Tag Archives: Montreal Canadiens


 Powered by Max Banner Ads 

If You Only Read One Habs Blog Post

Posted on by
Reply

…make it this one.

Friend and fellow blogger @Habswatch once again hits pay dirt with an insightful and data-driven (read: not skewed by lazy opinion) piece.

No player has polarized Habs fans in recent memory like Carey Price has; you either love him to itty-bitty pieces, or you want his head on a pike. His ardent supporters say that he’s young, has elite talent and a growing body of work that will only continue to impress. They say his defense is the main reason for his failings. His critics say that he’s paid among the elite, has accomplished nothing at the NHL level and has fallen woefully short of lofty expectations.

In his piece, HabsWatch doesn’t only put Price’s 2013 season in to perspective, he puts his entire career in to focus in relation and context to his peers. The results may shock you, as they did for me.

If you want the real deal on Price, then I urge you to take 10 minutes to read HabsWatch’s piece. Drink in the evidence and then share it with your friends. I promise that it is well worth your time.

The bar has been set

Posted on by
Reply

So what really happened in the 2013 post-season for the Habs?

From Pacioretty, Plekanec and Price to Desharnais, Markov, Gorges and Ryder, the veterans on this team did not accomplish enough good things collectively in order to have a deep playoff run. Simple as that. No player bashing, no nailing to the cross. A lot of guys were hurt, or playing hurt and as much as they refuse to use that as an excuse, the fact is no team can sustain the losses and injuries that the Habs did to key players and hum along like nothing happened…except for the Senators. The Habs veterans were average-to-below average and that doesn’t get it done in playoff time.

Here’s what you really need to know:

  • Senators goaltending outplayed Habs goaltending, to the tune of a .950 save percentage for Ottawa versus .870 for Montreal.
  • Ottawa scored an average of four goals per game, while the Habs chimed in with less than half of that total, at 1.8.
  • The Senators scored 13 third period goals to the Canadiens’ grand total of zero.
  • The Canadiens centermen scored a grand total of zero goals.
  • The officials stymied the Habs at least once in a very costly way.

Game, series, and season…over.

What may come as a relief is that the Canadiens missing ingredients are painfully obvious and I think we can expect Marc Bergevin to remove some of the redundancies on the Habs current roster and fill the voids with what he, and the rest of us believe to be the missing pieces.

With the team set up with talented youth and a General Manager who seems to have a firm grasp on the realities of the league in 2013, there’s very little doubt that Marc Bergevin has a cogent plan to continue to remake his team. Even the most passive fan has been able to identify areas where the Habs need lots of help:

Size with toughness and scoring ability on the wings: The top nine forwards include the following names from the under-six foot clan: Plekanec, Desharnais, Gallagher, and Gionta. It’s hard to imagine the Habs charging in to 2013-14 with that many smaller bodies despite “how big they play”. 5’8” does not have the reach or power and dominance of 6’3”. To ignore this is to think yourself above the laws of physics, or that they don’t apply to the Habs. Dredge up any stat you like, but when everyone has long since come to the realization that small bodies wear out faster and more often than big bodies, the road map becomes clear. Even if the impact of physical dimensions of any given player is a point of debate, what the Canadiens do need both up front and on the back end is aggression and that typically that comes in larger packages. I’m not here to say that the Habs are criminally small and weak and fragile. While the Habs loss to the Senators is not specifically due solely to size, if you take a moment to scan the defense corps of the Habs division foes for next year, it isn’t a stretch to think that adding some beef and snarl up front is unreasonable. Of course, one-dimensional thugs need not apply, and Bergevin strongly hinted at this in his post-mortem press conference. Although we can be fairly sure that Michel Therrien would love to have one of those guys in his back pocket, it appears unlikely that Bergevin will waste a roster spot on a goon.

Universally respected as he rightfully is by his teammates, coaches, opponents, the media and fans, With Gionta’s contract going in to its final year, it’s not impossible that Bergevin could move the captain at some point once he has proven to be healthy and productive again. It would be an unpopular move to trade him but forward-thinking GMs do unpopular and bold things on the road to success. Fact is, they could use a right-handed, large body to compliment Pacioretty and Rene Bourque on the wings. Gionta may be an interesting acquisition to somebody out there who needs leadership, and scoring ability.

