When viewed from the outside, it would be
difficult for anyone to consider the 2012-13 season as anything but a
rousing success for the Montreal
Canadiens. Coming off a season in which they finished last in the
Eastern Conference, leading to a complete overhaul of management and
the coaching staff, the Canadiens won the Northeast Division and
finished second in the conference. Montreal finished tied for fourth
in the NHL in goals per game, was sixth in 5-on-5 goals for/against
ratio, fifth in power-play efficiency and fifth in shots against per
game, all signs that the team had made a serious turnaround from the
nightmare season that preceded it. But on the inside, all of those
positives were wiped out in the span of one week in May, when the
Canadiens were ousted in five games in the first round of the Stanley
Cup Playoffs by the seventh-seeded Ottawa
Senators. The season, for the most part, was seen as a failure in
the Canadiens' dressing room. Much of that building will come from
the continuity and familiarity coach Michel
Therrien benefited from in training camp the polar opposite of
what he had during a shortened camp in January when he had to
introduce a new system while experimenting with line combinations as
he learned the strengths and weaknesses of his players. This time,
right from the start Therrien used the forward lines and defense
pairings he plans to start the season with, and those combinations
have had two weeks to build on chemistry that was already established
last season in most cases.
"You have to be happy with the steps we
made, we did some good things," captain Brian
Gionta said. "You finish first in your division, you
finish second in the conference, those are big accomplishments that
make a difference. But at the end of the day, it's what you do in the
playoffs. I think it was a learning experience for some of our guys,
and this year we can build off that."
The Canadiens will use the same balanced attack
that worked so well for them last season when they didn't have a
player among the top 30 in points yet still finished fourth in goals
per game as a team. Montreal will come at opponents in waves with
talent sprinkled evenly throughout the top nine forwards, making life
difficult for opposing coaches when deciding how best to deploy their
top defensive players. Every night, one of the top three lines for
the Canadiens winds up with a favorable matchup, and often times that
is the line that will do the most damage. Therrien likes to use his
forward lines based more on what zone the faceoff is than the players
the opposing team sends out, and the trio that should get the bulk of
the offensive zone opportunities will be Briere's new line. He was
placed on right wing with the well-established duo of center David
Desharnais and left wing Max
Pacioretty from the start of camp; line showed signs of growing
chemistry as camp progressed. Desharnais had a difficult time last
season with just 10 goals and 28 points in 48 games, a big drop-off
from his 60 points in 81 games a season earlier despite getting
significant power-play time and spending the bulk of the season
playing with Montreal's top wing, Pacioretty. He will benefit from
that luxury again this season. Pacioretty was clearly Montreal's best
forward through training camp, showing improved speed to go with his
size and lethal shot to score five goals in four preseason games,
tied for first in the NHL in that category before the final two days
of games. Therrien's go-to line in defensive zone situations will
again be centered by Tomas
Plekanec with Gionta on the right wing and Rene
Bourque on the left. That line was Montreal's best last season
until Bourque went down with a concussion on Feb. 23 and missed 21
games.
"The Montreal
Canadiens have been tough to play against, especially last
season, because you can't key on just one guy," said
free-agent acquisition Daniel
Briere, the only newcomer to Montreal's top nine forward group.
"The stars are [goaltender Carey] Price and [defenseman P.K.]
Subban, and you can't put someone on Price and shadow him. Those guys
are tougher to stop. But offensively what made it tough playing
against Montreal was they were fast, they kept coming at you, they
have lots of depth and I think we added to that this summer."
"He's always been known as a power
forward, but I think he's raised his level a notch,"
Therrien said. "In his understanding of the game with and
without the puck, we can see a player who isn't as hesitant in
certain situations because he understands how we want to execute and
how we want to play. It's become second nature for him in certain
situations and he's thinking less."
The wildcard in the group is the line centered by
Lars Eller
with sophomores Alex
Galchenyuk and Brendan
Gallagher on the wings, a trio that has been dubbed the "EGG
Line" by fans on social media. At 24, Eller is the line's wise
old man, and this youthful group may have the biggest impact on
Montreal's improvement this season. Eller is coming off his best NHL
season with 30 points in 46 games, including 13 in his final 12.
Galchenyuk also finished strong playing on Eller's wing, with 12 of
his 27 points coming in his final 13 games. Gallagher played with
Eller and Galchenyuk over the final few games of the season; he tied
for the team lead in goals with 15 and was runner-up in the Calder
Trophy voting. According to behindthenet.ca, Gallagher was 10th in
the NHL last season in points per 60 minutes played among those who
played a minimum of 20 games, while Galchenyuk was 13th and Eller was
17th. In theory, if these three get more ice time, their production
should increase. The trio got a lot of ice time in the preseason with
underwhelming results, but they showed some signs of life in the
finale Thursday, a 3-1 win against the Senators.
"I thought that line, that was their best
game of the preseason," Therrien said following the game. "I
did have a meeting with them before the game and let them know how I
feel about their performance so far, but they responded well. They
played the way they're supposed to play."
There will be lots of competition for time on the
fourth line, with Brandon
Prust being the only member who has no real threat of being a
scratch on any given night. Newcomer George
Parros will be used on nights when his skills as an enforcer will
be called for, meaning one of Travis
Moen and Ryan
White will have to sit out those games. Those two will also have
to hold off rookie Michael
Bournival, who was the revelation of training camp and used his
NHL-level speed and a motor that doesn't stop to create turnovers and
scoring chances.
