The 31st-ranked team in the NHL in goals allowed had quite a challenge on its hands on Sunday night at the Bell Centre. The Edmonton Oilers entered their affair against the Montreal Canadiens with 28 goals in their last five games.
The Canadiens looked to find a way to defend better, and they did — not by changing their system, but by simply concentrating on basic principles. Montreal came away with a 4-1 win.
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The Canadiens coaching staff said Sunday that they wanted a lot more concentration and harder work on defence. They wanted the players to simplify things. This is code for “make the easy play and the smart play.” It means don’t take chances.
They listened in a first period where Montreal didn’t get caught on a single odd-man rush, and they cleared the zone effectively using more caution than they had. With all that good, they still found themselves down two men on a full five-on-three power play for the high-powered Oilers.
It was a tremendous kill. The best kill for the Canadiens in years. Edmonton’s Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard, Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins against Montreal’s Jake Evans, Noah Dobson and Mike Matheson. Somehow, with the excellent work of goaltender Jakub Dobes included, the Canadiens killed the two-man advantage.
The Matheson-Dobson pair was outstanding. They faced McDavid for most of the night. With the Oilers’ goalie pulled, Matheson was on the ice for five of the last five and a half minutes of the contest. It was a stunning performance from Matheson. The man does not tire.
Dobes was chosen instead of Samuel Montembeault, who hasn’t started a game in 12 days. The long leash that Montembeault had appears to have been severed. Another change Sunday was Dobson and Matheson back together, no doubt to be strong against the Oilers’ top line.
It also created a change on the second pair that very much worked. Alexandre Carrier got Lane Hutson as his partner. Carrier turned in his best game in a long time. The third period got easier matchups and was stable with Adam Engstrom and Jayden Struble.
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Offensively, the Canadiens found a lot of offence against an Oilers team that is horrific on defence. Nick Suzuki had two breakaways. Josh Anderson had a breakaway. Alexandre Texier had a breakaway. Calvin Pickard stopped all four.
Ivan Demidov has a wicked release. He fires the puck with accuracy as well. He’s a player who should be shooting every good chance he gets. An elite sniper shoots around three shots per game. That’s what Cole Caufield has as his total. Demidov entered the night with only 38 shots in 31 games. He has to shoot more.
In the second period, Demidov had a power-play chance, and finally, he did not defer to other options but took the shot himself. It was a perfect shot — off the crossbar and down for the ice-breaker in the contest. Demidov will be a top goal-scorer in the league. He only needs to believe he should be the one shooting.
The back six forwards have taken a lot of heat recently, but they were strong. Evans, Texier and Anderson had good chemistry. Texier counted on the short side with a perfect shot on a two-on-one. Joe Veleno scored on a giveaway by McDavid behind the net right into the slot for a one-timer.
Juraj Slafkovsky was the catalyst for a tally as well, as he continues to improve. He is seeing the ice beautifully now, and slowing it all down as one senses when a player finally figures it out. Slafkovsky found Suzuki with a perfect pass for an easy tap-in.
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After some of the worst defence of the season in New York City, the Canadiens finally seemed to have a sense of the hard work and the concentration it takes to help out a goalie. It was the high-flying Oilers, and Montreal kept the chances down.
They didn’t allow a single odd-man rush. They cleared the defensive zone more effectively, even if sometimes it wasn’t pretty, flipping it high over heads instead of trying to pass through pressure.
The Canadiens’ issues aren’t system-related. They are discipline-related. All teams are going to give up cycle chances. Those are the small gaps in coverage that are difficult to contain, especially against a quick-strike offence. However, don’t give up the easy chances like breakaways and two-on-ones, or leaving the zone too early.
The Canadiens worked hard and they worked smart. They made sure they were on the defensive side of the puck. That’s the formula for winning hockey. No goats for the Canadiens.
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The Canadiens have the rights to perhaps the best player in junior hockey so far this season. Bryce Pickford was chosen 81st overall last draft as Nick Bobrov continues to find absolute gems after the first round.
Pickford scored two goals for the Medicine Hat Tigers Saturday night. He has five multiple-goal games in a row. He has 24 goals in 30 games. These are remarkable totals for a forward, but he’s a right-shot defenceman. He could win player of the year in the CHL. It is likely between him and Jake O’Brien at the moment.
Pickford is 19 years old, so one year older than the others taken in the last draft. That’s not vital. What is important is that a player keeps developing, and he is developing at a stunning rate in the Western Hockey League. He’s a winner as well. Pickford has captured two league titles, in Seattle and in Medicine Hat.
Pickford is fourth in the league in scoring. On Saturday night, he went end-to-end to score his second goal of the night. He has no size issues either. He is six-foot-one.
Naturally, Pickford will need to refine his game as he enters the pro ranks. He may sign at the end of the year to go to the Canadiens’ AHL affiliate in Laval. The only thing standing in the way is that the Tigers are among the league’s best and could have a long playoff run.
Pickford will get an entry-level contract offer from the Canadiens. Laval will be his next challenge because he’s mastered the WHL. The only mystery is why Team Canada didn’t choose him for the world juniors. Pickford is a late bloomer, so he likely didn’t meet their pedigree standards. Team Canada also seems to favour the Ontario Hockey League.
Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sports writer, brings you Call of the Wilde on globalnews.ca after each Canadiens game.
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