The Montreal Canadiens missed a golden opportunity to take a 3-1 lead over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night, and that was in large part due to their power play.
The Montreal Canadiens woke up this morning tied 2-2 in their series against the Buffalo Sabres, but they could very well have been up 3-1 if they had capitalized on their opportunities. Last night at the Bell Centre, the visitors lacked discipline, and their best players got them into hot water more than once.
Captain Rasmus Dahlin was sent to the box twice for interference, Tage Thompson was guilty of cross-checking, and Bowen Byram got to sit for high-sticking for four minutes at the end of the second period. Montreal’s inability to capitalize on that double-minor was the turning point.
The Habs had seven power-play opportunities but found the back of the net on only one, for a 14.2% success rate. That’s not good enough, especially in the playoffs. You have to make your opponents pay for their lack of discipline.
Don’t expect any personnel change on the top unit; they had their chances, and St-Louis said as much, but there’s room for improvement. The first order of business should be to tell Juraj Slafkovsky that he cannot dance at the blueline as Lane Hutson does. The shifty blueliner has a knack for evading the opponent in the tightest of spaces, but the same can’t be said for the power forward.
The Slovak’s presence is needed down low or in the bumper position, where his big frame can create havoc for any goaltender. At 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, he has the ideal frame to screen goalies, and he’s not that easy to move from the front of the net. A goaltender that’s on his game will stop the shots he can see, and that’s exactly what Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen did last night, even those that came at high speed.
Still, there is some good news. Cole Caufield found the back of the net last night for a second game in a row on the power play, and he looks better by the minute out there. The sniper had five shots on Tuesday night, but he also had a total of 10 attempts on net. As for Lane Hutson, he now has 10 points in 11 playoff games and doesn’t seem affected at all by the increased intensity of postseason play.
When the puck drops on Game 5 on Thursday night, the Canadiens have to be ready and make the most of their opportunities.
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