HabsWorld.net --
It was a week to forget on the ice for the Habs
as they managed to win just one of four games on their Western road trip.
In Hamilton, it wasn’t any better as the Bulldogs lost three straight home games
to drop to last in the West. Although the Thomas Vanek deal on deadline
day is getting all the attention, my Final Thought looks at the other trade the
Habs made, acquiring Devan Dubnyk.
|
Cheers |
Cheers to…
1) Dustin Tokarski, who made quite the
impression in his Canadiens debut. Many assumed it was a throwaway game
when he got the start against Anaheim, the top team in the league and he
responds with a shootout victory. That’s a nice response, especially
considering just hours earlier, the team acquired Devan Dubnyk, presumably to be
in the #3 role he currently holds.
2) David Desharnais, the unexpected shootout
specialist. While fans drool over the variety of moves that Alex
Galchenyuk among others can pull, Desharnais has quietly become Montreal’s go-to
player in the ‘skills competition.’ With his goal against the Ducks, he’s
now 7/10 dating back to last season. At this point, he’s a must-use player
in every shootout.
3) Brendan Gallagher’s motor. No matter
what the situation is, he doesn’t let up. While that can be risky given
the style he plays, that type of hustle should eventually start rubbing off on
teammates. He plays hard every shift and that’s the right example to set
out there.
Jeers to…
1) Peter Budaj. It’s one thing to lose
three in a row out West – it happens – but in each of those games, the Habs were
trailing by the 2:30 mark of the first period. On a tough road trip in a
condensed portion of the schedule, you can’t put your team behind that quickly,
that often.
2) Getting out-shot regularly. Last year,
the Canadiens regularly were out-shooting their opponents but lately, the exact
opposite has happened. In the past 15 games, the Habs have had more shots
than the opposition just twice. It’s time to get more aggressive
offensively.
3) Tomas Plekanec, whose offensive
contributions have all but completely dried up. I know he’s being used in
a defensive role but as the teams’ #2 centre, one goal in the last 18 games
isn’t getting the job done. If he and Vanek can get that second line
going, Montreal’s fortunes should improve immediately.
|
StatPack: |
|
SKATERS |
|
# |
Player |
GP |
G | A | +/- | PIM | SH | TOI |
| 6 | Douglas Murray | 4 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 1 | 71:39 |
| 11 | Brendan Gallagher | 4 | 1 | 2 | E | 14 | 15 | 66:19 |
| 14 | Tomas Plekanec | 4 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 4 | 83:07 |
| 15 | George Parros | 1 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 7 | 0 | 3:35 |
| 17 | Rene Bourque | 4 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 2 | 9 | 48:21 |
| 20 | Thomas Vanek | 2 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 4 | 33:28 |
| 21 | Brian Gionta | 4 | 1 | 0 | -2 | 4 | 5 | 68:23 |
| 22 | Dale Weise | 2 | 0 | 0 | E | 0 | 0 | 19:36 |
| 24 | Jarred Tinordi | 4 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 24 | 3 | 64:35 |
| 26 | Josh Gorges | 2 | 0 | 0 | E | 0 | 0 | 38:10 |
| 27 | Alex Galchenyuk | 4 | 1 | 0 | -3 | 0 | 9 | 59:03 |
| 32 | Travis Moen | 4 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 2 | 5 | 42:42 |
| 43 | Mike Weaver | 2 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 2 | 1 | 33:43 |
| 48 | Daniel Briere | 4 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 2 | 2 | 46:04 |
| 51 | David Desharnais | 4 | 0 | 2 | E | 0 | 6 | 72:28 |
| 53 | Ryan White | 4 | 0 | 0 | E | 12 | 2 | 34:46 |
| 67 | Max Pacioretty | 4 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 2 | 13 | 75:51 |
| 74 | Alexei Emelin | 4 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 6 | 5 | 87:55 |
| 76 | P.K. Subban | 4 | 1 | 3 | -1 | 2 | 10 | 95:53 |
| 79 | Andrei Markov | 4 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 0 | 4 | 99:13 |
| 81 | Lars Eller | 3 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 18 | 4 | 39:17 |
|
GOALIES |
|
# |
Player |
Record |
SV% |
GAA |
| 30 | Peter Budaj | 0-3-0 | .839 | 3.83 |
| 35 | Dustin Tokarski | 1-0-0 | .922 | 2.91 |
|
SHOOTOUT |
| # | Player | G/ATT |
| 11 | Daniel Briere | 0/1 |
| 14 | Tomas Plekanec | 0/1 |
| 27 | Alex Galchenyuk | 0/1 |
| 48 | Daniel Briere | 1/1 |
| 51 | David Desharnais | 1/1 |
| 79 | Andrei Markov | 1/1 |
|
SHOOTOUT |
| # | Player | SVS/ATT |
| 35 | Dustin Tokarski | 4/6 |
|
Scoring |
Goals: Max Pacioretty (30)
Assists: P.K. Subban (35)
Points: Thomas Vanek (53)
+/-: Gallagher/Plekanec (+8)
PIMS: Brandon Prust (105)
Shots: Max Pacioretty (210)
|
The Dog |
Like their NHL counterparts, the Bulldogs
struggled mightily and lost all three of their games. They now find
themselves in sole possession of last place in the Western Conference. I
think the playoff odds just went from slim to nil.
|
News and |
– Defenceman Darren Dietz is still out of the lineup with a
lower body injury. He’s officially listed as day-to-day although Dietz
acknowledged that his season is over.
