The Montreal Canadiens are back in the semifinals, after they defeated the Buffalo Sabres in the second round earlier this week. Their path has been difficult, and it is only going to get tougher, as they take on the Carolina Hurricanes, who are the first team since 1987 to go 8-0 through the first two rounds of the playoffs. The Hurricanes have outscored their opponents 24-10 through those games, showing that they are the dominant force in the Eastern Conference.
Even so, the Canadiens have the chance to give the Hurricanes their toughest outing of the playoffs, and head coach Rod Brind'Amour knows that. In fact, there is one aspect of the Montreal team that concerns him entering Game 1 on Thursday night.
While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Brind'Amour was asked about what's made the Canadiens' power play so good in the playoffs. Brind'Amour points out the top power play unit of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slakovsky, Ivan Demidov, and Lane Hutson, calling them all "elite" and "in sync." Brind'Amour said that the top power play unit is "a definite concern" for them.
"They've been dynamic. They've got dynamic players. You're throwing all five of those guys in their own right are elite at what they do, and then you put them together in those roles, and I think they feed off each other really well," said Brind'Amour. "You just watch, they're in sync. At the end of the day, power play is about skill and they have it. That's a definite concern."
Rod Brind'Amour praises Canadiens' 'elite' power play entering Eastern Conference Finals
If there is one thing that the Canadiens proved throughout these playoffs is that the absolute last thing you want to do as an opponent is commit a penalty to give them a skater advantage.
The Canadiens have 13 power play goals in these playoffs, which is the most by any team, especially among those who made it to the Conference Finals. To make matters even more interesting, it's that four of the top five point-getters on the power play these playoffs are Hutson (nine), Suzuki (eight), Caufield (eight), and Slafkovsky (eight). Slafkovsky is tied for most goals scored on the power play with four. Caufield is tied for second-most with three power play goals.
Montreal might have a bit more difficulty on the power play, statistically, due to Carolina's penalty kill. Through eight games, the Hurricanes have a 95.0 penalty kill percentage, which is the second-best among all playoff teams. Sure, they took on the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers, who both struggled to put up goals against them altogether. Still, that penalty kill percentage is nothing to scoff at.
The Canadiens have already "upset" the Tampa Bay Lightning and Sabres, but it keeps being forgotten that they did notch 106 points in the regular season. The Hurricanes and Brind'Amour know what they can bring, considering the Canadiens defeated them all three times in the regular season. But when it comes to the power play, Brind'Amour knows that Montreal will be dangerous,
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