Clarity at Center: There’s a jigsaw puzzle down the middle. Tomas Plekanec is the Habs most complete forward, and until he can be adequately replaced on the fly, and not under an assumption or hope that Eller or Galchenyuk can replace him, there’s little sense in talking about trading him. That said, Plekanec is currently the Habs best centerman and would fetch the most return on the trade market. At 31 years old, he’s not getting any younger, and Bergevin appears to be in to moving “aging assets” before they’re worthless, but trading Plekanec now is premature, lest the Habs GM invoke the “unpopular, but bold” clause. Lars Eller was on the verge of breaking out in this shortened season. 2013-14 will be labeled as, and expected to be his full coming out party, but he is not yet ready to take on all of the duties currently held by Plekanec. We know Desharnais is both one dimensional, yet secure with his new deal, so the Habs will have to work around his, umm, shortcomings. Alex Galchenyuk remains the wild card. Drafted as the team’s future frachise #1 centerman, the 19-year-old spent nearly all of his rookie season on the wing, and with good reason. Though he led the team in +/-, that is the single most misleading stat in hockey. Rely on that number at your own peril. However, he cannot be counted on defensively just yet, especially when it comes to defensive zone faceoffs. Between his and Eller’s inability to take draws reliably, the Habs have much work to do, and until they get one, or both of them both up to speed, it makes Plekanec’s presence on the team a must.

Another top-four defenseman: This is a tricky one, but needs to be addressed. Andrei Markov’s play collapsed at even-strength in 2013; anyone with a pair of eyeballs could see this. He is no longer the team’s best defenseman, but is heavily relied upon nonetheless. He was very often caught behind the play after a bad pinch, and with ravaged knees, he no longer has the speed to recover, and once he gets back in to position, he is not physical enough to knock opposing forwards off the puck. Bergevin can get on his hands and knees and pray that Markov spends the summer strengthening his knee, and that Jarred Tinordi’s imminent arrival as a regular will be enough to save him from shopping for a pricey free agent, or trading assets to shore up the defense, but that’s a risky gamble. The blueline for next season is already crowded what with Subban, Gorges, Emelin (who may not be ready until November or later), Markov, Bouillon, and Diaz all but assured spots in the top seven (Weber and Drewiske won’t be back), which means that only one place remains for a kid like Tinordi. No upgrades have been made yet aside from the natural progression that young players demonstrate, and that’s no guarantee, either. For Habs fans who treat free agent frenzy like a free-for-all, this is sobering, disappointing news. If Bergevin decides to look outside the organization to make his defense better on the top two pairings, he’ll have a tough choice to make in terms of moving Markov or Gorges. Moving Bouillon is the easy call, but doesn’t create the hole needed to upgrade the top-four.

Iron in the bottom-six forwards: As a simple one-year band aid solution, Colby Armstrong won’t be back. Travis Moen disappointed many in 2013 on the heels of signing a four-year extension and may be moved as a result. But both players brought something to the table in terms of penalty killing and character. Bergevin will need to replace those traits, to the chagrin of the fancystat propeller heads.. Michel Therrien’s (and most fans, too) face turned unhealthy shades of greenish-purple when the Leafs and Sens (among others) took turns slapping the Habs silly in lopsided losses. In that respect it is the expectation of most fans that Bergevin fetch a player or two who can throw his fists. Therrien may be a changed man in front of the cameras and microphones, but I’d bet my last dime that he, too wishes he had at least one player with the ability to bust heads on a nightly basis. The rub is that players who can carry a regular shift (i.e. actually play hockey), yet acquit themselves well when the rough stuff starts don’t grow on trees, and Bergevin will need to decide how much this is truly a priority before investing time and energy in bringing in this sort of player.

The debate will rage all summer as to whether or not the real Canadiens were the team that streaked to a 26-9 record or the team that gave up 3.9 goals per game after clinching a playoff spot. That said, and whether it’s fair or not, expectations for the 2013-14 season are going to be sky-high for the Canadiens. Bergeron and friends will have no other mandate – both internally and externally from fans to build upon what was statistically speaking the best season from the bleu-blanc-rouge in 20 years. I hope you enjoyed drafting Galchenyuk at third overall last season because it will be the last time that they select that high based on merit for quite some time – at least that’s going to be the plan. Bergevin may not be able to make ALL of this changes required THIS summer, and no doubt this will piss off Habs fans who want it all right away. This year was like a honeymoon that ended with a nightmarish trip home. Fans will no longer be so willing to accept future first round exits if they are preceded by strong regular seasons, that much is plain and simple.

The Future is Here

Posted on by
Reply

Playoff game #5

It just wasn’t meant to be.

