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The Los Angeles Kings are not going down without a fight.
And who knows, they might not be going down at all.
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Offensive creativity led the Canadiens’ comeback – Habs Eyes on the Prize
Wednesday night’s Game 3 was pleasing to watch. And not just because the Montreal Canadiens won an action-filled, back-and-forth, tense contest against the Pittsburgh Penguins. What made it satisfying was the manner in which the team pulled off the victory: the extra offensive efforts, the touch of boldness, and the much-needed offensive creativity.
If you’ve been following my work for the past year, you probably have seen me write a ton about the Habs’ offence. You’ve read article after article hammering on the same strategic points, principles that I reiterated yet another time in a series of analysis before the play-in series.
Control should be the operative word for the Montreal Canadiens’ offence. By practicing patience and puck rotations, by building scoring chances instead of hoping for a generous bounce, the Canadiens could instill more creativity and diversity in their offence and make themselves harder to shut down. A play-in series against a rusty defence that lacks timing and coordination is the perfect setting for the Habs offence to get away from this ‘‘get it on net’’ mentality to start cycling the puck and manufacturing breakdowns.
Too often, Montreal defencemen are guilty of firing the puck on net as soon as they get it at the blue line. Forwards stack the front of the net and try to get a piece of the disc as it flies to the cage or rebounds to the slot. The strategy sometimes works, but better offensive teams look to sustain the offence; they move the defence around, create breakdowns, and find dangerous plays in the middle of the ice.
Of course, the Habs are not the Toronto Maple Leafs or the Tampa Bay Lightning. There is no Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Morgan Rielly, Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, or Victor Hedman in Montreal. But the team more than not meets the talent requirement to play a similar offensive strategy, one that breathes and flows. Talent helps, but adopting a possession style of offence is more a matter of puck management than one of pure skill.
Every time a player gets the puck inside space in the offensive zone, he is faced with a choice: go for the hope play and send it into traffic, or continue moving it into open areas to stress the defence and build a bigger and bigger advantage.
Ben Chiarot and Shea Weber usually choose the first option. They are content playing the odds, firing on net as soon as they receive a pass at the top of the zone. But last night, they decided to test the Penguins.
Weber opened the scoring by activating in the rush — a commendable decision — but this is not even the goal I have in mind. On Jonathan Drouin’s marker, Chiarot got the puck at the point, but instead of turning to slap it on net, he cycled it back down to his forwards. Then Weber received possession back at the blue line. He could have sent the puck down on the strong side, the crowded one of the ice, or fired it toward the net through a bunch of bodies. But he didn’t. He attracted the defence and passed the puck laterally, into space to his defensive partner.
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Chiarot used the open ice. He received in motion, as to further separate from the high checking forwards, got his head up, took a few steps down the wall, and shifted his weight to his inside foot — again not to fire at a set goalie. In his lateral movement, he spotted Jonathan Drouin right at the doorstep and snapped a pass toward his teammate for the goal.
Chiarot is often regarded as a defensive defenceman, but he is mobile. With a touch of space and confidence, he is a perfectly capable offensive engine. He showed it again on the fourth goal when he locked his offensive rhythm to that of Jeff Petry.
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In that sequence, the Habs’ right-handed quarterback received the puck at the top of the zone. Usually this would signal to the forwards the need to stack the front of the net to tip a shot from the blue-liner, but as the puck moved low-to-high, Drouin instead remained on the weak-side wall.
Seeing no net-front presence, and his winger open for a pass, Petry first dragged the defence laterally, away from his teammate, and fed him the puck. The space created by the defencemen’s movement allowed Drouin to skate up and cycle the puck back down to Phillip Danault, who brought it back up and connected with Chiarot with a pass.
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In the meantime, Petry hid behind the defence on the other side of the zone. Chiarot sent the puck to him, and with a clever shot off the mask of Matt Murray, his partner scored the game-winning goal. Had he wanted to pass, Danault also skated to the slot as a one-timer option.
