HabsWorld.net --
After some rough stretches as of late, this was
a very strong week for the Habs. They faced three teams ahead of them in
the standings and won all three. Hamilton found themselves in the same
situation and also pulled off a trio of wins. P.K. Subban’s low usage
shorthanded has been a popular discussion point in recent weeks, my Final
Thought looks at why it may be best for him to stay away from seeing many PK
minutes.
|
Cheers |
Cheers to…
1) David Desharnais, for reasons that should be
obvious. Since being reunited with Pacioretty and Gallagher, he has looked
like the Desharnais of old the last few games and for the first time this year,
he produced like he used to as well.
2) A pair of players who busted some even
uglier slumps this past week. Travis Moen ended a 47-game goalless slump
while Ryan White picked up his first assist since March 16, 2012. It’s
safe to say both were more than due.
3) Max Pacioretty, who ended his slump with a
bang, picking up five goals in three games. Any time a player gets five
goals in a week, they’re likely to be a strong candidate for one of the NHL’s 3
Stars of the Week.
Jeers to…
1) The decision to make Michael Bournival
seemingly the odd man out. I know he’s a rookie but he has been one of the
sparkplugs for this team all season. Limiting him to less than nine
minutes per game in each of the past four (Saturday I understand given he wasn’t
100% but that’s only one game) is puzzling.
2) Third period defensive struggles. Not
only do the Habs now allow more third period goals than they do in the first or
second, but they are also just 2-9 when trailing after 40 minutes. If they
want this run they’re on to continue, improvement in both of these categories
would really help the cause.
3) The end of the statement that the entire
everyday lineup is healthy. For that brief period last week, it was nice
to be able to say that there were no injuries of note (all due respect to Davis
Drewiske, but he’s a reserve d-man and not a top-six) but with Rene Bourque out,
no longer is that the case. Hope you enjoyed it while it lasted…
|
StatPack: |
|
SKATERS |
|
# |
Player |
GP |
G | A | +/- | PIM | SH | TOI |
| 6 | Douglas Murray | 1 | 0 | 0 | E | 0 | 0 | 10:30 |
| 8 | Brandon Prust | 3 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 5 | 1 | 42:49 |
| 11 | Brendan Gallagher | 3 | 0 | 2 | +5 | 4 | 7 | 49:27 |
| 14 | Tomas Plekanec | 3 | 1 | 1 | +2 | 0 | 8 | 54:13 |
| 21 | Brian Gionta | 3 | 0 | 1 | +2 | 2 | 6 | 53:23 |
| 26 | Josh Gorges | 3 | 0 | 2 | +4 | 0 | 2 | 62:22 |
| 27 | Alex Galchenyuk | 3 | 1 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 2 | 43:39 |
| 32 | Travis Moen | 3 | 1 | 1 | +2 | 0 | 1 | 36:31 |
| 48 | Daniel Briere | 3 | 2 | 0 | E | 4 | 7 | 43:05 |
| 49 | Michael Bournival | 3 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 0 | 5 | 22:13 |
| 51 | David Desharnais | 3 | 1 | 2 | +5 | 0 | 5 | 48:06 |
| 53 | Ryan White | 3 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 0 | 3 | 29:42 |
| 55 | Francis Bouillon | 2 | 0 | 0 | E | 0 | 2 | 33:43 |
| 61 | Raphael Diaz | 3 | 0 | 1 | E | 0 | 4 | 53:46 |
| 67 | Max Pacioretty | 3 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 0 | 18 | 50:13 |
| 74 | Alexei Emelin | 3 | 0 | 1 | +2 | 6 | 1 | 55:13 |
| 76 | P.K. Subban | 3 | 0 | 3 | +3 | 5 | 6 | 72:21 |
| 79 | Andrei Markov | 3 | 0 | 3 | +3 | 0 | 5 | 72:57 |
| 81 | Lars Eller | 3 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 5 | 50:02 |
|
GOALIES |
|
# |
Player |
Record |
SV% |
GAA |
| 30 | Peter Budaj | 1-0-0 | .926 | 2.00 |
| 31 | Carey Price | 2-0-0 | .931 | 2.00 |
|
Scoring |
Goals: Brendan Gallagher (8)
Assists: P.K. Subban (17)
Points: P.K. Subban (20)
+/-: Andrei Markov (+10)
PIMS: George Parros (32)
Shots: P.K. Subban (78)
|
Schedule: |
November 27: Montreal vs Buffalo
November 29: Montreal vs Washington
November 30: Toronto vs Montreal
|
The Dog |
Just like the Habs, the Bulldogs busted out of
their recent slump on the backs of a balanced attack and continued strong play
from Dustin Tokarski.
|
News and |
– The injury bug has struck the Bulldogs,
albeit all appear to be minor injuries. Defencemen Magnus Nygren and
Darren Dietz, plus forwards Stefan Fournier, Sven Andrighetto, and Patrick
Holland are all out of the lineup but are all day-to-day.
