Playoff Performers: Familiar Forwards

The emerging pattern or trend this year is that many of the players that stayed on board with the Montreal Canadiens this season were some of the best post-season performers last year. The reasons for this are evident and the departures of 2014 have yet to really amount to very much. Thomas Vanek has been hot and cold with the surging Minnesota Wild, Rene Bourque is off in no man’s land in the bottom end of the depths of Anaheim and Brian Gionta will wait alongside Josh Gorges at Buffalo’s nearest airport with a sign (or maybe a jersey) with Connor McDavid’s name on it. These losses sure have not hurt this team on the way to a better spot in the standings or a promises of another lengthy playoff run.

With that in mind, a look shall now be taken at the familiar faces of the forwards that will make another playoff appearance this year and what they should be expected to do if they hope to see another run with this team.

Max Pacioretty

Many question marks were removed regarding Pacioretty in the post-season last year. Injury in 2011, not qualifying in 2012 and essentially no showing in 2013, it was a big year for Max in 2014. He finally notched his first post-season goal and it came not a second too soon, finishing off the Lightning in the dying stages of game four. Goals against Tampa Bay will likely become an obvious must and if Max is proven capable of delivering against them, especially in such a timely manner, he will be exactly what he has to be: the most productive forward on this team.

Having scored the series clinching goal not only against Tampa Bay but also against the Boston Bruins, Max shows up when it counts the most. What he needs to do now is not just be the guy that shows up for these moments but the guy that makes those moments either possible in getting that far or better yet, the guy that produces so much that those clutch moments are not necessary. It might be a tall order but for a guy so diversely talented that even long time foe Zdeno Chara noted what a great offensive threat Max is, it is a feasible task.

Coming off an injury, Max will be thrown right into the fire and demanded to pay the price now more than ever. He is, however, capable.

Tomas Plekanec

The book on this guy has been read, written and published time and time again. Dependable player, two hundred foot game, underrated, should be Selke nominee/winner, seldom been one to wow but always one to be consistent and deliver. The case for Tomas Plekanec to be the top center in the playoffs is an easy one to make as a result of this and more. Like David Desharnais, he finds himself particularly productive alongside Pacioretty, even on shorthanded shifts. It may not be a challenge to be productive alongside Mad Max but Plekanec does it in a more diverse fashion than Desharnais. The sample size on a consistent basis, even strength or power play, might be small but obviously to no fault of theirs. If they look so good on the penalty kill, why not use it on a full time basis elsewhere? When such a move has been made, it has been a commodity that is proven successful.

Plekanec has never really been at the forefront of a strong playoff run but is oftentimes a silent supporter. He was –for instance– the one that won the draw to Daniel Briere as he went on to send the puck back to Markov, over to Subban and have him bury the double overtime winner in game one against Boston. Without question, there is a big something missing if the team were to be hypothetically without him. Is this the year his run gets just a little bit bigger and a little bit louder? In the event of a series against the Detroit Red Wings, absolutely as Plekanec matches up strongly against them. A guy like this that does the routine, complete game things so well with such little time and space will always excel in the post-season.

David Desharnais

The longstanding issue between Desharnais and spectators is not the player himself or what he brings to the table but rather his deployment. Among the most noteworthy problems: he back checks at the speed of a Sunday driver, he continues to get top power play deployment even though he is seldom effective (much like the rest of the power play, these results due in part to him) and constantly loses the draw to set it up and enable the Canadiens to have the chance to impose their will on the man advantage. He also falls under a one-dimensional offensive category in his inherent, incessant need to pass to Pacioretty (or anyone for that matter) just like his zone entries see him carry the puck into the zone, find himself wide open in the slot, fail to shoot, skate into traffic and throw the puck away.

However, Davey also tends to turn it up when it counts. He might get a bit too much time/priority play in overtime (and in general) but he scores his fair share of overtime goals and he also memorably bulldogged his way through multiple defenders, found Pacioretty and set up that series clinching goal over the Bruins that had Tuukka Rask making snow angels well outside of his blue paint.

The hope here is that yes, Davey is dropped down to about the third line and perhaps played on the wing as opposed to at center. Recalling his play on the third line as a left winger earlier this season, Desharnais not only shot the puck more frequently –scoring as he did so– but he appeared more dominant in his role. The best example is this: When a baseball player goes up to bat, they have spent time in the on deck circle. In that time, said player has been swinging their bat with a weight on it. The purpose for this is so that when they go up to the plate, they feel as though their bat is lighter while their bodies have adapted to swinging harder than they usually would.

The first line has been Davey’s weight, the third line should be his plate. Do not send him up to the plate with the weight still on his bat.

Brendan Gallagher

What a productive kid. In the rare off nights that he has, it takes a toll on the entire team in a somewhat unexpected manner. On paper, there is no way a kid in his early twenties at such a small stature is such a lynchpin of an N.H.L. team’s offensive unit or in all three zones. What happened that losing Thomas Vanek was no big deal? Simple: the first line chances for saw a minor drop with Gallagher but the chances against were far less as opposed to those with Vanek on the line. The truth is that Gallagher is an upgrade.

