No Need to Panic, Habs are Still in the Driver’s Seat

While the Canadiens have been successful this season, better than what people of all walks of life pegged them to be at, they have had nights where you tune into something else before it is over or painfully sit through the 60 minutes as you curse consistently as time ticks away. Now, this is to be expected since no team can play a perfect game every single night, but should we be concerned that they have been dropping games in April that they shouldn’t be? I don’t think any fan should be at that level yet as there is still a number of games left before the post-season. However, as I said in the article, “Mind the Gap, Finish Strong“, the Habs cannot sit back and be on cruise control the rest of the way. They have to keep their foot on the pedal and make a push to stay at the top of the Northeast and guarantee themselves to start off the playoffs in their home barn, the Bell Centre.

Going through the entire season up until this point, the Canadiens have received pretty consistent goaltending from Peter Budaj and Carey Price as well as more goal scoring than what we have been used to the last number of years. Head Coach Michel Therrien believes that you need three goals to win a hockey game and it appears that the players have 100% bought into that idea. If they want to make a long playoff run, this concept has to be taken out on to the ice every last shift, every single night. It is one of the reasons the Canadiens are even in the position that they currently are. They are finding ways to pot goals and from a range of players.

Heading into Monday night’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Canadiens have a 4-3-0 record for the final month of the season. They have scored 21 goals to their opponent’s 17 in that span and 3 of the 4 games that they were victorious in, they had more than 3 goals on the board. A little bit of proof that Therrien’s words have held true and if you were to take a look at all the games from this season, it would still be the case.

The Habs were unable to get anything going against the Maple Leafs this past Saturday after clinching a playoff spot on Thursday; in a very dominant game over the Sabres. Whoever stole those Canadiens we saw at First Niagara Center prior to the Toronto game needs to return them for the remaining games. Carey Price had an unusual awful outing, I say unusual because there have not been that many times throughout his career that he has put up a stinker like that and never that quickly. The Habs undisputed number one goaltender had a hard time stopping pucks that he normally would pounce on or kick away with ease. In addition, his teammates (besides Drewiske in the first period) found themselves looking at Reimer closing the door on a number of occasions throughout the tilt. You tack on the fact that the defensive play was not quite up to par resulting in a loss to a team that they could very well be seeing in the first round. For whatever reason, the Canadiens have had a hard time matching up properly against their rivals this year, so if they do meet in the race for the Stanley Cup, it could be quite interesting.

Carey Price will be better than the other night, he has to be and he knows it. It’s one game, there is no need to call for Budaj every match or even mention Halak, which some fans have done both throughout the year. As much as Budaj has been awesome, he is not the Canadiens’ number one and Halak, come on… we appreciate and respect what he did for the team when he was a part of it but he has been gone for awhile now. On top of that, he continues to suffer injuries and when healthy, has to battle for starts against not only Elliott now but Allen too. So, quit it because you just look foolish.

Anyways, if the Canadiens struggle with their final games of the season then perhaps everyone should grow some concern, but until then – Montreal is still in the driver’s seat. They are a team that is very capable of winning a 7-game series and even more. There are a few kinks here and there that they need to clean up or work out before the post-season takes off, like their dreaded second periods. Despite that, the Habs are a team to believe in, a team to stand behind every step of the way and a team to represent proudly.