– Stephen MacAulay was recalled from Wheeling
and made an immediate impact, scoring in his first career game.
– Hamilton has hit the one quarter mark of the
season. Only three players (Courtnall, Nattinen, and Tarnasky) have suited
up in every game so far.
– Lines from the most recent game:
Forwards:
Nystrom – St. Pierre – Thomas
Courtnall – Dumont – Blunden
Tarnasky – Macenauer – Leblanc
Quailer – Nattinen – MacAulay
Defence:
Tinordi – Pateryn
Beaulieu – Ellis
Schiestel – Chouinard
|
Results: |
November 19:
Hamilton 5, Texas 1
November 22:
Hamilton 4, Syracuse 1
November 23:
Hamilton 3, Syracuse 0
|
StatPack: |
|
SKATERS |
|
# |
Player |
GP |
G |
A |
+/- |
SH |
PIMS |
| 2 | Greg Pateryn | 3 | 1 | 0 | +2 | 7 | 7 |
| 5 | Jarred Tinordi | 3 | 0 | 2 | +3 | 10 | 2 |
| 8 | Nathan Beaulieu | 3 | 1 | 1 | +4 | 7 | 0 |
| 9 | Justin Courtnall | 3 | 0 | 0 | E | 1 | 19 |
| 11 | Nathan McIver | 2 | 0 | 0 | E | 2 | 4 |
| 12 | Maxime Macenauer | 3 | 0 | 0 | +2 | 6 | 0 |
| 13 | Steve Quailer | 3 | 1 | 1 | +3 | 4 | 7 |
| 14 | Michael Blunden | 3 | 2 | 1 | +2 | 6 | 5 |
| 15 | Erik Nystrom | 3 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 6 | 0 |
| 20 | Louis Leblanc | 3 | 0 | 3 | +2 | 5 | 6 |
| 22 | Drew Schiestel | 2 | 0 | 1 | E | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Joonas Nattinen | 3 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 2 | 2 |
| 40 | Gabriel Dumont | 3 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 10 | 7 |
| 44 | Morgan Ellis | 3 | 1 | 1 | +5 | 3 | 0 |
| 55 | Stephen MacAulay | 3 | 1 | 1 | +2 | 5 | 0 |
| 59 | Joel Chouinard | 2 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 |
| 74 | Nick Tarnasky | 3 | 2 | 0 | +1 | 3 | 5 |
| 92 | Christian Thomas | 3 | 1 | 2 | +1 | 15 | 0 |
| 93 | Martin St. Pierre | 3 | 0 | 4 | +1 | 1 | 0 |
|
GOALIES |
|
# |
Player |
Record |
SV% |
GAA |
| 34 | Dustin Tokarski | 3-0-0 | .980 | 0.67 |
|
Scoring |
Goals: Sven Andrighetto (7)
Assists: Martin St. Pierre (11)
Points: Martin St. Pierre (14)
+/-: Greg Pateryn (+7)
PIMS: Justin Courtnall (40)
Shots: Magnus Nygren (47)
|
Schedule: |
November 27: Hamilton
vs Rochester
November 29: Toronto vs Hamilton
November 30: Lake Erie vs Hamilton
|
Final |
The fact that P.K. Subban received sparing
shorthanded minutes over the past few games appears to be a cause for
celebration for many. I have to admit, I don’t quite share that same
sentiment. As much as people want him to play 28+ minutes a night, it’s
not going to happen, at least not on a regular basis. Very few teams play
their top players that many minutes by choice but rather by necessity (injuries
or lack of defensive depth, something the Habs aren’t dealing with presently).
If Subban gets regular time on the penalty kill, it’s going to come out of his
5-on-5 ice time instead of being added to it. If he gets less 5-on-5 time,
that means more time will go to those not on the penalty kill. In other
words, Francis Bouillon will pick up some extra shifts. That’s not ideal.
In strictly a theoretical sense, it makes sense
to give Subban a bit of time shorthanded. You never know when the injury
bug may strike and you want him to be somewhat comfortable if he does get thrust
into a penalty killing situation on a bit more of a regular basis. A bit
of time doesn’t have to mean regularly though. Sure, it may help his odds
of going to the Olympics, but it’s not Montreal’s job to do what’s best for
Subban’s Sochi hopes, but rather what’s best for them. He is going to play
an average of 24-26 minutes per night, we’ve learned that from Michel Therrien
in his deployment of the blueliner. As a fan, I want as many of those
minutes as possible to be in situations where he can provide offence; the
powerplay and even strength situations are the best possibilities for that to
happen. Let P.K. sit the PK, the Habs will be better off for it.