The Habs were arguably the better team in four out of the five games, despite being decimated with injuries. In the end, the Senators got far superior goaltending, defense that didn’t surrender second chances and a big helping of opportunism. Of course, poor officiating played its part, but that falls down the list of reasons why the Senators advance while the Habs go home. In short: the Senators won fair and square. As I mentioned in Tuesday’s review, Habs fans now know what Capitals and Penguins fans feel like. Most fans are now realizing this, and it’s not a great feeling.

It is certainly disheartening to have watched the Habs outplay the Senators through the majority of the series, yet only reel off one win for their efforts, but it isn’t the Sens fault or problem that the Canadiens did not capitalize on their chances. They busted their asses, but lacked the size, grit and killer instinct to succeed at playoff time. At some point coach Therrien should have to answer why he chose to give ample minutes to some players who clearly didn’t deserve it, while others who carried the team’s offense sat and watched more than they should have.

This could have, and maybe should have gone differently, but plagued with injuries themselves, the Sens were able to get in to the playoffs, against all odds. As a result they were more than battle tested when they faced off against a Habs team that had lost its way. To the Habs credit, they aren’t using injuries as an excuse, though at this point common sense says there was nothing more that they could do to stop the bleeding, nevermind get a win.

There won’t be any finger pointing today. The Habs gave what they had to give but it just wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough. The first period push to save their season was effectively short-circuited by the the time Sens went up 2-0.

While fans streamed out of the Bell Center once the Sens took a 4-1 lead, they forfeited the chance to salute a team that basically jumped the shark in terms of regaining respect, and credibility league-wide after being a laughing stock for the last few years. Shame on them, spoiled, sullen ingrates that they are.

The Habs are a team with a tremendously bright future, and helmed by a strong management group the ship is in the right direction, full steam ahead. Still, it is more than disappointing to see a team that played so well through this shortened season fall apart so absolutely and completely both literally and figuratively.

Follow me on twitter: @kyleroussel

All’s Well That Ends Well

Posted on by

Regular season game #48

Canadiens coach Michel Therrien decided that resting key players was not as important as going all out to win the division. He did not rest any of his key players except for Carey Price, feeling that going for second place in the conference was the priority. As has been the case for the most part this year, his decision turned out to be the correct one.

Led by Lars Eller, Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher once again, the Canadiens regained a measure of confidence against the Leafs, who had inflicted the season’s worst beatings on the Canadiens. If Leafs forward Joffrey Lupul’s claim that the Leafs were the bigger and tougher team riled the Canadiens (despite the validity to the claim), then we can thank the injury prone big mouth for giving the Canadiens something to prove.

The Canadiens were clearly the better team all night, holding a listless Leafs team to just 17 shots in the entire game, including just one shot in the second period while they built a 3-1 lead. Once the Habs took a 4-1 lead early in the third period, the Leafs did what you’d expect. They tried to batter and pummel the Habs. Referees Wes MacAuley and Marc Joannette had to know that was inevitable; they cut off all antics at the pass, issuing game misconducts to both Frazer McLaren and Clarke MacArthur for things that would have otherwise been let go under different circumstances.

Fans always tell themselves whatever they need to in order to feel good about their team’s chances in a given situation. So if the Leafs and Habs do end up playing each other next week, both sides will have supporting arguments that seem entirely valid in their own minds. If you’re a Leafs fan, you tell yourself that you won the season series 3-2, including a 2-1 season-opening game in enemy territory, and two humiliating beatdowns in which they outscored the Canadiens 11-1. You tell yourself that the bigger Leafs will quickly wear down the smaller Canadiens. If you’re a Habs fan, you say that you won the final game of the year in convincing manner, that there is little connection between head-to-head regular season success and playoff success, that the Canadiens were fundamentally sound for most of the season while the Leafs were not, despite their winning record.

We don’t know who the Habs will play yet, but it has to provide Habs fans with a substantial measure of relief that the Canadiens won their last two games by a combined score of 8-3 when previously to that they were unable to do anything right. They look playoff-ready, which is the most important thing. Now we find out if the Canadiens perceived lack of size will be a problem, or if they will able to dig deeper and buck conventional wisdom.

Follow me on twitter: @kyleroussel

The Comforts of Home

Posted on by

Regular season game #47

Tonight’s game against the Jets had two distinct flavors to it. The first 40 minutes saw the Jets’ larger forwards have their way in the Habs’ end, giving the defense fits. Another collapse looked imminent. As has become recent tradition, the Canadiens D seemed too willing to give up odd-man rushes and full-on breakaways. Indeed, it is a concern when callup Jarred Tinordi was the most effective player in the defensive zone.

