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Canadiens Highlights: Meet The New Habs, The Same As The Old
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- Canadiens Highlights: Meet The New Habs, The Same As The Old
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Montreal Canadiens hosted the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final on Wednesday night, aiming to even the series with a strong effort.
However, the effort simply was not there, much to the chagrin of the Bell Centre faithful.
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It wasn't Montreal's night, as the Hurricanes emerged with a well-deserved 4-0 win, not to mention a 3-1 advantage in the series.
Let's dive into the highlights!
Is This A Rerun?
Shockingly, or not , the Hurricanes were the better team out of the gate.
Despite plenty of evidence suggesting it may be a wise decision to mix things up , the Canadiens made no changes to their lineup, and they were once again hemmed in their own zone for the majority of the first period. The Hurricanes dominated the physical play, set the tone, and pressured Montreal's defencemen ad nauseam.
This resulted in a lack of puck possession for the Canadiens, and a bevy of shots for their opponents.
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Fortunately for the Habs, Jakub Dobes was in fine form on his birthday, making several early saves, including a breakaway chance for Jackson Blake .
Evolve Or Fade
While there's no denying the Hurricanes are an excellent team, both defensively and offensively, it's also quite apparent that they're using high pressure to frustrate the Canadiens' in transition.
Their penalty kill is a perfect example of their elite defending. The Hurricanes stand up at the blue line with four players, before forcing the Canadiens to enter the zone in a chaotic situation filled with uncontrolled variables such as active sticks and one-on-one battles.
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While controlled entries are ideal, sometimes you have to change your strategy when things are going awry.
The Penny Drops
Seeing as the Hurricanes controlled the play, they also controlled the shots, and consequently, the goals.
They finished the first period with a well-deserved three-goal lead, while the Canadiens simply could not offer any solutions to their problem.
They were outhit, outworked, outchanced, and outscored. It was very similar to the previous game.
Again, the Hurricanes are an excellent hockey team, but the Habs made no lineup changes heading into Game 4, and the results were quite predictable.
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It's one thing to admit the opponent is better, but it's another entirely to stand pat while the situation slowly worsens.
Attempt No.1
With the Canadiens trailing 3-0 to a team that does not give up many scoring chances, head coach Martin St-Louis opted to finally make some changes.
Alex Newhook was used with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield , while Josh Anderson , Zachary Bolduc , and Phillip Danault formed another line. Juraj Slafkovsky ended up alongside Jake Evans and Ivan Demidov , whereas Alex Texier played with Kirby Dach and Joe Veleno .
Some may be tempted to suggest it was the equivalent of shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic, but we must give St-Louis some credit for trying to motivate his troops with in-game adjustments. It hasn't been his strong point as a coach, and it's only fair to admit he's still also learning on the job, like many of his young players.
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The change did not immediately yield a goal, but it did lead to an uptick in effort from the home team, not to mention additional shots, and a few scoring chances.
However, it was much too little, much too late.
Montreal failed to put a puck on net for most of the third period, putting a fine point on Carolina's ability to organize a better defence than most professional standing armies.
The Montreal Canadiens will be back in action on Friday, facing the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final.
All Montreal Canadiens statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via Natural Stat Trick .
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