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After taking care of business in Game 7 on the road once again for the second straight series, the Habs then opened up the next round with a split on the road for the third time in a row in this postseason.
The Week That Was
May 18: Canadiens 3, Sabres 2 (OT) – Another Game 7, another nailbiter. Things got off to a great start with Montreal scoring twice in the first period, a shot off Phillip Danault’s skate and a one-timer on the power play from Zachary Bolduc and it looked like the Habs were in business. From there, it was pretty much all Buffalo as they got going and the Canadiens largely sat back. Eventually, the Sabres tied it early in the third and controlled a good chunk of overtime as well. However, Alex Newhook was able to fire a shot from just inside the blueline off the rush that beat Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to send the Habs to the Eastern Conference Final.
May 21: Canadiens 6, Hurricanes 2 – Allowing a goal 33 seconds in probably wasn’t the plan for Montreal but they got going after that, putting up four tallies in the span of 10:32, including breakaway goals from Danault and Ivan Demidov. Carolina dominated the second period but could only cut the deficit by one and then in the third, the Habs shut them down with a strong defensive effort while Juraj Slafkovsky potted a pair to allow the Canadiens to steal home ice advantage for the third straight series.
May 23: Hurricanes 3, Canadiens 2 (OT) – And for the third straight series, they couldn’t get both games away from home. Montreal was limited to just 12 shots on goal for the entire game, more than half of which came in the third period. Josh Anderson had a big game for the Habs, scoring both goals to somewhat improbably send this game to overtime. But, fittingly for how the game went, Carolina ended it before the Canadiens could even attempt a shot, with Nikolaj Ehlers firing home his second of the night off the rush.
StatPack
Skaters:
| # | Player | GP | G | A | +/- | PIMS | SOG | ATOI |
| 8 | Mike Matheson | 3 | 0 | 0 | E | 2 | 3 | 24:27 |
| 13 | Cole Caufield | 3 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 0 | 7 | 18:09 |
| 14 | Nick Suzuki | 3 | 0 | 4 | +1 | 2 | 7 | 22:35 |
| 15 | Alex Newhook | 3 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 0 | 3 | 18:57 |
| 17 | Josh Anderson | 3 | 2 | 0 | +4 | 0 | 5 | 15:26 |
| 20 | Juraj Slafkovsky | 3 | 2 | 1 | +2 | 0 | 8 | 19:33 |
| 21 | Kaiden Guhle | 3 | 0 | 3 | +3 | 2 | 1 | 20:21 |
| 24 | Phillip Danault | 3 | 2 | 3 | +3 | 2 | 4 | 15:53 |
| 45 | Alexandre Carrier | 3 | 0 | 3 | +6 | 2 | 2 | 22:50 |
| 47 | Jayden Struble | 3 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 2 | 1 | 13:03 |
| 48 | Lane Hutson | 3 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 0 | 2 | 26:15 |
| 53 | Noah Dobson | 3 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 0 | 2 | 24:33 |
| 71 | Jake Evans | 3 | 0 | 1 | +3 | 0 | 1 | 19:49 |
| 72 | Arber Xhekaj | 1 | 0 | 0 | E | 0 | 0 | 1:52 |
| 76 | Zachary Bolduc | 3 | 1 | 0 | -4 | 0 | 3 | 11:11 |
| 77 | Kirby Dach | 3 | 0 | 0 | -4 | 0 | 2 | 10:20 |
| 85 | Alexandre Texier | 3 | 1 | 1 | +2 | 2 | 3 | 15:05 |
| 91 | Oliver Kapanen | 3 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 1 | 7:55 |
| 93 | Ivan Demidov | 3 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 0 | 4 | 16:46 |
Goalies:
| # | Player | Record | GAA | SV% | SO |
| 75 | Jakub Dobes | 2-1-0 | 2.16 | .925 | 0 |
Playoff Team Leaders:
Goals: Alex Newhook (7)
Assists: Hutson/Suzuki (12)
Points: Nick Suzuki (16)
+/-: Jake Evans (+11)
PIMS: Kaiden Guhle (32)
Shots: Juraj Slafkovsky (45)
News And Notes
– Lane Hutson’s power play assist in Game 7 against Buffalo tied the franchise record for most power play helpers in a postseason.