This is a group that has the most to prove because
of the way last season finished. The Canadiens allowed 31 goals in
their final eight regular-season games, then surrendered 20 in the
five-game playoff loss to the Senators. That's 51 goals in 13 games,
an average of 3.92 after allowing 2.32 per game over their first 40.
Alexei
Emelin's left knee injury April 6 was the catalyst for the
defense becoming a mess, and though he started skating last week, he
won't be available until early December at the earliest. Emelin
emerged as Montreal's most physically intimidating player last
season, regularly laying highlight-reel hits and causing opposing
forwards to be aware of his presence when crossing the Canadiens'
blue line. In an effort to bridge the gap until Emelin's return,
general manager Marc
Bergevin signed Douglas
Murray to serve as a physical presence and penalty killer, but he
too sustained a lower-body injury in training camp and his
availability for opening night on Tuesday is questionable. That's
where Jarred
Tinordi comes in. The rookie defenseman was called up to play in
the playoffs last season, and he arrived in training camp determined
to show the team he could provide what they lost with Emelin. In six
preseason games Tinordi was a human battering ram, hitting everything
in sight, and it paid off for him with a spot on the 23-man roster.
"We asked him to be physical, and that's
what he did throughout training camp," Therrien said after
announcing his final cuts Thursday. "He came here on a
mission. We could see he put in the effort over the summer to get
stronger, and that's what allowed him to play such a physical game."
If Murray isn't ready for opening night, Tinordi
will start the season on the third pairing with Francis
Bouillon playing to his right. The top pairing remains unchanged
from last season, with Norris Trophy-winner P.K.
Subban playing to the right of Josh
Gorges. This was Subban's first training camp under Therrien; he
missed the start of last season in a contract standoff with the
Canadiens. The delayed start to Subban's season led Therrien to
slowly integrate him into the lineup, with Subban beginning his
season on the third pairing and second power-play unit while seeing
no time on the penalty kill, a role he excelled at in his first two
seasons. Subban was 35th among NHL defensemen in ice time last season
at 23:14 per game but still tied for the scoring lead with 38 points
in 42 games, with 26 of those points coming on the power play. Having
Subban in camp to start the season on time may entice Therrien to use
him more often, but he's not giving any hints as to whether that will
be the case. The team's leader in ice time was veteran Andrei
Markov at 24:07 per game, but that may need to change because the
veteran defenseman's game began to deteriorate towards the end of the
season, particularly after Emelin, his partner, went down. Markov
will start the season playing with Raphael
Diaz on the second pair while anchoring the first power-play unit
with Subban, but the management of his minutes early on by Therrien
will be something to watch.
"I really liked P.K.'s camp,"
Therrien said. "We had a good talk and we established a plan,
established a goal, established what we want him to accomplish. Me
and P.K., we're on the same page. He's taken this camp really
seriously, we can see it in the games, I like the way he's practiced,
his focus is there. Performance on the ice will always dictate, it's
the same with everyone. But one thing's for sure, right now P.K.
Subban has his focus at the right place."
SUMMER MOVES
IN:
Daniel Brière,
RW (free agent, Flyers); Douglas
Murray, D (free agent, Penguins); George
Parros, RW (trade, Panthers)
OUT:
Colby
Armstrong, RW (free agent, Sweden); Blake
Geoffrion, LW (retired); Jeff
Halpern, C (free agent, Finland); Tomas
Kaberle, D (buyout); Michael
Ryder, RW (free agent, Devils)
No single player will have a greater influence on
the Canadiens' season than starting goaltender Carey
Price, but that's a reality for just about every starting goalie
in the NHL. Price's game went south at about the same time as the
Canadiens' defense, which has a certain chicken-or-the-egg element to
it. He is being counted on to put that poor finish to last season
behind him as quickly as possible. Getting married over the summer
likely helped Price forget ending his season with a knee injury at
the end of regulation in Game 4 against the Senators. He claims last
spring's troubles are already behind him. What could help him is the
arrival of goaltending coach Stéphane Waite from the Chicago
Blackhawks, who helped shape Antti
Niemi and Corey
Crawford into Stanley Cup-winning goaltenders. Price's save
percentage has dropped in each of the past two seasons, from .923 in
2010-11 to .916 two seasons ago to a career-worst .905 last season,
so there are clearly some adjustments to be made. Waite's influence
on Price's technique was apparent in training camp, with one
adjustment being that the goaltender no longer slides across the
crease in his butterfly, instead staying on his feet for his lateral
movements to be in a better position to react to a second shot.
Backup Peter
Budaj did a fine job last season, posting an 8-1-1 record with a
2.29 goals against average and .908 save percentage in 13
appearances.
"It's in the past now," Price
said. "You have to come into training camp and look at it as
a new year. I'm not really going to dwell on a whole lot from last
season; it's not going to help you. We're not changing much. It's
just simplifying things and trying not to get too out of control.
Sometimes goaltenders think you've got to overcompensate and show
your athleticism. But a lot of the really good goaltenders are
compact; they don't make a lot of unnecessary movements. That puts
you in better position for bad bounces and whatnot. When you're
playing really well you don't want to be making a whole lot of flashy
saves, or even be noticed. If it's hitting you in the chest, you know
you're doing good."