As the Habs confused the defence by pulling it high and making it spin, Petry had time to calculate his play. Defenders lost their assignments, became puck-focused, and forgot about the Habs defenceman. It wasn’t the much-maligned Jack Johnson on the ice this time, but the Penguins’ first pairing of Kris Letang and Brian Dumoulin accompanied by Zach Aston-Reese, one of the better defensive forwards in the league.
Game 3 could have been a one-off for Montreal, a single showing of flow and creativity created by special circumstances that never reappears again in this series or in the next season. Or it could be the start of a different offence, one that weaponizes space, involves defencemen, and holds its fire until the right time — one way more fun and exciting to watch.
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Bruins' Brad Marchand is center of attention again vs. Maple Leafs, annoying all: 'It's an art' – The Athletic
TORONTO — Brad Marchand has two goals and four assists in Round 1. Marchand’s output includes the deciding strike and an empty-netter in the Boston Bruins’ 4-2 Game 3 win on Wednesday over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
But the statistic that has caught Sheldon Keefe’s eye the most is zero. As in no penalty minutes through three games.
Given Marchand’s reputation and insistence on being in the battle, Keefe finds that number is incomprehensible.
“World-class player, both in ability and how he plays — the gamesmanship and everything,” the Leafs coach said. “It’s world-class. He’s been in the league long enough. As you can see, he gets calls. It’s unbelievable, actually, how it goes. You’ve got to play through that. You’ve got to play through that stuff.
“I don’t think there’s another player in this series that gets away with taking out (Tyler) Bertuzzi’s legs the way he does. There’s not another player in this series that gets away with that. But he does. It’s an art. He’s elite at it.”
In the second period, just about everybody in Scotiabank Arena was watching Marchand and Bertuzzi, former teammates and friends, as they jousted and jabbed and slashed their way up and down the ice. Ilya Samsonov must have been among them. Otherwise, there is no explanation as to how the Toronto goalie muffed a Trent Frederic shot from outside the left-side dot, making it a 1-1 game.
Trent ties it up. pic.twitter.com/1Z2U72iDkj
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) April 25, 2024
Marchand has made a career out of getting people’s attention.
“He wants to get under our skin and influence the refs,” Matthew Knies told reporters. “So I think we’ve just got to be composed and not kind of get into that bulls—. Just play hard and make him (less) effective.”
It will not serve the Leafs well to keep Marchand’s emotions firing. He thrives on conflict. It makes him a better player and leader. Marchand loves it when the temperature spikes.
“The games for him when he plays the best is when there’s a cluster going on around him during the game,” said teammate Jake DeBrusk. “Sometimes even before or after. When he gets into his ‘little ball of hate’ mode, usually good things happen for the team.”
In Marchand’s opinion, his second-period tangle with Bertuzzi was the only time he might have approached a disciplinary line. Otherwise, the captain has tried to keep his nose clean. By now, he knows he cannot afford to lose his cool.
“Bert and I get tied up one shift,” said Marchand. “But outside of that, I’m not really in the mix with anything. I’m just trying to play, and play a good team game. At this time of the year, it gets so emotional. I’m an emotional player.”
Marchand’s juices started pumping early. At the Bruins’ morning skate, coach Jim Montgomery noticed how Marchand was barking before the team’s first drill.
“Just excited,” Marchand said of his morning arrival. “It’s not a given that you get the opportunity in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Just kind of woke up with the gratitude and understanding that it’s a gift to play in this league.”
Marchand’s showdown with Bertuzzi, and Frederic’s goal, elevated the Bruins. He saved his best for last.
Early in the third, while Bertuzzi was in the box for roughing, Marchand did the dirty work to produce the go-ahead goal. Marchand pulled the puck off the right-side wall and walked it toward the net. Samsonov got his glove on Marchand’s shot. But DeBrusk was there to put in the rebound and give the Bruins a 2-1 lead.
Bertuzzi tied the game midway through the third when he deflected Morgan Rielly’s slap pass past Jeremy Swayman. But 28 seconds later, Marchand punched back.