With a 2-1 lead heading to the third, and with their playoff hopes on life support, the Jets got the news that they had to know was coming. Both the Rangers and Senators won, dashing their playoff hopes for good. Whether the Jets sagged, or the Habs showed some urgency, aided by some powerplays that allowed the Habs to at least temporarily fire up the scoring machine that had worked so well through 40 games, the game tilted heavily in the Habs favor.

With fourth place in the Eastern Conference now the lowest the Habs can finish, if I were Michel Therrien, I would take a pre-emptive wiz on the CBC’s Habs/Leafs parade and make Saturday’s regular season finale as unimportant as I possibly could. I would take the hype right out of the game. The Habs don’t need it. Regardless of the outcome, the Leafs will win the season series and take that advantage to the bank, and it only brings the possibility that some Habs regulars could get further banged up, or hurt altogether. After all, when a team boasts such hockey luminaries as Colton Orr, Frazer McLaren, and Mark Fraser, why allow these glorified goons one last opportunity to take cheap shots at the Habs more important players? They’ll likely play very sparingly, or not at all in the playoffs, so any “discipline” that may be doled out by Shanaban would be totally ineffective. In short, Price, Plekanec, Markov, Ryder, Gorges, Prust, Gionta and Bouillon all get to watch the game from the press box while Bulldogs fill the void.

Tonight’s game saw the Habs show more push-back and spark than they have in a couple of weeks. Good news indeed, but the best news – by far – is that Carey Price looked like Carey Price. He made several big stops when the Jets were up 1-0, and could have given the Habs the confidence they needed to forge ahead without the fear of a softy going in behind them. If Price has indeed reasserted himself and found his game once again, it can be nothing but bad news for whoever the Habs face in the first round. But before we get ahead of ourselves, the defensive coverage that the Habs have been displaying lately was not much better tonight. The Coaching staff still has more work to do, starting with giving some tired legs time to recuperate.

There’s one more game to go, but with any luck it will be but a mere formality.

Follow me on twitter: @kyleroussel

Fan Appreciation Fright

Posted on by

Regular season game #45

If you’ve been watching for the last week then you have seen this movie before, and it ain’t pretty.

Halfway through the third period, the fans who were “being honoured” by the team were halfway home, soured by yet another horrific performance. As it turns out, not so unpredictably, the win against the Lightning was indeed a mirage. The defensive malaise that has wrapped it’s fist around the team has yet to relinquish itself and Habs fans must be asking themselves what can be done to loosen the grip. Falling behind as quickly and deeply as they have done in this week from hell has left a scar on what has been an otherwise outstanding season.

Who is the scapegoat tonight? Carey Price? The defense? You know things are bad when even P.K. Subban looks mortal. The forwards that didn’t score a single goal until late in the third period? The Coach?

It doesn’t really matter.

Sure Price could have stopped a couple of the goals but the defense needed to be roughly 20 times better than it was and scoring a goal or two themselves would have been a good idea at some point before Pacioretty netted one in mop-up time. Whether it’s over confidence from clinching a playoff spot that has since mutated into a crisis of confidence the Canadiens are running out of time to fix their issues. If they aren’t broken then are they coasting? If they are coasting, can they flip the switch once the playoffs start? That’s a dangerous game.

The big question in the immediate future is whether or not the Habs need to practice or need to rest. Have they lost their way, or are they beat? Therrien has probably already made his decision on that.

It’s time to forget the notion of coveting second place over fourth place. The Bruins have two games in hand and are tied with the Habs. Even with a punishing five games in seven nights to close the season, the Bruins have the inside track on the Northeast division crown. The priority should now be taking baby steps to get back on track before April 30th. Every facet of the game has gone belly-up in the last week and the answers lie in the room, or it’s an early tee-time. It still isn’t time for panic. Strange, but true. That said, if the Habs do not look noticeably better on Tuesday after two days of practice or two days of rest, or a little bit of both before facing the punchless, non-playoff bound Devils then feel free to take to the streets.

Hey, at least Ribeiro didn’t score. Oh, he had three assists. Never mind then.

Follow me on twitter: @kyleroussel

Flightless Birds, Flightless Habs

Posted on by

Regular season game #43

Tick tock tick tock.

