Weber, Chiarot, Petry or Edmundson. As the oldest player with the biggest cap hit, Weber would be the least likely to be picked by Seattle, but it might happen. It leaves a big hole to fill, and maybe Fleury or Brooks can step up and make the team, but we will have to see.

Defensive Pair 2 – Jeff Petry – Joel Edmundson or Even the Hardest Stone Cracks

This has been a flat out bad series for the pairing of Jeff Petry and Joel Edmundson. Everyone saw the terrible pass Edmundson made in Game 2, but Petry shoulders a big amount of blame for two goals in Game 3. He made a bad change that resulted in a 2-on-0 of Tampa’s two best forwards, and a lackadaisical play on the puck resulted in another. Petry ended up with a -2.

This pairing has been one of Montreal’s best this whole year. Petry was a Norris trophy finalist early in the year, and while later in the year his production waned, he was still frequently Montreal’s best defenceman.

He has a skill set that most Montreal defenders, and most defenders in the league don’t have. He can skate with the puck, play with poise and finesse, carry the puck through the neutral zone and score goals. He can do all those things while not sacrificing defensive soundness. Without Petry, all of Montreal’s defenders are not offensively minded and can struggle with the breakout. Petry just signed a big 4 year $6.25 million contract, and has so far shown that he is worth that money as Montreal’s best all around defender.

Joel Edmundson finished in the top 5 of +/-, and was the best in that category for most of the season. Plus minus is such a historically finicky stat, but can be used to show general trends, and those trends show how good Edmundson has been in the defensive zone. The stay-at-home mentality of Edmundson lets Petry have more freedom in the offensive zone. Look for this pairing to keep terrorising opponents for years to come.

Defensive Pairing 3 – Jon Merrill – Erik Gustafsson or Don’t Get Too Attached

Both Jon Merrill and Erik Gustafsson were trade deadline acquisitions, and both don’t seem to be long for this team. As a third pairing, the two just have not worked out on the team, especially in the playoffs. They have rarely played together, only playing alongside each other in this most recent game.

The top four defenders of Montreal were leaned on so hard in the first couple of series that it was unsustainable. Eventually, as the playoffs went on, Gustafsson and Merrill started getting more and more ice time, and the mistakes became more and more apparent.

Can we stop calling Gustafsson an offensive defenseman now? Outside of his breakthrough season where he played alongside one of the best defenders playing right now in Duncan Keith, he has yet to produce anything. 1 goal and 3 points in the playoffs for a guy that was brought in just to put up the points and is a liability in his own zone. That is not good enough. It was a neat idea, but did not work out.

Merrill has been servicable. He is a defensive defenceman, but is a clear big step below the top 4. But just the fact that Richardson and Ducharme have been so reluctant to use him in the playoffs show how little trust the team has in him. He might have returned to the team, and still might to provide some internal competition, but he could be a casualty of young players coming up in the system. Romanov will be on the team full time, and Fleury should be as well. Brooks might threaten for a full spot, and that does not leave any room for Gustafsson and Merrill.

What Can Canadiens Do better?

This is it. Now or never. Every single second of the next game has to be played like it is the last. There is almost no hope of coming back and winning the Cup, but the Canadiens can make it respectable. Not getting swept would be nice, winning two would be better. They are playing with house money, and every single player must have the best game of their lives in order to win.

Line 1: SCORE THE FIRST GOAL. Danault scored a beautiful goal in Game 3, but it was already too late as Tampa had already scored 2. Gallagher has to get going offensively and score a goal.

Line 2: SCORE THE FIRST GOAL. Suzuki and Caufield have been great, and are just going to get better. The chemistry between the three are great. Soak up the experience and use it to be better.

Line 3: SCORE THE FIRST GOAL. They were shut out for another game in Game 3. They need to get on the scoresheet and limit defensive mistakes.

Line 4: SCORE THE FIRST GOAL. Perry scored a tight goal into the corner late in Game 3. This line needs to score early like they had in previous series and games.

Pairing 1: Give the opponents absolutely nothing. Montreal has to get back into playing a suffocating defensive game and scoring on the counter attack. Give Tampa no odd man chances.

Pairing 2: Stop it with the errors. Tampa has capitalised on so many mistakes from this pairing, and if Montreal is going to win a game, this pairing has to return to form.

Pairing 3: Turn into Alex Romanov and Brett Kulak. This pairing has not worked, and have become a liability that should not be on ice. Romanov should get a shot in the Final, and Brett Kulak has a better chance of making this team next year, and could use with the experience.

Don’t be sad that the Canadiens are losing the Final, but be happy that they made it this far. It was an incredible run, and unfortunately it looks like we are at the end of the line. It was fun, maybe we can make it just a little bit longer. But whatever happens, be proud of the team that no one gave any chance made the Finals against all odds.