Willingness to pay the price is only emphasized in the post-season and the spotlight will shine ever bright on this young man. Perhaps the most unsung case to have a letter –maybe even the C– on his jersey, Gallagher is just expected to do the right things. He is simply expected to play a playoff style of hockey. His character, grit and determination are almost a masking agent for what an offensive threat he really is. In the midst of the hunt for a forty goal season for Max Pacioretty, mention is lost of the 20+ goal seasons of Galchenyuk, Gallagher, Plekanec and company.

This might just be the best possible thing for those guys, Gallagher included. If no one else will go to the net and get things done, everyone knows that he will. The old adage of “just be yourself” may or may not necessarily carry substance from scenario to scenario but here, it is just what the doctor ordered for every Canadiens fan’s honorary little brother. If he delivers, there might just be a hug and a chocolate bar in it for him.

Alex Galchenyuk

Talking about promising youngsters, the name Alex Galchenyuk simply cannot go unmentioned. The third year seems to be the one in which big jumps are taken and there could be no bigger jump across the board than in the playoffs. The ability to tack “Stanley Cup winner” onto his resume come this June would be many things for Galchenyuk and his impending new contract as well; the one word that would likely prevail above the others: promising. There is no time like the present for the most prolific draft pick the Montreal Canadiens have seen in decades to show his worth going forwards because once his entry level contract expires this summer, he will be one big step closer to materializing to expectations.

This post-season is all about taking big boy steps for the youngster. His strides have only picked up and now they have to get even bigger. This is going to be one of the most critical junctions of his entire career, not just the early stages. This kid is one day going to play in one of the most challenging positions possible: first line center… on a full time basis, that is. This is just the first of many increasingly larger and larger tests that he is about to face.

Dale Weise

Dale Weise’s Manitoba made mug may need to be plastered all over Lucky Charms boxes because he was exactly that and then some last year. From the overtime winner of game one in the first round to the first goal on the first shot of the game in game seven of round two, Dale Weise just seemed to come about at exactly the right moment. He has not been without practice reps for these upcoming playoffs either. That periodic time he got on the top line has certainly kept him up to speed with more intense, more demanding, more critical competition and he should be in top form come crunch time.

Every playoff contender needs a guy like this. He works tirelessly, he spends his entire season playing playoff style hockey and in a world of bottom six forwards, he is a juggernaut come this time of year. A guy like this is the best million dollars and change a team can spend. Between timely delivering with scoring the kind of goals he has “scored a hundred times in his driveway growing up” and taunting despised foes such as Milan Lucic, one upping him at every turn, he is the player to fan liaison. Dale Weise is just a big fan getting to live the dream, making no bones about his forever allegiance to the bleu, blanc et rouge.

This is the kind of passion, these are the kind of gifts that cannot be taught. In his own way, he is irreplaceable.

Lars Eller

Along with the trend of many of his returning teammates from last year, Lars Eller embodies this team’s needs. The blades on the Ellercopter seem to hit top gear at this time of the season. Somebody must have handed him a memo in the later days of March because in spite of more infrequent/less advantageous deployment than others, Larry realized that there is extra important hockey to be played and it is to be played very soon.

With inconsistent linemates and inconsistent positioning comes inconsistent play. So how does Eller consistently show up when it counts the most? Big game players and pressure performers are simply born with this gift. It cannot be taught and the feeling that accompanies it is the most addictive sensation an athlete can experience. Larry needs his fix and the supply is about ready to come around.

If the phrase “turn up” means anything to Lars Eller, he will do exactly that; if it does not bear meaning to him, he will soon learn it.

Brandon Prust

The foundation of the bottom six. Without him, the support system is non-existent and this team’s playoff run is automatically handicapped and likely shortened. This is one of those guys that in the event of another Kreider incident, he will be the guy to prevent it or respond to it and hopefully more immediately and directly than in the example provided.

More than the everyday face puncher, Prust just manages to keep everything at an even keel and is never shy about letting opposing players know exactly what is on his mind. Courtesy of 24CH, spectators have been treated to numerous events in which Prust –and occasionally Pacioretty– have been witnessed exchanging a few words with the opposing bench.

Brandon Prust is simply this: the insurance policy. He knows his game, he understands it, he plays it. He never tries to do too much but never does too little. Awareness and a constant watch on the ice. Brandon Prust is something akin to Chuck Norris on skates.

This is a pretty promising group. Not too much is really missing here as it is. Alas, there is more to be chronicled and further expectations to be laid out. Stay tuned for the next and final edition chronicling the players that will be playing their first playoff games for the Canadiens.

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Extra special thanks to Bats Naslund as seen at the games in Glendale, Arizona earlier this year. He is seen here photographing the images featured in this column series.