The Montreal Canadiens' top line should play a much more offensive role in the second round.
After being muzzled at even strength by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round, the Montreal Canadiens’ first line will have to return to its very productive nature if the Habs are to beat the Buffalo Sabres. While the Habs’ scoring depth delivered in the last series, it would be unreasonable to expect that kind of production to be sustainable.
The good news for the Tricolore is that, historically, all three players have done well against Buffalo. Nick Suzuki has 26 points in 21 career games against the Sabres, Cole Caufield has 16 points in 18 games, and Juraj Slafkovsky has nine points in 13 games. In the regular season, the captain had 101 points, Caufield had 51 goals and 88 points, and Slafkovsky had 30 goals and 73 points.
While the Bolts’ game plan was largely focused on preventing the Canadiens’ top unit from scoring and putting their defensive forwards to good use, the Sabres should have a different game plan. Just like the Habs, the Sabres are a young group with plenty of speed and play an offensive brand of hockey. In the regular season, Buffalo scored 283 goals, four more than the Canadiens.
There should be more time and space on the ice for the Canadiens’ top line to play their usual kind of hockey, to pass the puck and make plays. Against Tampa, as soon as they were in possession, the Lightning’s forward group were on them, pressing them, which led to rushed passes and lost possession. Of course, the Sabres will have done their pre-scout on the Canadiens and seen how the Lightning countered the Habs’ top line, but they don’t have the right personnel to use that strategy.
Furthermore, Lindy Ruff is much more of a traditional coach than Jon Cooper, and he doesn’t juggle his lines and change them on the fly. While Martin St-Louis showed that he was able to coach that kind of game in the first round, chances are he won’t have to resort to that in this matchup and will be back in his comfort zone.
The top line shouldn’t be the only one to benefit from the Sabres’ style; Ivan Demidov, who only got a power play assist in the first round, should also be much more visible in this second round. He should be able to skate with the puck, to make plays, and dazzle as he has in the regular season, which made him a finalist for the Calder Trophy.
The top guns were bailed out by the Canadiens' depth scoring in the first round, and it's time for them to return the favour.
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