– Montreal’s average team age of 25.8 going into the playoffs is the youngest to reach a Conference Final since the 1993 Canadiens. You might recall what happened that year.
– With eight penalty minutes in the playoffs, Jakub Dobes is the most penalized goaltender in a postseason since 2006, when Dwayne Roloson had 14 PIMS.
Last Game’s Lines:
Caufield – Suzuki – Slafkovsky
Newhook – Evans – Demidov
Texier – Danault – Anderson
Bolduc – Kapanen – Dach
Matheson – Dobson
Struble – Hutson
Guhle – Carrier
Semi-Final Thought
One thing that didn’t get much attention at the end of the second round was that Montreal’s draft picks have all been affected by their advancement to the Conference Final. (Well, everything but the Winnipeg fourth-rounder while Carolina’s seventh-round selection, which Montreal also holds, is also dependent on playoff results.) This is because the final four teams playoffs are normally slotted with the final four selections. This year is a little different and, for now, it’s not really affecting the order too much. That’s because Ottawa has the 32nd overall pick as a result of the penalty for failing to disclose Evgenii Dadonov’s no-trade clause several years ago.
Had Montreal been eliminated in the first or second round, they would have received the 25th pick, with their other picks landing 32 after that. Now, that first rounder can’t come until at least the 28th pick. That’s not exactly too much of a drop-off, especially compared to some of the other years where they just squeaked in and still made it to the final four, dropping their pick by more like ten spots.
While there’s still more value with the slightly earlier picks, another round (at least) of playoff experience in exchange for sliding their picks back three (possibly more) is a price tag I suspect management is quite happy to pay.
Final Thought
A two-game sample size isn’t definitively enough to start making any sort of big changes, although it’s clear the Habs need to re-tweak some tactics given Carolina’s adjustments on Saturday night. But Martin St. Louis may want to consider some line tweaking, especially on the fourth line.
This is not the beginning of a rant about Oliver Kapanen not getting the successful dump-in in overtime that led to the game-winner. We’ve seen quite a few mistakes like that in overtime, it happens. But he looks a little overwhelmed out there. I don’t think it’s fatigue-related either, considering he was off for most of the second round. Speed-wise, he can keep up and that could buy him a longer leash. But they’ve lost the fourth-line battle so far and if there’s an easy change to make, it’s subbing him back out.
Then there’s Kirby Dach. One thing that has become very obvious through the first two games is that he’s more than a step slow against Carolina’s speed. Dach has had some good and bad moments in the playoffs but he has been especially quiet lately, going six straight without a point without doing much with limited power play minutes as well. I’d be inclined to sub in Joe Veleno for him, even if that means Kapanen stays in, just to get a tiny bit more speed in there, plus a left-side faceoff option. All they need to do is play that line to a draw so a couple of minor tweaks might be enough to do the trick.
The challenge is that with Carolina’s attack, there aren’t many viable bench options. Brendan Gallagher plays with plenty of heart but struggles to keep up against normal-speed teams. He might be out of his element if asked to play regularly. (One game here and there, they might be able to get away with but not regular minutes.) Patrik Laine (a full participant in practice for months now despite still being on IR) is way too slow. So, beyond Veleno, who’s next?
I wonder if at some point they at least give some consideration to Owen Beck on the right wing with Veleno at centre if they wanted to take Kapanen and Dach out of the lineup. When Beck was up earlier in the season, that was largely his role, play the wing and take strong-side draws. Like Kapanen, his shot is his primary offensive weapon but it’s unlikely to make a big impact in limited minutes. I’m sure this isn’t in the cards heading back home into Game 3 but if they’re still struggling with Carolina’s speed later on, this might be something they at least need to ponder.
