Montreal Canadiens: Poor Penalty Killing Costing the Habs
Dec 31, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins left wing Conor Sheary (43) celebrates after scoring a goal against the Montreal Canadiens during the third period at the PPG PAINTS Arena. The Pens won 4-3 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
The Montreal Canadiens poor penalty killing is starting to take it toll, and has attributed to the teams recent losses.
The Montreal Canadiens have suddenly found themselves in a cold snap. The Habs have lost four of the last five games, and have blown third period leads late in games. The Canadiens still managed to earn four of a possible six points this past week, but they could have easily had a perfect three wins.
One the Habs areas of weakness has been their inept Penalty Killing. The Canadiens have typically been a solid Penalty Killing team over the past few years, but recently it’s failed them. The Canadiens Penalty Killing has also been especially bad on the road.
So far this season the Canadiens are ranked 19th overall and are killing off Penalties 80.9 percent of the time. However, the Habs road Penalty Kill is ranked 27th and are only killing off Power Plays 74.6 percent of the time. If the Canadiens want to maintain first place in the Atlantic Division, they need to fix their struggling PK.
Weekly 3 Stars
The Habs Penalty Kill was one of the reasons why they lost two out of three games this week. The Canadiens blew two third period leads to the Tampa Bay Lightning, and the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, the Canadiens will take the four points that they earned in the Standings, this past week.
The Habs get some exceptional performance from many players this week, but a few stood out from the rest. Here are the Canadiens three stars of the week:
Dec 17, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price (31) celebrates with Canadiens defenseman Shea Weber (6) after their game against the Washington Capitals at Verizon Center. The Canadiens won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Carey Price deserves honorable mention, for his stellar play this week.
Carey Price didn’t earn any wins this week, but he should have. The Habs blew two third period leads during both of Carey’s starts. Price shouldn’t be blamed for the Habs last period meltdowns as he gave the Habs a great chance to win in the games he played. In fact, the previously mentioned penalty killing could take the blame.
Season Performance
Overall Carey’s numbers still look pristine as he currently has 18 wins in 27 games played. Price also boasts a .930 save percentage and a 2.07 goals against average for the season. Carey also has two shutouts this year as well.
If the Canadiens are going to enjoy any Playoff success this season, it will be because of Price. He is the Habs unquestioned MVP.
Dec 29, 2016; Sunrise, FL, USA; Montreal Canadiens left wing Phillip Danault (24) scores the winning goal past Florida Panthers goalie James Reimer (34) in overtime at BB&T Center. Montreal Canadiens won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Phillip Danault is the Habs Third Star of the week.
Phillip Danault had a very solid week for the Canadiens. However, his best game of the week came against the Florida Panthers where he scored a goal and an assist. Danault’s goal came in dramatic fashion as he scored the game winner on a breakaway in over time.
Danault’s assist was a also came at a very important time for the Canadiens. He made an awesome pass through traffic in the Panthers zone to Brendan Gallagher with only a couple minutes left in the game. Brendan came in on net and roofed a wrist shot over Panthers goalie James Reimer, to sent the game to Over Time.
Season Performance
Phillip Danault has been an offensive surprise this season, as many thought he would simply be a serviceable player on the fourth line. However, Danault has had a solid season offensively and is showing that he has higher potential than a bottom six forward.
In 37 games this season Danault has scored seven goals and nine assists, totaling 16 points. Again those numbers may not pop off the page, but they are big improvement from last season. Last year Danault had 10 points in 51 games.
Phillip is on pace to score Danault at 23 years old is developing into solid contributor for the Habs.
Dec 28, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Montreal Canadiens left wing Paul Byron (41) works out prior to the game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Paul Byron is the Habs second Star of the week.
Paul Byron is continuing his excellent play this season, as he picked up four total points during the week. Byron had one goal and three assists during the week and was a plus one. He continually generated scoring chances for the Habs and played with great speed.
Byron is a constant threat for the Canadiens as he uses his incredible speed to create odd man rushes, and breakaways for himself. Byron also has been a terrific Penalty Killer for the Habs, despite the teams overall poor Penalty Killing numbers.
Season Performance
Byron has stepped up his game to a whole new level this season as he is having a career year. Byron currently has scored 12 goals, and 11 assists, for 23 total points in 37 games this season. His previous career high in points was 21 during the 2013-14 season, when he was with a member of the Calgary Flames.
Byron is scoring at a rate of 0.62 points per game and is on pace for a 51 point season. Byron is also scoring .32 goals per game and is on pace for 27 goals this season. What makes this spectacular is that Byron was a waiver pick up, and is arguably Canadiens General Manager, Marc Bergevin’s best acquisition.
Lets hope that Byron can keep his current pace of production up.
Dec 31, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Montreal Canadiens right wing Alexander Radulov (47) and left wing Paul Byron (41) react after a goal by Radulov against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the first period at the PPG PAINTS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Alexander Radulov is the Habs First Star of the week.
Radulov had yet another strong week of production for the Habs. Alex totaled two goals and an assist and was a consistent play maker all week long. Radulov also totaled eight shots and goal and was a plus one.
Alexander was also asked after the Penguins game, about the Canadiens recent amount of losses, and whether injuries had somthing to with it. However, Radulov didn’t want to make any excuses for the Habs recent play. Here is what Radulov had to say:
We have a good team, we played a good game, but the Penalties killed us at the end of the game, and we can’t do that… all of us including myself can’t do that… The Penalties cost us us a point, we ant to win and Carey was their for us.
Radulov was showing great leadership, wanting all of the Canadiens players to be more accountable for the losses. It’s clear Radulov thinks that the Canadeins are contenders in the east, and wants the team to stay focused during games.
Alex was able to finish off a couple of plays this week with his great shot. Here is a highlight of Radulov’s best goal of the week.
Season Performance
Radulov considered to be one of the riskiest free agents on the market this past off-season. However Marc Bergevin took a chance on the Russian Forward, and that chance has certainly paid off. Radulov has been the Habs most consistent player all season long.
Alexander Radulov has scored eight goals, and 18 assists, totaling 26 points in 35 games. Radulov makes everyone else around him better, and this is exemplified with line mate Paul Byron. Byron has spent much of the season with Radulov and the two have developed great chemistry.
The Habs are tough to defend when Radulov, is controlling the play. Radulov will be highly depended during the rest of the Habs season to carry the offensive load.
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