Montreal Canadiens power play woes continue in Game 4

[EGarro]

The Montreal Canadiens power play has been abysmal in their first round series vs Senators. Thankfully for the Habs it hasn't made a difference in the series other than the fact that Game 4 would've gone differently if the Habs scored one goal.

They might not be able to get away with it against someone else like they have against Ottawa.

The Habs coaching staff look at the power play at a different angle then what you may expect. Check it out:

http://alongtheboards.com/2015/04/montreal-canadiens-power-play-woes-continue-game-4/

Opinions? Do you think they should be doing something different?
Do you think the line combinations are the issue?

Click to read more...

 

[coolasprICE]

Habs have powerplay issues? I would have never known. Great article - A real eye opener! Two thumbs up!

 

[Skip Bayless]

The sens adjusted and are now putting tons of pressure to the puck carrier, locking up the the strong side of the puck, which accentuates the main weakness of the habs on the PP; They have trouble moving the box by moving the puck quickly and creating opportunities on the fly.

You just see a bunch of set up shots that everyone sees coming from a mile and a half most of the time.

 

[LeHab]

Our offense sucks, we still win games. Business as usual.

 

[habfaninvictoria]

That's some real quality reporting there.

 

[expy]

Because Desharnais is on it.

 

[bobholly39]

Because Desharnais is on it.

Desharnais is fine...he plays hard with effort. If anything it's Smith Pelley who has no place on it - the guy is horrible. He may be giving a lot of effort but he just doesn't have any talent and can't convert anything.


Also - I have no issues with power play being bad. In fact - I rather we be winning *without* the power play as we currently are, than with it. That way we can always improve.

 

[BLONG7]

The sens adjusted and are now putting tons of pressure to the puck carrier, locking up the the strong side of the puck, which accentuates the main weakness of the habs on the PP; They have trouble moving the box by moving the puck quickly and creating opportunities on the fly.

You just see a bunch of set up shots that everyone sees coming from a mile and a half most of the time.

This is where our coaches come in.........and make adjustments themselves, but that's not what happens, we just do the same thing, over and over...........Davey, your up!!

 

[jwrocks1]

Desharnais is fine...he plays hard with effort. If anything it's Smith Pelley who has no place on it - the guy is horrible. He may be giving a lot of effort but he just doesn't have any talent and can't convert anything.


Also - I have no issues with power play being bad. In fact - I rather we be winning *without* the power play as we currently are, than with it. That way we can always improve.

But unless they improve it, it becomes another excuse. And it can cost games. Look at game 4, one PP goal could have made all the difference.

DD can really thread the needle, but he rarely if ever shoots....Defences know this, and it makes it easy to defend

Having DD out there for every PP eating up tons of mins...not good. Give some of his PP time to Galchenyuk and Eller. They tend to play in close to the net, they could draw Dmen down low, they also have the vision to feed tht puck to Patches or to the point. So now we have something that we are seriously missing....a different look....and traffic at the net.

 

[Natey]

You seriously wrote an entire article? You could have just wrote the words "Desharnais kills the PP because he sucks." And you'd get twice the response here.

 

[Skip Bayless]

This is where our coaches come in.........and make adjustments themselves, but that's not what happens, we just do the same thing, over and over...........Davey, your up!!

No matter what formation they use, they still gotta move the puck, I think it's an issue with how they perceive the PP. I feel at times that the players use the PP to take a break and not get scored on, and the coaches are not really pushing them by staying with the same lines every game no matter what. I feel like they don't give the importance a productive PP needs to be given and the players are kinda complacent.

Strategy-wise, the habs have tried everything during the season without success, so I don't think the problem really lies there. I just think the players revert back to look for shortcuts and things that work quick no matter how they're set up. But the coaching staff keeps the same people playing together and it's been stale for a long long time.

 

[SB164]

Here’s a look at three recent Stanley Cup champions and where each ranked out of 16 playoff teams:

The 2013 Chicago Blackhawks were 13th on the power play with a 11.4 percent success rate;

The 2012 Los Angeles Kings were 12th at just 12.8 percent;

And the 2011 Boston Bruins were 14th at 11.4 percent.

On the flip side, those same championship teams excelled at the penalty kill:

The 2013 Blackhawks were third on the penalty kill at a 90.7 percent kill rate;

The 2012 Kings were tied for first at 92.1 percent;

The 2011 Bruins were sixth at 84.4 percent.

In other words, the PK trumps the PP at this time of year.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nhl/post/_/id/36112/canadiens-need-power-play-boost-in-tight-games

 

[Paddyjack]

I don't think is the problem is DD as much as DSP is. I understand DSP's role in 5vs5 but he certainly does not have the skills to be on the PP. Max is clearly not 100% either.

When Max was injuried the Plek-Galch-Gally was starting the PP and I thought they were creating lots of chances. Then, Max scored a goal on the PP... and this was over. Ever since then it is that dreadful DD-Max-DSP line that starts the PP.

But MT can't see that...

 

[BLONG7]

I don't think is the problem is DD as much as DSP is. I understand DSP's role in 5vs5 but he certainly does not have the skills to be on the PP. Max is clearly not 100% either.

When Max was injuried the Plek-Galch-Gally was starting the PP and I thought they were creating lots of chances. Then, Max scored a goal on the PP... and this was over. Ever since then it is that dreadful DD-Max-DSP line that starts the PP.

But MT can't see that...

MT is suffering from an upper body injury...