– Gabriel Dumont and Mike Blunden hit
milestones on Saturday night. Dumont recorded his 100th career AHL point
while Blunden picked up his 100th career AHL assist.
– Recently acquired Devan Dubnyk is the highest
paid Bulldog in franchise history. His $3.75 M salary surpasses the prior
record holder, Donald Audette ($3 M) in the 2002-03 season. Interestingly
enough, #3 on the all-time highest paid list also was in 2002-03, Mariusz
Czerkawski ($2.75 M).
– Lines from the most recent game:
Forwards:
Andrighetto – Macenauer – Thomas
Tarnasky – Dumont – Blunden
Czarnik – Holland – Leblanc
Courtnall – Nattinen – Fournier
Defence:
Drewiske – Pateryn
Beaulieu – Chouinard
McIver – Ellis
|
Results: |
March 7:
Oklahoma City 2, Hamilton 1
March 8:
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 4, Hamilton 2
March 9:
Lake Erie 4, Hamilton 1
|
StatPack: |
|
SKATERS |
|
# |
Player |
GP |
G |
A |
+/- |
SH |
PIMS |
| 2 | Greg Pateryn | 3 | 0 | 1 | E | 2 | 4 |
| 4 | Davis Drewiske | 3 | 0 | 0 | E | 7 | 2 |
| 8 | Nathan Beaulieu | 3 | 1 | 0 | -1 | 5 | 0 |
| 9 | Justin Courtnall | 3 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 3 | 6 |
| 11 | Nathan McIver | 2 | 0 | 0 | E | 0 | 11 |
| 12 | Maxime Macenauer | 3 | 0 | 1 | E | 3 | 4 |
| 14 | Michael Blunden | 3 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 7 | 4 |
| 20 | Louis Leblanc | 3 | 0 | 0 | E | 5 | 0 |
| 22 | Drew Schiestel | 2 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Joonas Nattinen | 3 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 1 | 2 |
| 27 | Sven Andrighetto | 3 | 0 | 1 | +2 | 6 | 10 |
| 37 | Patrick Holland | 3 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 6 | 0 |
| 40 | Gabriel Dumont | 3 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 14 | 6 |
| 44 | Morgan Ellis | 3 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 2 | 2 |
| 47 | Stefan Fournier | 2 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 1 | 0 |
| 59 | Joel Chouinard | 3 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 1 | 0 |
| 70 | Robert Czarnik | 1 | 0 | 0 | E | 0 | 2 |
| 74 | Nick Tarnasky | 3 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 4 | 7 |
| 92 | Christian Thomas | 3 | 1 | 0 | -1 | 12 | 0 |
| 93 | Martin St. Pierre | 2 | 0 | 3 | E | 3 | 2 |
|
GOALIES |
|
# |
Player |
Record |
SV% |
GAA |
| 29 | Robert Mayer | 0-1-0 | .912 | 3.02 |
| 41 | Devan Dubnyk | 0-2-0 | .908 | 3.03 |
|
Scoring |
Goals: Gabriel Dumont (15)
Assists: Martin St. Pierre (30)
Points: Martin St. Pierre (40)
+/-: Ellis/Pateryn (+7)
PIMS: Nick Tarnasky (116)
Shots: Gabriel Dumont (145)
|
Schedule: |
March 14: Hamilton
vs W-B/Scranton
March 15: Hamilton vs Syracuse
March 16: Hamilton vs Toronto
|
Final |
Although one trade has dominated the headlines
in Montreal for obvious reasons, they did make a second move, acquiring Devan
Dubnyk from Nashville. Since it was of the more minor variety, we didn’t
bother with doing a Writers Weigh In column but here are some points to consider
on the deal:
– For those wondering why they didn’t just
claim Dubnyk off waivers, had the Habs done that, they wouldn’t have been able
to send him to the minors. That means that he would have had to stay in
Montreal and count against the cap which would have prohibited any shot at
landing Thomas Vanek.
– A waiver claim also would have prevented
Nashville from retaining salary. By dealing future considerations (which
likely amount to the Habs merely taking a portion of his contract off
Nashville’s hands), his cap hit is low enough that even though it’s a one-way
contract, there is no cap implications for Montreal (unless he’s recalled of
course).
– Peter Budaj has shown in the past that he
starts to falter when he gets the starters’ workload. In fact, we saw
evidence of that on this road trip. Dubnyk at least can handle that
workload if called upon and if Carey Price’s injury keeps him out much longer,
it wouldn’t be the worst idea to let Dubnyk take a game or two.
There’s a pretty good chance that Dubnyk
doesn’t get into an NHL game and while that may make it seem like the Habs would
then lose the deal, they really don’t. Aside from having to pay a quarter
of his salary the rest of the way, this is essentially free depth. Yes, he
has had a terrible year with Edmonton/Nashville but perhaps playing on a better
team gets him going. Besides, if it ever comes to the point where the
3rd/4th string goalies are being counted on to play regularly, Montreal is going
to be in trouble either way. At least now, they have a player with some
NHL experience available if they need to use him. It may not seem like
much, but this was a wise move by Marc Bergevin.
