Claude Julien sent a much-needed message to his team prior to Saturday night’s matchup against the last-place Los Angeles Kings.
He described their play as ordinary, but ordinary was a diplomatic way of putting it given they had been playing well below their own standards in recent games.
The Canadiens actually split the shots evenly with their last three opponents but managed to control only 42.8 percent of the high-danger chances in that time frame, down significantly from 53.2 percent in their previous 13 games. Producing over 10 percent fewer quality chances than usual is always cause for concern, but it can also be a blip on the radar. However, once you consider defencemen outscored forwards 5-3 in those three games, it becomes clear Julien was trying to limit the damage to a series of games before it became a season-long trend.
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His four lines, which usually share the scoring responsibilities on various nights, had stopped scoring, not to mention his top line of Tomas Tatar, Phillip Danault and Brendan Gallagher, usually a beacon of offensive reliability, had scored just one goal in the last three games.
Their lack of production and Tatar’s indiscipline, as well as a weak opponent, gave Julien the perfect excuse to pull out the blender, which resulted in Jonathan Drouin taking Tatar’s spot on the first line. Julien also replaced the inconsistent Mike Reilly with Brett Kulak, who happens to be the Canadiens’ best defenceman when it comes to controlling shots this season.
For the most part, the message was well received, as the Canadiens controlled the play against the Kings by using their speed in transition to generate several high-danger scoring chances. But much to Julien’s dismay, they did decide to sit on their lead in the third, which almost led to a Kings comeback.
Ultimately, a player who has quietly placed among the most dangerous defencemen in the offensive zone this season ended up making the difference, as Shea Weber scored twice to secure a 3-2 win for the Canadiens.
Taking control
The Kings represented the perfect opponent for a morale-boosting win, but despite their lowly placement in the standings, the NHL’s forced parity ensures that no game can be circled as an easy win. Regardless of one’s opponent, the key is to establish a game plan first so as to force the opponent to adapt to a team’s style of play and not vice versa.
The Canadiens did just that on Saturday, taking away all the Kings’ time and space in the defensive zone from the get-go.
Not to be outdone by his defencemen, who did a much better job when it came to controlling the blue line, Carey Price decided to help with the breakouts.
Sure, the breakout he started in the first period was squeaky clean and led directly to a great scoring opportunity, but I wanted to take a moment to point out just how calm he remained as Alex Iafallo bore down on him.
His puck-moving abilities have been well documented and we’re almost desensitized to his passing, but once in a while, it’s healthy to remind ourselves that very few goaltenders have the icy veins necessary to start the breakout in that kind of situation.
Taking the next step
Victor Mete is playing some of the best hockey in his career. And I only say “some” so it doesn’t seem like I’m basing it all off his recent goal-scoring surge. He started playing with more confidence well prior to his goals, and that confidence has grown exponentially since then.
But it’s not just in the offensive zone. Yes, he’s using his speed to generate scoring chances and jump into the play when necessary, but he’s also using it in accordance with smart defensive positioning to break up opposing scoring chances, as evidenced by the clip below.
Don’t call it a comeback
Weber’s off-balance goal against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday was something else. He managed to generate enough torque to put one of those generic truck commercials to shame. (You know the ones I’m talking about — they’re always towing a gigantic boat for some reason, as if every truck owner in the history of mankind also owns a mini-yacht they bring to the lake when they’re not busy loading their truck with ridiculous quantities of gravel that is randomly dropped from 30 metres above the recommended height.)
And he scored that goal while adapting to, let’s be honest, a bad pass by Drouin.
He decided to up the stakes Saturday by outdoing his previous circus shot, this time with a routine that had a much higher level of difficulty.
Not only did he add injury to insult by banking one of his classic slap shots off Matt Roy before the goal, but he also recuperated his own rebound and hit a Vladimir Guerrero-style home run on a pitch that was heading to the dirt. What’s more, he never even allowed the puck to touch the ice after the initial shot.
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If I’m not explaining the play very clearly, it’s probably because I’ve never seen a player take his own rebound and Happy Gilmore his way to a goal.
Maybe I should let the footage do the talking:
It took just 15 seconds for the Canadiens to add to their lead. Nate Thompson’s first goal of the season was a direct result of a sustained forecheck, the same sustained forecheck that set the tone earlier in the game for the Canadiens.
Tatar, who might have convinced Julien to end his first-line banishment early thanks to a strong game, created a turnover without taking a penalty, which gave Artturi Lehkonen the perfect opportunity to find Thompson.
It’s also worth noting Thompson currently has an incredible mustache. It had no impact on the game (or did it?) but it’s definitely worth mentioning.
Navigating choppy waters
Despite his reputation as a defensive defenceman, I have a theory that Weber has transitioned his game into an offensive role in recent years. If you take a close look at his numbers, as Man Mountain’s value in the defensive zone slowly erodes, his offensive production continues to climb. It’s a very interesting phenomenon, especially at his age and given his reputation, but it’s the mark of a smart player. Eventually, one has to adapt.
With 13 points in 17 games, Weber is currently on pace to have the most productive season of his career, and he’s visibly more active in the offensive zone, joining the rush with more frequency and with better timing than in previous years.
Final Word
There’s still work to be done, probably a lot of work if you ask Julien, but despite mailing it in for the last 20 minutes, the Canadiens kept the Kings to just three five-on-five high-danger opportunities, much better than the 12 they had been averaging in the previous three games.
A win is a win, and the ideal result against the Kings would have been a dominant performance that lasted 60 minutes. The Canadiens let up in the third, and though it didn’t cost them on Saturday night, it very well could have if they weren’t facing a team that was last in the NHL.
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But enough negativity for now.
What matters most is the Canadiens took two points from a team they needed to beat. It might seem a little early to talk about necessary wins, but it’s the time of year when the cream tends to rise to the top of the logjam that is the NHL standings.
To give you an idea of just how tight things are at the moment, going into the game, the Canadiens were tied for 15th overall in the NHL, one point up from 22nd.
Following their victory against the Kings, they’re sitting in ninth.
(Photo: David Kirouac / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)