With the home crowd roaring after Bertuzzi’s goal, Frederic and Danton Heinen went to work down low on the forecheck. Heinen came out with the puck. Marchand floated to the right faceoff dot. When Heinen emerged from the battle and looked up, Marchand was open in front. The captain rifled a riser over Samsonov’s glove to give the Bruins a 3-2 lead.
MARCHAND. CORNER POCKET.
🎥 @NHL | #NHLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/qOYotIRzP9
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) April 25, 2024
“Every way possible,” Charlie Coyle said of how Marchand set the Game 3 tone. “His play? Yeah, that’s one, him chipping in scoring-wise. But battling, just not backing down. His leadership on the bench, too. The way he talks and the way he keeps us engaged in what we need to do in that given situation whenever it calls for, he’s always on top of that. So it goes beyond his play on the ice, which was exceptional tonight.”
Marchand ended the night with an empty-net goal. It gave him 55 career playoff goals, tying Cam Neely for the franchise lead.
“Hopefully, there’s plenty more in the tank,” said Marchand. “But to be in the company with a guy like that, who’s one of the most gifted goal-scorers in the history of our franchise and the game, is pretty special.”
Keefe’s critique, cloaked in praise, could convince Game 4’s officials to keep close watch on Marchand. The captain will not mind. He enjoys being in the middle of it.
“There’s a burning intensity in him to win,” Montgomery said. “He doesn’t care about what just happened. Good or bad. He’s on to what’s next.”
(Photo of Brad Marchand: Michael Chisholm / NHLI via Getty Images)
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After trouncing the Los Angeles Kings 7-4 in a one-sided Game 1 romp and then wiping out every sniff of momentum the visitors had in Game 2, the Edmonton Oilers looked like they were fully in charge of a potentially short series.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the sweep.
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The Kings delivered a rousing, spirited response Monday night at Rogers Place, never trailing in a 5-4 overtime victory that evens the series and steals away home ice advantage.
How’s that for a plot twist?
“In the first period we dug ourselves a big hole being down 2-0 and 3-1, but after that I thought we played a lot better, especially in the second period,” said Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch. “I felt like if we ever able to get the lead we could have finished the game but we were never quite able to do that.”
Edmonton spent the entire night in chase mode — trailing 2-0 in the first, 3-1 in the second and 4-3 in the third before Anze Kopitar stuck the knife in at 2:07 of the extra period to spoil the party and flip the series on its head going back to Los Angeles.
The winning goal started with a freaky bounce off of L.A.’s Quinton Byfield along the boards, right to Kopitar for the breakaway. This, after two Kings goals went in off of skates and another as the result of a broken stick in Game 1.
If you’re scoring breaks, L.A. leads the series 2-0.
“You saw some of the goals that they scored last game, you saw some goals that they scored tonight, not to take anything away, but they seem to be fluky goals somehow,” sighed Oilers defenceman Mattias Ekholm, wondering when the Kings run of luck is going to dry up.
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“Whether it’s a bat out of the air or a shot from the outside of the hashmarks on the ice. They just seem to find its ways through. That’s the playoffs.”
Goaltender Stuart Skinner has been on the receiving end of it for two games now. He’s been a victim as time, but the bottom line is nine goals against in two games. He needs to get back to his regular season level.
“Games like this where you feel like the universe is against you, the pucks just not working well for you, it’s part of life,” he said in the post-game dressing room. “It’s part of playoffs too.
“The takeaway for tonight is just kind of, wash it out. I know who I am. I know my game and I’m going to get back to work.”
The Oilers knew exactly what to expect from a desperate Los Angeles team that knew falling behind 2-0 is as close to a death sentence as you can get without actually being dead, and that’s what they got.
The prospect of having to win four of the next five games against a team that’s beaten them 11 of the last 14 provided all of the adrenaline the Kings needed and they rode it to the win.
The outcome wasted a great night from Oilers forward Dylan Holloway, who scored the first two playoff goals of his career in the loss.
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So suddenly it’s the Oilers who are in peril, having to play Games 3 and 4 in Los Angeles against a team that has come to life in a big way. The Kings have finally broken through against a team that’s owned them for a long time and who knows where it goes from here.
