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Underdog Canadiens Took The Road Less Travelled
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- Underdog Canadiens Took The Road Less Travelled
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Now that the Montreal Canadiens have qualified for the Eastern Conference Final, it’s worth discussing how they managed to produce offence enough to overcome the Buffalo Sabres .
The first line’s lack of production at 5v5 has been well advertised, and while it’s fair to suggest Nick Suzuki , Juraj Slafkovsky , and Cole Caufield need to score with more frequency, similar to their regular-season domination, we also have to acknowledge the Sabres focused on shutting them down.
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By doing so, they committed the majority of their energy and game planning towards just three Canadiens forwards, opening the door for the rest of the lineup to capitalize on their opportunity.
And they did a fantastic job stepping up to the plate.
Newfoundlander Alex Newhook led the charge, scoring six goals in the series, five of which came at even-strength. Following far behind is Kirby Dach , who scored twice at 5v5.
Beyond those two, no other player scored more than one goal at 5v5, but nine different players managed to find the back of the net at least once.
Of course, this is ignoring powerplay production, but the point remains that the Sabres were so busy trying to slow down Montreal’s best players, the floodgates were opened throughout the rest of the lineup.
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The underlying numbers paint a rather accurate picture. Players like Jake Evans , Ivan Demidov , Zachary Bolduc , and Phillip Danault played a solid brand of hockey that resulted in the Canadiens controlling more shots while they were on the ice.
Montreal Canadiens Brass Tacks
The mere fact that the Habs have managed to win two playoff series just a few years after beginning their rebuild in earnest in quite encouraging.
Franchises around the NHL are looking at the Canadiens, trying to figure out if they can somehow emulate their quick rise through the ranks.
But it takes a special kind of team to constantly find new ways to win.
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You need a great leader.
A confident goaltender.
An affable coach.
And a solid roster.
But most importantly, you need a group of players who are willing to lay it all on the line, while being able to adapt to the endless factors involved in professional sports.
Every Canadiens player in the lineup is rowing in the same direction, the driving force behind their exciting playoff run.
All Montreal Canadiens statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via Natural Stat Trick .
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