Subj : Canadiens Roster Depth Key to Early Season Success
To : All
From : The Hockey Writers - Main
Date : Tue Feb 02 2021 04:40 am
The Canadiens are off to one of their hottest starts in recent memory, and it
seems like the offseason moves that Marc Bergevin has made are all paying off.
There are many reasons why they are having such a good start, but the biggest
would be the team';s depth. Each line is contributing, and the team so far is
probably the best in the league.A Look Back at Last Season
Last season the Canadiens finished 24th in the league and only made the
playoffs because the NHL allowed 24 teams to participate in them as part of the
league';s return to play plan. However, when the 2019-20 season started, the
Canadiens were among the top teams in the league over the first 20 games of the
season with an 11-5-4 record. The team was on a three-game winning streak when
forward Jonathan Drouin got injured in a victory over the Washington Capitals.
He was the Canadiens leading scorer with 15 points in 19 games and would be a
great loss, but no one would have predicted what happened next.Jonathan Drouin,
Montreal Canadiens (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
The Canadiens would lose eight straight games, along with Joel Armia to a
long-term injury, plus Brendan Gallagher for 13 games due to injuries. This
would reveal the biggest issue the Habs had in their lineup, which was the lack
of depth the team needed to continue to win through injuries. They would have
more injuries where players would miss ten games or more, such as Shea Weber,
Ben Chiarot, Nate Thompson, Tomas Tatar, and Paul Byron. The Canadiens would go
on a second eight-game losing streak, which would ultimately seal their fate
for the season.Depth Was a Focus in the Offseason
Every team has injuries, and the Canadiens were not special or different from
any other team in that regard. As a matter of fact, they were 11th in man-games
lost last season. The difference between the Canadiens man-games lost and the
other teams were the players. The Pittsburgh Penguins also had huge injury
issues with star players like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, but the
Penguins'; depth helped them stay afloat and still be in a playoff position
when the season went on pause.Related: Canadiens Must Choose Between Armia and
Perry, Right?
The Canadiens injuries had a bigger impact because they didn';t have the
players skilled enough to replace the injured ones. In other words, the bottom
six didn';t have the skill to move into the top six to keep a balanced scoring
pace. With Drouin and Armia injured, they were left with players like Nick
Cousins and Jordan Weal to play top-six minutes, which isn';t very sustainable.
To fix this, Bergevin would need to fill the top six with more talent to
improve the bottom by pushing better players down the lineup. Marc Bergevin,
Montreal Canadiens, 2018 NHL Draft, Dallas, TX, June 22, 2018 (Amy Irvin / The
Hockey Writers)
In the offseason, Bergevin did just that: he acquired Josh Anderson, signed
Tyler Toffoli, and then added extra depth signing Michael Frolik and Corey
Perry. With the acquisitions of Anderson and Toffoli alone, the Canadiens
improved their top six. Subsequently, they improved their bottom six by pushing
players like Artturi Lehkonen and Paul Byron to the fourth line. Toffoli and
Armia, who last year were second liners, are now playing on the third line,
giving the Habs three solid lines.Canadiens Have a Well-Balanced Lineup
As mentioned in the previous paragraph, Toffoli and Armia are on the third line
for the Canadiens. The team has Tatar and Gallagher on the first line,
followed by Drouin and Anderson on the second, with Toffoli and Armia on the
third. They are centered by Phil Danault, Nick Suzuki and Jesperi Kotkaniemi.
On most any other team in the NHL, these would all be solid second lines. With
Byron, Jake Evans, and Lehkonen on the fourth line, the Canadiens essentially
have four lines of top-nine forwards.Nick Suzuki, Montreal Canadiens (Jess
Starr/The Hockey Writers)
With a well-balanced lineup, head coach Claude Julien can curb the amount of
ice time for his players. So far this season, no Canadiens forward has more
than 13:11 of ice time at even strength, and the difference between the highest
ice time and the lowest amongst the top three lines is only 1:16. The
Canadiens are so balanced that there is no real distinction on which line is
the first line, and Julien can deploy any line he wants in any situation
because of the team';s depth. In a season with a condensed schedule, and a team
can play five in a week, the fewer minutes your top lines play, the better it
is for the players and team.Good Depth Equals Good Hockey
Since the Canadiens now have the depth on the roster, their early season
success has proven that when you can use three solid lines instead of one, you
tend to win more hockey games than you lose. The Habs are off to a hot start,
going 5-1-2 and are among the leaders in most offensive categories, with the
potential to have up to eight 20 goal scorers in their lineup, giving them the
ability to have one on every line. When every line can score goals, it';s
harder for the other teams they play to defend their own net.Related: Canadiens
Fans No Longer Divided When it Comes to Bergevin
After eight games, the Canadiens have four players on a point-per-game pace -
Toffoli, Drouin, Armia, and Jeff Petry. All but three players have scored at
least one goal, and every player who has played at least one game has scored a
minimum of two points. The Canadiens have the top line in the league in xGF%
with a minimum of 60 minutes played and two lines in the top 10. This is all
due to the team';s improved depth, as the player';s minutes are minimized, and
the effort is maximized.Too Much Depth Creates Good Problems
The Canadiens haven';t had many injuries so far this season, and only Armia has
been out for any significant amount of time - three games - but he should be
back soon. Perry has stepped in and done a terrific job filling in on the third
line, getting two points in three games. And he has played so well that when
Armia returns, Julien will have an issue deciding who he takes out of the
lineup. Armia is a point-per-game player, Perry is playing well and providing a
good spark, and the wingers on the fourth line - Byron and Lehkonen - are
great at killing penalties.Paul Byron #41, Montreal Canadiens - February 20,
2018 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
The Canadiens have played eight games and already have to decide who to sit and
who to play. That decision has nothing to do with anyone playing poorly, but
all players involved are playing well at their role, including the ones
returning from injury. In the end, it will come down to who';s playing better
when Armia returns. This isn';t an option the Canadiens had last season; last
season, they couldn';t wait for players to return so they can take their
replacement out of the lineup. This only shows how deep their depth is when a
coach';s biggest worry is who to sit because he doesn';t have enough room to
get everyone in.
Right now, the odd man out statistically and based on his play so far would be
Byron. He hasn';t helped offensively and isn';t on the top penalty kill
anymore. In addition to this, he could be playing with an injured foot that he
hurt when a Shea Weber shot went off his skate. This season';s depth is a
complete 180 from last season, and it';s so good that Victor Mete is asking for
a trade because he can';t get any ice time on defence. The Canadiens have
everything going for them so far this season. Now they just have use it to keep
winning hockey games.
The post Canadiens'; Roster Depth Key to Early Season Success appeared first on
The Hockey Writers.
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