“I thought we played a good game and had the puck most of the night,” said Ekholm, adding the Oilers still feel very good about who they are. “They (Kings) are going to have their looks and their bounces, but I still liked the way we played and hopefully we can build off of that.”
THE CALIFORNIA STORM
If Game 1 was played on the Oilers terms, Game 2 was played on L.A.’s.
At the start, anyway.
The Kings scored first (courtesy of an Oilers breakdown that went about four players deep), choked things up (the shots were 4-3 through 14 minutes) and took a 3-1 lead into the first intermission.
Everything was going their way. Even when it wasn’t.
When Brett Kulak got the crowd into it with a rocket of a one-timer to make it 2-1, Drew Doughty took them out of it 29 seconds later when he and Skinner both whiffed on a breakaway shot that trickled in through the five-hole
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Skinner allowed three goals on seven shots in the opening 20 minutes and while you couldn’t lay the deficit at his feet, the Oilers needed a save.
CUE THE COMEBACK
The second period was all Oilers. The same team that ran away with Game 1 showed up in the second period, washing away L.A.s lead in less than 11 minutes and turning the volume in Rogers Place as loud as it’s been in years.
Their relentless forecheck had the Kings on their heels all period, breaking them on Holloway’s first goal of the playoffs at 7:51 and Zach Hyman’s power play marker at 10:33.
In addition to scoring, Hyman also delivered the hit of the playoffs, crushing Phillip Danault with a violent open-ice check in the third period that sent the Kings centre straight to the dressing room. He returned a few minutes later after gathering himself in the room.
GRAND FINALE
The Kings refused to go away, tying it 1:46 into the third period on Kevin Fiala’s goal, but this time it was Edmonton’s turn to answer with a quick strike — Holloway at 3:23.
From there, it was next shot wins territory.
E-mail: rtychkowski@postmedia.com
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Familiar Territory
James van Riemsdyk has played his fair share of playoff contests here in Toronto – but all of them have come in blue and white. On Wednesday night, he would be on the other side for the first time if he indeed makes his Bruins postseason debut, which appeared to be a strong possibility based on the Black & Gold’s morning skate.
“It’s always special to play in this building,” said van Riemsdyk, who played in 20 postseason games with Toronto, including nine at Scotiabank Arena. “In this rivalry, it’s always a lot of fun. This time of year is always amazing, no matter where you’re at – if you’re at a 500-seat arena or a rink with all the tradition and history like this. It’s always fun and always a great opportunity to get in there.”
van Riemsdyk was a healthy scratch for the first two games of this series, following a trend across the second half of the regular season, during which he sat out several games.
“Playoff time of year is always the best time of year,” said van Riemsdyk, who has 20 goals and 31 points in 71 career playoff games between Philadelphia and Toronto. “Obviously, in this rivalry, it’s always a lot of fun – two fun buildings to play in. You cherish every opportunity you get.
“This time of year, you learn that along the way, it’s all about the team. Whatever the team’s asking you to do, that’s always got to be your mindset and approach…you stay at it every day and just take it one day at a time.”
Montgomery said that if van Riemsdyk does re-enter the lineup, he’ll be looking for the veteran winger to help the Bruins’ offensive game. He also complimented van Riemsdyk’s professionalism throughout a trying second half.
“I guess getting his stick on more pucks,” Montgomery said on what he wants to see from van Riemsdyk. “We’ve talked about it a lot of times internally. Him and [Kevin] Shattenkirk have been great. They’re true pros. Every day come to work, come to get better. It’s not an easy situation, but he’s been great.”
van Riemsdyk concurred with his coach’s sentiments about helping Boston’s offensive attack, saying that he’ll be aiming to be around the net as much as possible.
“I think you’ve got to stay true to who you are as a player and play with good details and manage the game well and play to your strengths as a player,” he said. “This time of year, being around the net is always an important trait. You see all the goals being scored, it’s all within 5-10 feet of the net. That’s an area that I pride myself on, so going to be doing my best to get there and have an impact there.”
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