HAB FANS IN PANIC MODE
With Price and Gallagher out, team leaders haven’t been able to step up
Playoff spot in jeopardy
The Canadiens are in danger of missing the playoffs.
That statement might seem alarmist, particularly since Montreal is leading the Atlantic Division and has the third-best record in the Eastern Conference.
The website www.sportsclubstats.com, which has algorithms to measure these things, says the Canadiens have an 86.5 per cent chance of qualifying for the postseason.
But that figure dropped by 2.7 percentage points after losing to Minnesota on Tuesday and, put quite simply, the Canadiens aren’t playing like a playoff team.
The losses of Carey Price and Brendan Gallagher have taken their toll. When Price was placed on the injured reserve list in November, there was no sense of panic.
Mike Condon had filled in well when Price missed nine games earlier and the mathematically inclined pointed out the Canadiens had a cushion over their rivals and were assured of a playoff berth if they merely played .500 hockey for the rest of the season.
As the Canadiens head into Saturday’s game against the streaking Washington Capitals, they are faced with a situation in which .500 hockey isn’t good enough. If the Canadiens play .500 between now and the end of the season, they would finish with 89 points. The geeksters at sportsclubstats say that total would give the Canadiens a 12.5 per cent chance of making the playoffs. They would need 97 points to reach 99.1 per cent and 100 points to be guaranteed a spot.
The biggest problem is the Canadiens aren’t close to playing .500 hockey. Without Price since Nov. 25, they have collected seven of a possible 26 points for a .269 winning percentage. Their current five-game losing streak is the longest since the 2011-12 season. You have probably chosen to forget the Canadiens finished last in the Eastern Conference that season.
A recent inquiry into Price’s health brought the response that he was progressing, but “not fast enough.”
This shouldn’t be construed as a criticism of Price’s efforts to get back into the lineup. He’s on the timetable prescribed by doctors when they shut him down. The Canadiens want him back, they need him back, but he won’t be between the pipes until he’s 100 per cent ready.
At the beginning of the season, and when Price was sidelined earlier in November, the Canadiens’ offence took charge and the goaltender gleefully told reporters the team’s success was proof he wasn’t the only reason the Canadiens won.
The recent results suggest Price is the reason the Canadiens win, although it would be foolish to downplay the absence of the feisty Gallagher. That left a hole at right wing, one position where the Canadiens lack depth.
Injuries are part of hockey with its contact and high-speed movement that places stress on joints. The response is to rely on the team’s leaders to step up their games and to give depth players a chance to show they are worthy of more ice time and greater responsibility.
Players like Daniel Carr, Paul Byron and Sven Andrighetto fall into the latter category and are proving they can play at the NHL level.
But the one failure over the past month has been inability of the leaders, the guys who wear letters, to generate offence. With Price out, there is even more urgency to put the puck in the net.
The Canadiens are only four points ahead of ninth-place New Jersey in the Eastern Conference and there’s a real possibility they could be outside of a playoff position by the new year.