Canadiens’ Power Play Faces Big Change

The Montreal Canadiens started the season without Oliver Kapanen, and now they are also without Ivan Demidov, which means that two-thirds of their second line is out of order. Unfortunately, that will also affect the Habs' power play, because Demidov played a huge role on the man advantage. Not only because his one-timer was one of the set plays the unit was looking for, but also because of his chemistry with blueliner Lane Hutson.

Still, life has to go for the two to four weeks the Russian wonder is likely to be out of the lineup with his lower-body injury, and Martin St-Louis has decided to put Chris Kreider on his top power-play unit. The coach didn’t want to elaborate on who would play where, but chances are Kreider will be sitting in his office, at the front of the net.

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The 6-foot-3, 232-pound forward has made his bread and butter on the power play over the years. In 2021-22, he scored 52 goals, 26 on the man advantage, and totaled 35 power-play points. Last season, 17 of his 50 points came on the man advantage. Speaking to the media after the morning skate, St-Louis didn’t seem to be worried at all about the change to his first power-play unit, but it will still need to adapt.

Much like Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, the players on the man-advantage will have to learn to make the most of Kreider’s presence, and that may require a bit of “re-programming,” so to speak. As things stand, the Canadiens take 24.5 shots on net per game; they’ve been about quality over quantity for several seasons now. When Caufield shoots, he shoots to score, not to get a tip or a rebound. When Lane Hutson evades coverage at the blueline, his first instinct is usually to find a good passing play to an open player.

To make the most of Kreider’s presence, the Habs will need to take more shots. Those shots don’t have to be masterpieces either; they need to get them toward the net and hope Kreider can work his magic. Of course, there must be a shooting lane first and foremost; you don’t want blocked shots and a counterattack on the fly, but you'll have to make a conscious effort to adjust.

Tuesday night’s visitors, the Carolina Hurricanes, have a 92.3% penalty-kill success rate so far this season. Of course, that’s only across three games, but they were second overall last season with an 80.5% success rate. Capitalizing on any penalty won’t be a walk in the park for the Habs on Tuesday night, but then again, it rarely is.

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