The Montreal Canadiens continue to mismanage the puck in the offensive zone. It is not the first time we’re talking about it and it won’t be the last.
There is nothing wrong with a shot from the blue line — under the right conditions. Those with a heavy net-front presence, more attackers around the net than defenders, and an open shooting lane. The Canadiens have become so entrenched in their ways, however, that they rarely look to see if those conditions are met. As soon as the puck moves high, either to a defenceman or a forward, it slingshots back toward the net. The Canadiens hammer, blast, and smash with little forethought. The puck deflects off shin pads, hits teammates in various body parts, and bounces away from the control of the team.
Ultimately, by firing so much, the Habs only cut their offensive zone time and reduce the quality of their scoring chances.
You can see those tendencies illustrated on the chart below, in the bright-red spots where the blue line meets the wall and in front of the net where the puck ricochets on bodies, but ultimately rarely makes its way in the cage.
I get it, Montreal wants to make something happen, but they don’t take matters into their own hands with such poor puck management. They simply shoot over and over again and hope for the best, like the gambler who is already massively in debt, but keeps on betting because “the next one will pay off.”
The image below is a shot Phillip Danault decided to take in the first period. The puck came from the stick of Brendan Gallagher so there was a bit of pass movement prior to the release, but Danault’s shot remains a poor decision. The centreman barely crossed the blue line; he’s still at least two stick-lengths away from the slot, and his path there isn’t covered by Oilers defenceman. The opponents’ momentum is carrying them back. The ice in front is open. Danault can walk in and fire from much closer to the net.
Or, much better, he could use the threat of the shot to challenge and attract the defender standing near Gallagher and create a two-on-one with his teammate.
I think this is where Montreal is missing the most offensive opportunities. Teams expect them to fire from far away. They can play off that and confound the opposing defence by holding a release once in a while. The threat of a shot can become even more dangerous than an actual shot. A fake can freeze defenders and open space to walk around them, something we have seen Nick Suzuki pull off many times.
But this play isn’t reserved to highly skilled forwards. Take a look at this sequence.
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Joel Edmundson’s first point shot was a good decision. He got the puck at the top of the zone in a difficult position, and firing released defensive pressure. The second time the puck comes to him, however, he has space. Edmundson can accelerate on his first touch and take the puck down the wall or attract the defender and slide a pass to his partner after faking a release. But, once again, he hammers the puck in the direction of the net. The disc stops short of its course as it deflects on the hands of the defender. The shot could have easily turned into a breakaway the other way. Fortunately, the dice didn’t fall that way.
A few seconds later, Chiarot gains the puck on the other side of the ice. He gets his head up, sees the heavy net-front presence, understands that the puck won’t thread through all those bodies, and goes to work.
He fakes a first release and does it again. The defender flinches, expecting to receive yet another puck in the chest. Chiarot uses the opponent’s hesitation to step wide around him and attacks the net from below the goal line.
His chance of scoring would have probably improved had the forwards in front of the net sprung toward the high slot as he drove in instead of clogging his path to the blue paint, but the effort was more than commendable anyway.
This long-lasting overuse of point shots as a default strategy doesn’t just have repercussions on the scoreboard, but also on the development of the Habs prospects. Alexander Romanov lacks creativity on the offensive blue line. It was a clear weakness as he came through the ranks of Russian hockey, and you see it now with the Canadiens, too. (I wrote this article on his offensive development in January, 2019.)
His combo of high mobility and confidence could serve as the building blocks of a better offensive game, one with more flow and movement, with attacks down the wall, and passes to the slot. But the current offensive system of the Habs just reinforces his bad habits.
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A bit like Danault in the image above, in this sequence, the defence gives Romanov space to at least improve the location of his shot, or better, to take the puck in a lateral slide down the blue line that would stretch the opposing defence and allow one of his forwards to move high, possibly creating a puck exchange to beat a defender; the kind of movement that breathes some life into an offensive-zone presence.
But Romanov doesn’t look at his surroundings, doesn’t scan for a shooting lane, or for a better play. He gets his head down and blasts the puck. It hits a shin pad and creates a three-on-two the other way.
Of course, that is just one play at the very start of his career, but Montreal’s system isn’t tracing him a path to improvement. If he only follows its guidelines, like many rookies do as they try to survive and keep their spot, Romanov won’t receive the necessary push he needs to make the most of his skill set.
