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So… Now what? – Thoughts on Wednesday’s changes – Habs Eyes on the Prize

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Scott

The Montreal Canadiens made the decision to move on from Claude Julien and Kirk Muller, the proper choice, but one with ramifications down the entire organizational ladder. Alex Burrows was plucked from Laval to move on up to the NHL bench with Dominique Ducharme and Luke Richardson.

Burrows was running the Laval power play for the last two seasons, and quite successfully as a first-time coach. In the 2019-2020 season the Rocket finished 8th in the AHL in PP% and are sitting 13th at the time of Burrows’ promotion. The Rocket man advantage functions far differently than the Canadiens, allowing more free-flowing in the offensive zone to create open shooting lanes. In his first year the team could run shots through Charles Hudon, or Xavier Ouellet, but neither player stayed tethered to one spot on the ice, opting to find soft areas to operate in.

In Montreal the big shooting pieces, aka Shea Weber, plant themselves and almost stubbornly refuse to leave. Ironically when Weber did move his shooting lanes against Ottawa he found the back of the net twice, but going forward it will be Burrows job to try and find ways to utilize the Habs best shooter.

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The creativity shouldn’t just stop at revitalizing the power play either, if Chantal Machabée is to be believed (and there’s no reason she shouldn’t be) it was Dominique Ducharme’s offensive mind that drove the Canadiens earlier in the season. We saw a Canadiens team that played with pace, drove hard to dangerous areas, and played unafraid hockey. Whether it was Claude Julien overruling Ducharme or the players overthinking during the losing streak, putting the guy who had them playing exciting hockey back in charge seems like the right play.

I guess my final thought is that the onus for Claude Julien getting fired being on Carey Price’s shoulder feels extremely unfair. At five on five, Price has been more than fine with a .920 SV% (Jake Allen clocks in at .945), but his overall numbers take a massive hit when you factor in the penalty kill. While killing just five on four penalties, Price has a .841 SV% (Allen drops to .900), and before we go and fully blame Price let’s add context.

Somehow, the Canadiens in equal amounts of shorthanded time, have just left Carey Price out to dry, while providing Allen far better coverage in front of him. It’s a bizarre circumstance, but the team across the board isn’t doing what it needs to on the penalty kill. Price can be better on the penalty kill, this is absolutely true, but with the current system he’s being forced to guess where he needs to be or second-guess where his teammates might be in their coverage.

The team is good enough that they don’t need Carey Price to be otherworldly, but if Price is giving you a .920 type of season and you can’t kill any of the penalties you’re taking it’s more than just his fault right now.

For me personally, I’m excited to see a non-retread coach hired. Ducharme was someone I wanted to coach the AHL club during Sylvain Lefebvre’s reign of errors. I think he’s got the pedigree at lower levels to make this a successful next step, and it’s very interesting to see how highly the organization thinks of Alex Burrows as well.

To quote a WWE theme song: It’s a New Day, Yes it is.


Jared

My first reaction is that this is a fresh start for a lot of players. There is a lot of competition for spots in the lineup, both at forward and at defence. I am not expecting insane changes when he doesn’t have a full practice under his belt before the team’s first game, at least not in terms of lineup. What I am expecting to see, however, is a difference in mindset. There will be some changes there for sure.

A fresh start is always exciting because of the hope it brings. Anything is possible.

I am looking forward to seeing how Ducharme settles into the role. Head coach of the Montreal Canadiens is a hard job to jump into, but so is coaching the Canadian World Junior team at home… Which is something he did as well. He coached the 2017 team to a silver medal in Montreal, and then won gold the next year.

I don’t think he’ll wait long to put his stamp on the team. It won’t happen overnight (literally) but the team has two games in Winnipeg before coming back home. By the time the Canadiens host the Senators on March 2, I would expect it to be a different looking team than the one that played the two previous games.

I am curious what the players will say after a few days with Ducharme in charge. This is a guy the players know well. He’s been on the staff for a few years. That may make it easier for him to implement some of his adjustments. He also knows the players well, which is an easier transition than if he was a complete outsider.

Marc Bergevin talked a lot about communication. It’s something that stands out when I watch Joël Bouchard. Bouchard and Ducharme have worked a lot together, from the Montreal Junior, to the Canadian World Junior team. The two are also very similar. I recently re-read this story from when both were hired, and you can see the similarities.

I think there will be some changes that will happen quickly, but I also think some of the benefits to Ducharme taking over will be felt longer-term as well. That’s what Marc Bergevin is counting on and there’s a reason why he was chosen for this role, and all the other roles before this one where he had success.

The NHL is a different ball game, sure, but I always saw Ducharme as a future NHL coach, and I am looking forward to seeing what he does with the opportunity.

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Need to Know: Bruins at Maple Leafs | Game 3 | Boston Bruins – NHL.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.

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“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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NHL teams, take note: Alexandar Georgiev is proof that anything can happen in the playoffs

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It’s hard to say when, exactly, Alexandar Georgiev truly began to win some hearts and change some minds on Tuesday night.

Maybe it was in the back half of the second period; that was when the Colorado Avalanche, for the first time in their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Winnipeg Jets, actually managed to hold a lead for more than, oh, two minutes or thereabouts. Maybe it was when the Avs walked into the locker room up 4-2 with 20 minutes to play.

Maybe it was midway through the third, when a series of saves by the Avalanche’s beleaguered starting goaltender helped preserve their two-goal buffer. Maybe it was when the buzzer sounded after their 5-2 win. Maybe it didn’t happen until the Avs made it into their locker room at Canada Life Centre, tied 1-1 with the Jets and headed for Denver.

