There was a recurring theme at the start of the season: the Habs are good at five-on-five. At one point, the club was among the league’s good teams at even strength.
Of course, that was in October. The sample size was small… but more importantly, with Martin St-Louis’ men suffering from indiscipline and taking a lot of penalties, the game was rarely five-on-five.
There was a time when the power play stabilized a little (the CH had a power play that held out of Christian charity, but it worked), but in recent weeks, it’s been difficult.
Need I remind you that just last week, we were talking about an eight-game stretch without finding the back of the net with a man on for the Habs?
No, it’s not ideal.
And let’s just say that things aren’t much better at the numerical disadvantage. As Simon-Olivier Lorange of La Presse reports, the Habs have given away at least one shorthanded goal in seven of their last ten games.
Le Canadien | ” Ça ne fonctionne pas ” en désavantage numérique https://t.co/OTp4AVq3JN
– La Presse (@LP_LaPresse) December 6, 2023
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According to the La Presse reporter, since November 14, the CH has been giving up about a goal every three chances while defending with fewer men on the ice.
The CH misses David Savard, who won’t return to action tonight.
#Habs Martin St-Louis says David Savard is nearing a return to the line-up but will *not* play on Thursday.
– Priyanta Emrith (@HabsInHighHeels) December 5, 2023
Johnathan Kovacevic confirmed that the guys continue to work hard as a group to get through. He says that rehearsals help and that you have to work as a foursome to improve.
At least they know what to work on.
The trend [of the diamond technique in the short-handed] started six or seven games ago.
Our opponents started exposing us with plays down in the zone, where we gave them too much space. – Johnathan Kovacevic
That’s all well and good, but the club still ranks 29th (73.4% efficiency) in the league in PK. And on the power play, they’ve quickly slipped from 10th to 23rd (17.8%) in the NHL, as of this morning.
No, it won’t be easy against the Kings tonight…
The Habs, while a little more disciplined these days, have still taken 116 penalties in 25 games this season, fourth in the league. They’ve taken 113, which puts them in the top-10, ninth in the league.
Of course, always relying on special units tires some guys more than others.
Highlights
– Caroline Ouellette will be honoured tonight at the Bell Centre.
A tribute will be paid to Caroline Ouellette, recently inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, prior to tonight’s game.
Pre-game @SkipTheDishes⤵️https://t.co/TOBvSKBtTR
– Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) December 7, 2023
– Connor Bedard is not happy right now. [JdeM]
– Oh, yeah.
Man steals $22 million from Jaguars and bills himself 🤯 https://t.co/e43CJYWqCb
– TVA Sports (@TVASports) December 7, 2023
– Nice catch.
The National champions are improving. https://t.co/YbBlzaUkRK
– Passion MLB (@passion_mlb) December 7, 2023
– Keep an eye on the Flames until March.
The Calgary Flames trading Nikita Zadorov last week has brought up new rumors and speculation about their other pending UFA D-men.
🔥 @SpectorsHockey‘s Rumour Roundup: Flames Edition 🔥 https://t.co/l5YA8cG0ES
– The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) December 7, 2023