I talked about the Canadiens’ need to stay true to their identity in my previous article. But that doesn’t mean distilling down what made them successful in the early parts of the season. Montreal can shoot from the point, but that can’t be a default play. It has to remain a decision every time, a choice informed by a prior scanning of the offensive situation.
Am I being pressured? Do I have space to skate the puck and improve the location of a shot? Is there a seam to the slot or down the wall? Is a shooting lane open? Is there a teammate in a position to tip the puck? Are forwards outnumbering defenders near the net? These are some of the questions players have to ask themselves before they receive the puck at the top of the zone.
All in all, puck management isn’t the only issue for the Canadiens right now, but the team won’t get out of its funk until they start using each other in more productive ways.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
CALGARY – Mired in their first four-game losing skid in 20 years, the Calgary Stampeders are going back to Jake Maier at quarterback on Saturday after he was benched for a game.
It won’t be an easy assignment.
Visiting McMahon Stadium are the Eastern Conference-leading Montreal Alouettes (10-2) who own the CFL’s best record. The Stampeders (4-8) have fallen to last in the Western Conference.
“Six games is plenty of time, but also it is just six games,” said Maier. “We’ve got to be able to get on the right track.”
Calgary is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
“I do still believe in this team,” said Stampeders’ head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson. “I want to see improvement, though. I want to see guys on a weekly basis elevating their game, and we haven’t been doing that.”
Maier is one of the guys under the microscope. Two weeks ago, the second-year starter threw four interceptions in a 35-20 home loss to the Edmonton Elks.
After his replacement, rookie Logan Bonner, threw five picks in last week’s 37-16 loss to the Elks in Edmonton, the football is back in Maier’s hands.
“Any time you fail or something doesn’t go your way in life, does it stink in the moment? Yeah. But then the days go on and you learn things about yourself and you learn how to prepare a little bit better,” said Maier. “It makes you mentally tougher.”
Dickenson wants to see his quarterback making better decisions with the football.
“Things are going to happen, interceptions will happen, but try to take calculated risks, rather than just putting the ball up there and hoping that we catch it,” said Dickenson.
A former quarterback himself, he knows the importance of that vital position.
“You cannot win without good quarterback play,” Dickenson said. “You’ve got to be able to make some plays — off-schedule plays, move-around plays, plays that break down, plays that aren’t designed perfectly, but somehow you found the right guy, and then those big throws where you’re taking that hit.”
But it’s going to take a team effort, and that includes the club’s receiving corp.
“We always have to band together because we need everything to go right for our receivers to get the ball,” said Nik Lewis, the Stampeders’ receivers coach. “The running back has to pick up the blitz, the o-line has to block, the quarterback has to make the right reads, and then give us a catchable ball.”
Lewis brings a unique perspective to this season’s frustrations as he was a 22-year-old rookie in Calgary in 2004 when the Stamps went 4-14 under coach Matt Dunigan. They turned it around the next season and haven’t missed the playoffs since.”
“Thinking back and just looking at it, there’s just got to be an ultimate belief that you can get it done. Look at Montreal, they were 6-7 last year and they’ve gone 18-2 since then,” said Lewis.
Montreal is also looking to rebound from a 37-23 loss to the B.C. Lions last week. But for head coach Jason Maas, he says his team’s mindset doesn’t change, regardless of what happened the previous week.
“Last year when we went through a four-game losing streak, you couldn’t tell if we were on a four-game winning streak or a four-game losing streak by the way the guys were in the building, the way we prepared, the type of work ethic we have,” said Maas. “All our standards are set, so that’s all we focus on.”
While they may have already clinched a playoff spot, Alouettes’ quarterback Cody Fajardo says this closing stretch remains critical because they want to finish the season strong, just like last year when they won their final five regular-season games before ultimately winning the Grey Cup.
“It doesn’t matter about what you do at the beginning of the year,” said Fajardo. “All that matters is how you end the year and how well you’re playing going into the playoffs so that’s what these games are about.”
The Alouettes’ are kicking off a three-game road stretch, one Fajardo looks forward to.
“You understand what kind of team you have when you play on the road because it’s us versus the world mentality and you can feel everybody against you,” said Fajardo. “Plus, I always tend to find more joy in silencing thousands of people than bringing thousands of people to their feet.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
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