Game day! It’s Tuesday August 18, 2020. The Canadian, who finished 24th overall last season, is about to play in the afternoon in Toronto (when he is the home club) the most important match the last five or even 10 years. There will be no supporters in the stands and Martin McGuire will want to fart yeule from an American producer.
Read that last paragraph again and tell me that life “Normal” has resumed its course …
At least, CH fans get great summer hockey, a lot of fun and emotions.
Men from Claude Julien Kirk Muller just can’t afford to escape it this afternoon. A victory and they will start a new one tomorrow evening two-of-three facing the Flyers …
But one defeat and they’ll have to win three straight games against the mighty Flyers, the first of which will be contested in just 24 hours. In short, the Habs are now one step away from finding themselves on the brink of the abyss.
The CH will not hold morning skate this morning, since the match will be played in PM. We will therefore have to wait until (possibly) the last minute before having any clues as to the formation that Kirk Muller will deploy. I don’t expect the soup to be brewed before the game starts. But I am convinced that Muller will not be ultra be patient if the sauce does not rise in the first round.
Beautiful culinary analogies this morning …
Very few fans would like to see Dale Weise return to his place in the squad.
Some argue in favor of the insertion of Charles Hudon, but they argue a little in the void if you want my opinion.
Jordan Weal? I don’t think anyone – except perhaps Claude Julien – thinks that he could be part of the solution.
But there are some who would love to see Ryan Poehling return to the lineup. True that a left-hander on the fourth line (currently three right-handed) could perhaps help in the faceoff circle… but is Ryan Poehling it? left-handed?
Yes, he had a very first professional game …
But since then, Poehling has only collected two points in 27 games in the NHL. And he didn’t break anything with the Laval Rocket either (13 points in 36 games). Add to that the fact that his work ethic and determination are often questioned …
No, Poehling is not part of the solution today. Betting on magic or the improbable should not be part of the Canadiens’ strategy today.
The solution, it will still have to go through the young Kotkaniemi and Suzuki… and through Carey Price. The # 31 has allowed just three goals in his last four games. Will he be able to keep up the pace?
CH players will also have to be more disciplined … and more opportunistic in numerical superiority. The power play Montreal has only really been effective for one day since the start of the playoffs… and the team won their game by a score of 5-0 that day. You see how much that can make a difference …
And… if there’s one player who couldn’t choose a better time to get up, it’s Jonathan Drouin. He has the talent to do it … and Mathias Brunet confided yesterday morning that he no longer believed in Drouin to be a pillar of the CH (but that he still saw it as a complement to the core of the team). It could have whipped him, right?
Will Drouin respond when his team needs him more than ever?
My column on #Habs forward Jonathan Drouin. The time is now for him to come out and play vs @NHLFlyers #HabsIO #AnytimeAnywhere: https://t.co/iOh9puXZde
— Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) August 18, 2020
Is Brendan Gallagher to score his first goal of this series?
Will the attack do (finally) more?
The answer in the middle of the afternoon.
Remember that the Canadian has still not allowed a single goal in the afternoon this summer and that he won his two games played under such circumstances.
Prolongation
– Carey Price is an excellent puck handler and is often compared to a third defenseman.
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