Montreal Canadiens: Lessons Playoff Teams Can Learn From Habs 2021 Stanley Cup Final Run
Forget everything about the regular season
The Canadiens 2021 regular season got off to a tremendous start. After ten games, they were 7-1-2 and looked like they were going to run away with the Canadian Division championship. They were looked as a legit juggernaut by many after their first ten contests.
But then it pretty much fell apart and they never got going again. The regular season was just 56 games, and the Canadiens went 17-20-9 over the final 46 games. After their great start they went six weeks without winning consecutive games.
They won three in a row late in the regular season to all but lock up the final playoff spot in the Canadian Division, but nearly choked it away by losing their final five games and only clinching a playoff spot because the Calgary Flames ran out of runway down the stretch.
It was a fantastic ten game start followed by a mediocre-at-best run of 46 games that included five straight losses at the end of the regular season.
But, that all didn’t matter once the playoffs began. All teams have to do is get in and then worry about what happens next. The Dallas Stars almost blew their playoff chances by losing to the Arizona Coyotes late in the season, but that doesn’t matter. They face a much better opponent in the Calgary Flames, but that also doesn’t matter.
The Canadiens showed last season you don’t have to enter the playoffs on a hot streak, and you don’t have to be the highest ranked team to win a series. Teams can flip a switch after the regular season ends and go on a long playoff run.
You need great goaltending
The biggest thing that leads to success in the playoffs is strong goaltending. There are some great teams out there this season that don’t have the best goalie tandem. There are other teams who have terrific goaltending, but might not have the greatest record, but that goalie can carry a team a long way.
That isn’t to say Carey Price carried the Canadiens to the Stanley Cup Final last season, but he was excellent in each of the three series wins.
In the opening round, Jack Campbell was fantastic for the Maple Leafs, but allowed a softy to Brendan Gallagher in Game 7 that was the difference in the series. Carey Price didn’t let that happen.
In round one, Price posted a 2.24 GAA and a .933 SV%. In the second round against the Winnipeg Jets, Price had a 1.49 GAA and a .942 SV%. The third round pitted the Habs against the Vegas Golden Knights and Price shut them down with a 2.10 GAA and a .933 SV%.
Consistently great goaltending is imperative for a long playoff run. Teams that have questions in net due to health or performance, like the Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Washington Capitals, Florida Panthers, Edmonton Oilers, Nashville Predators and Carolina Hurricanes are going to need someone to step up in goal or they will be out early.
The teams that are confident in their goalies like the Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers, Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild can be more confident they will advance.
Size and toughness can wear down the best opponents
The biggest takeaway from the Canadiens Stanley Cup Final run last season was that series are long, and teams can look a lot different in Game 6 and 7 than they do in Game 1.
The biggest reason for that is the grind of a seven game series can take a lot out of players. All of those battles and whacks and hits and cross checks add up over a 13 day period and players are just worn out.
The Canadiens were able to do this in each of their series last season, although series against the Jets was over so quick none of their players got going.
But in the opening round against the Maple Leafs, Auston Matthews had three points in the first three games of the series, Mitch Marner had three points as well and William Nylander had four. Over the final four games of the series Matthews had two assists, Marner had just one and Nylander continued scoring with four more points.
In the third round against Vegas, the Golden Knights had just five goals in the final three games of the series. Their top players like Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone were mostly ineffective over the second half of the series.
A big reason for that was the big, physical, shutdown defenders they had to face every other night for two weeks. The Canadiens top pairing of Shea Weber and Ben Chiarot battled and made the opposing team feel pain on every shift. The accumulation of bumps, bruises and aches when going to the net Weber and Chiarot are protecting its significant.
The Golden Knights scored five times in their last three games against the Canadiens. The Maple Leafs had six goals in their final three games against the Habs and the Jets had just three goals in their final three contests.
Being big, physical and making the opponent earn every inch of ice is what makes teams successful over a lengthy playoff series. It worked for the Canadiens last season and it will work for whoever follows that blueprint this season.
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