At some point, though, it should’ve happened. If you were watching, you should’ve realized that Colorado — after a 7-6 Game 1 loss that had us all talking not just about all those goals, but at least one of the guys who’d allowed them — had squared things up, thanks in part to … well, that same guy.

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Georgiev, indeed, was the story of Game 2, stopping 28 of 30 shots, improving as the game progressed and providing a lesson on how quickly things can change in the playoffs — series to series, game to game, period to period, moment to moment. The narrative doesn’t always hold. Facts don’t always cooperate. Alexandar Georgiev, for one night and counting, was not a problem for the Colorado Avalanche. He was, in direct opposition to the way he played in Game 1, a solution. How could we view him as anything else?

He had a few big-moment saves, and most of them came midway through the third period with his team up 4-2. There he was with 12:44 remaining, stopping a puck that had awkwardly rolled off Nino Niederreiter’s stick; two missed posts by the Avs at the other end had helped spring Niederreiter for a breakaway. Game 1 Georgiev doesn’t make that save.

There he was, stopping Nikolaj Ehlers from the circle a few minutes later. There wasn’t an Avs defender within five feet, and there was nothing awkward about the puck Ehlers fired at his shoulder. Game 1 Georgiev gets scored on twice.

(That one might’ve been poetic justice. It was Ehlers who’d put the first puck of the night on Georgiev — a chip from center ice that he stopped, and that the crowd in Winnipeg greeted with the ol’ mock cheer. Whoops.)

By the end of it all, Georgiev had stared down Connor Hellebuyck and won, saving nearly 0.5 goals more than expected according to Natural Stat Trick, giving the Avalanche precisely what they needed and looking almost nothing like the guy we’d seen a couple days before. Conventional wisdom coming into this series was twofold: That the Avs have firepower, high-end talent and an overall edge — slight as it may be — on Winnipeg, and that Georgiev is shaky enough to nuke the whole thing.

That wasn’t without merit, either. Georgiev’s .897 save percentage in the regular season was six percentage points below the league average, and he hadn’t broken even in expected goals allowed (minus-0.21). He’d been even worse down the stretch, putting up an .856 save percentage in his final eight appearances, and worse still in Game 1, allowing seven goals on 23 shots and more than five goals more than expected. That’s not bad; that’s an oil spill. Writing him off would’ve been understandable. Writing off Jared Bednar for rolling him out there in Game 2 would’ve been understandable. Writing the Avs off — for all of Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar’s greatness — would’ve been understandable.

It just wouldn’t have been correct.

The fact that this all went down now, four days into a two-month ordeal, is a gift — because the postseason thus far has been short on surprises, almost as a rule. The Rangers and Oilers are overwhelming the Capitals and Kings. The Hurricanes are halfway done with the Islanders. The Canucks are struggling with the Predators. PanthersLightning is tight, but one team is clearly better than the other. BruinsMaple Leafs is a close matchup featuring psychic baggage that we don’t have time to unpack. In Golden KnightsStars, Mark Stone came back and scored a huge goal.

None of that should shock you. None of that should make you blink.

Georgiev being good enough for Colorado, though? After what we saw in Game 1? Strange, surprising and completely true. For now.

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"Laugh it off": Evander Kane says Oilers won’t take the bait against Kings | Offside

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The LA Kings tried every trick in the book to get the Edmonton Oilers off their game last night.

Hacks after the whistle, punches to the face, and interference with line changes were just some of the things that the Oilers had to endure, and throughout it all, there was not an ounce of retaliation.

All that badgering by the Kings resulted in at least two penalties against them and fuelled a red-hot Oilers power play that made them pay with three goals on four chances. That was by design for Edmonton, who knew that LA was going to try to pester them as much as they could.

That may have worked on past Oilers teams, but not this one.

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“We’ve been in a series now for the third year in a row with these guys,” Kane said after practice this morning. “We know them, they know us… it’s one of those things where maybe it makes it a little easier to kind of laugh it off, walk away, or take a shot.

“That type of stuff isn’t gonna affect us.”

Once upon a time, this type of play would get under the Oilers’ skin and result in retaliatory penalties. Yet, with a few hard-knock lessons handed down to them in the past few seasons, it seems like the team is as determined as ever to cut the extracurriculars and focus on getting revenge on the scoreboard.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the longest-tenured player on this Oilers team, had to keep his emotions in check with Kings defender Vladislav Gavrikov, who punched him in the face early in the game. The easy reaction would be to punch back, but the veteran Nugen-Hopkins took his licks and wound up scoring later in the game.

“It’s going to be physical, the emotions are high, and there’s probably going to be some stuff after the whistle,” Nugent-Hopkins told reporters this morning. “I think it’s important to stay poised out there and not retaliate and just play through the whistles and let the other stuff just kind of happen.”

Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch also noticed his team’s discipline. Playoff hockey is full of emotion, and keeping those in check to focus on the larger goal is difficult. He was happy with how his team set the tone.

“It’s not necessarily easy to do,” Knoblauch said. “You get punched in the face and sometimes the referees feel it’s enough to call a penalty, sometimes it’s not… You just have to take them, and sometimes, you get rewarded with the power play.

“I liked our guy’s response and we want to be sticking up for each other, we want to have that pack mentality, but it’s really important that we’re not the ones taking that extra penalty.”

There is no doubt that the Kings will continue to poke and prod at the Oilers as the series continues. Keeping those retaliations in check will only get more difficult, but if the team can continue to succeed on the scoreboard, it could get easier.

 

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