That sound you hear is the clock winding down on the regular season that has seen the Canadiens go from a well balanced, disciplined and resilient team to an impotent, wayward and fragile bunch. What gives? Is this more than just a simple slump?. Recently the Canadiens have been out of games in the first period, so perhaps some questions from Habs Nation are justified.

It was another all around rough night for everyone, including Norris trophy contender P.K. Subban, who looked out of sorts and eventually found himself tossed from the game in the third period. Conversely, two bright spots were Lars Eller, who had a pair of assists, and Alex Galchenyuk, who eased the pain of yet another beat down with a beauty goal from in-close on Fleury. While the vets look to keep the pace up, these two youngsters have turned on the jets.

This mini losing skid has been so surreal in the way that the Canadiens have completely imploded on defense, and on a compete level that you get the sense that there’s some sick joke at play from the hockey gods; teams that have played as well as the Habs have all year don’t suddenly forget who to play hockey. Unless you prefer to panic, or denigrate the team’s work to this point, then it’s important to note that the Habs success through 38 games was not a fluke nor an accident. They won games by being great at even strength, and not relying on goaltending to keep their even-strength dominance afloat. That they’ve given up 22 goals since losing Emelin is certainly a concern but I believe his loss is felt more in the domino effect of having to create new pairings, and ask more of older bodies more than the loss of the player himself. Let’s not forget that Emelin was struggling mightily on his own before tearing his ACL. So while the Habs are better with his physicality on the roster than without him, to suggest that this three-game slide is solely due to his absence is ludicrous.

If you’re glass half-full (and there’s no reason not to be), then chalk this up to a team that is going through what every team does at some point during the season. This team needs a break, and then it needs to get some quality practice time in, and in between it needs a players-only meeting to clear the air. While this is not a disaster yet, it hasn’t stopped Habs nation from plunging in to full-blown panic mode before the losing streak has really even heated up. Given the embarrassing the results of the last three games, giving in to panic might feel justified, but things won’t be allowed to fester for much longer. With a game tomorrow night against the saggy Lightning, the down time and the practice will have to wait at least another day.

Tick tock, tick tock.

Follow me on twitter: @kyleroussel

They’re Dead, Jim

Posted on by

Regular season game #40

Whatever you do, don’t let this game get the better of you. Yes, it’s fun to watch the Habs run roughshod and totally dominate an opponent, but let’s be honest: the Sabres have quit. They had no will to compete tonight and once the Habs took a 2-0 lead, the game was over. The Habs outshot the Sabres 42-15, just to give you an idea of where the action was in this game; I’m not even sure if the zamboni passed in the Habs end of the rink. The Sabres were wildly undisciplined, granting the Habs eight powerplays. Some teams don’t get eight powerplays in three games, so it’s safe to say that the Sabres were more intent on making this a street fight rather than forcing the Habs to wait one more night to punch their playoff ticket.

But we’re not going to penalize the Habs for the unwillingness or inability of an opponent to compete, so on with the accolades for the night, yes? You could blindly pick any member of the team and find something nice to say about their game tonight. The usual suspects like Subban, Plekanec, Gallagher, Pacioretty and Ryder all made substantial contributions to the score sheet, but let’s reserve a measure of praise for Francis Bouillon, who stood up for Brendan Gallagher by taking on Sabres agitator Steve Ott after the latter delivered a high hit to the Habs rookie. By the book it was a clean hit, and I’ve never been ok with a player having to fight after delivering a by-the-book hit, but Steve Ott was looking for trouble all night, and it’s a comfort that Francis Bouillon took on the job of dispensing some justice. In my opinion, he earned his recent one-year extension on that scrap alone.

Tonight’s win finally clinched the playoff spot that we knew the Habs would secure back in late February, but now that they’re in, we can concentrate on winning the division and starting the playoffs with home ice advantage – a virtual necessity to winning the big prize. The win was also important because it showed once again that the Canadiens are a very resilient team that does not take to losing lightly, and with the playoffs around the corner, avoiding prolonged losing skids might come in pretty handy as you might imagine. Tonights two points also vaults the Habs past the Bruins once again and in to the Northeast division lead. With just eight games remaining, it will go down to the wire to see who takes the division crown.

The Leafs on deck Saturday night, we’ll get a potential first round matchup preview, although the two teams will meet each other for the final time at the end of the regular season. Rest assured that both teams know the potential to bump in to each other in the post-season and will be looking to get in to each other’s heads.

Follow me on twitter: @kyleroussel

Flying Low

Posted on by

Regular season game #36

Let’s all take a collective deep breath….and exhale.

With the Habs turning in one of their worst performances of the year just hours after the trade deadline elapsed, it would be easy to slide in to a panic attack and question Bergevin’s decision not to make any moves to shore up the team.

Settle down.

Every team lays an egg once in a while. No, that’s not to say that it’s acceptable, because getting six shots in the final 40 minutes certainly isn’t acceptable. The fact is the final score flatters the Habs, since they did somehow manage to score twice in the second period. If not for the sloppy netminding of Ilya Bryzgalov, this game would have been a laugher.

The real concern following tonight’s game is the status of Tomas Plekanec, who left the game with just over 12 minutes left in the second period with a lower body injury. I’m only going to loosely make the connection, but without Plekanec, the Habs managed less shots during his absence than Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds had for the entire game on his own. If Plekanec is out for any length of time, the Habs are in serious trouble, since Eller, Desharnais, Halpern and Galchenyuk cannot replicate what Plekanec brings to the team. You can disagree, but you’d be wrong.

The Habs are a resilient bunch, and losing has not been their thing this season. All bets are off if Plekanec is seriously hurt, but considering how more than one goal deflected off of Habs defensemen and behind Price in to the net, I expect a livelier effort from the Habs tomorrow against Winnipeg coupled with a little more puck luck.

So with nothing more to talk about, the only thing to consider is what the plan becomes if Plekanec IS seriously hurt. Well, for starters, Lars Eller will take on a bigger role, and will hopefully be better than he was tonight. Jeff Halpern will also take on more minutes, especially when it comes to defensive zone faceoffs. Other than that, Desharnais will have no choice but to put points on the board on a consistent basis, and Galchenyuk will have to contribute a bit more than he has.

Again, let’s not let one loss set us on the path of despair. Until poor play becomes a pattern, assume that the Habs will bounce back, as they always have this season. If they lose the Jets tomorrow, raise an eyebrow. If they lose to the Bruins on Saturday…ok…go ahead and riot.

Follow me on twitter: @kyleroussel

Snuffed Out

Posted on by

Regular season game #35

Except for giving up the first goal of the game less than four minutes in to the opening period, this game probably went exactly as the Habs coaching staff drew it up. They played a solid game at even strength, got a powerplay goal, surrendered nothing on the penalty kill and their only real power forward got back on track with a pair of goals.

If we’re being honest with ourselves, the Hurricanes needed a win tonight much more than the Habs did. Although both teams are locked in a battle for their respective divisions, the Canadiens aren’t the team in danger of falling out of the playoffs entirely should they not win their division. This being the case, it’s hard to imagine that the Hurricanes were not motivated to get Kirk Muller a win in his old barn, especially after opening the scoring. We’ll just have to chalk it up to the Habs absolute mastery of the Southleast, as they are now 10-0 vs teams from that division.

In a season that has gone as perfectly as one could ask for, the Canadiens can look beyond the extra two points and see a 5-for-5 performance on the penalty kill, and only gave up two shots on goal in the process. In their last three games the Habs have gone 9-for-10 on the penalty kill. Again, if we’re being honest with ourselves, the Habs recent success on the penalty kill can be attributed to the fact that they played teams holding the 24th, 25th, and 30th ranked powerplay in the league. Sometimes the legwork gets done for you. Still, when you are nearly perfect, you take that for face value and use it to whatever positive means that you have to.

With no more games to be played before the trade deadline passes on Wednesday afternoon, we can assume that Bergevin has made up his mind on what he believes his team needs – if anything. Surely any team has holes to fill, but the only question to be asked is whether or not what Bergevin wants can be had at a small enough price. With shrewd pick ups like Jeff Halpern (who scored the game winning goal) off of waivers, it’s clear that Bergevin is not in the mood to part with any valuable assets without a very good reason. With Colby Armstrong going down with what looked to be a fairly serious injury, is that enough of a loss to force Bergevin’s hand, or can he rely on a recovering Ryan White, Gabriel Dumont, or, should they choose to recall him, Petteri Nokelainen?

We will have our answers soon enough. In the mean time, the Canadiens and their fans can savour at least a couple more days of first place in the North East division. With games against the struggling Flyers, Jets, and Bruins on deck, this runaway train doesn’t look to be stopping any time soon.

Follow me on twitter: @kyleroussel

 


 Powered by Max Banner Ads