Habs’ faceoff struggles trigger angst
SLOW OFF THE DRAW: Desharnais the lone Canadiens centre winning more than half of his puck drops
MONTREAL — It’s not quite in the same league as Donald Trump complaining about the U.S. presidential election being rigged, but Tomas Plekanec takes exception with the official NHL statistics.
“I don’t think I was 10 and 11, I’m sure I was better than that,” said Plekanec referring to his 48-percent faceoff success rate in the Canadiens’ 4-3 shootout loss Saturday in Ottawa.
Even if the numbers are accurate, said Plekanec, they can be misleading.
“We’ve had some problems in the first two games, but you have to look at where the faceoffs are and the game situation,” said Plekanec. “We won a faceoff in the third period the other night and that led to a go-ahead goal for us.”
Faceoffs have been a problem for the Canadiens during their first two games. As a team, they rank 29th with a success rate of 37.6 per cent. That presents an interesting dynamic for Tuesday’s home opener against Pittsburgh because the Penguins went into Monday’s game against Colorado with a 41.2-percent success rate.
David Desharnais (61.5 per cent) is the only Canadiens centre who has won more than half of his faceoffs. At the other end of the scale is Alex Galchenyuk with a 26.9-per-cent success rate after winning only two of 15 draws in Ottawa.
Coach Michel Therrien said he’s willing to cut Galchenyuk some slack because he’s still growing into the role as a No. 1 centre.
“He’s facing guys he’s never seen before and he’s going against the top faceoff guys every night,” said Therrien. “We’re working with him every day and he’s getting better.”
The power play, which has been a disaster for the past two seasons, remains a work in progress. Officially, the Canadiens are 1-for-6 on the season, but they scored one goal Saturday night in Ottawa as Dion Phaneuf was leaving the penalty box.
Therrien conceded the first unit with Galchenyuk at centre hasn’t been as effective as the second unit with Plekanec or Desharnais.
“Our entries haven’t been that good,” said Brendan Gallagher, who is a part of that first unit. “We’re working on it. We know how important special teams are and we’ve been very good on the penalty kill.”
There will be one lineup change for the Pittsburgh game with rookie defenceman Mikhail Sergachev replacing Greg Pateryn.
Sergachev, whose parents are flying in from Moscow to watch their son, played in the season opener in Buffalo and struggled at times with nerves and the speed of the game. The Penguins will represent a tougher test for the 18-year-old rookie, but it is games like this that will determine whether he stays in the NHL or returns to junior hockey.
Al Montoya will get his third consecutive start in goal, but Carey Price is closer to a return after missing a week with the flu. Price was feeling better Sunday and did some light skating. He stepped up the intensity Monday, but didn’t join in the regular practice. Therrien described his status as day to day and he won’t dress Tuesday. If all goes well, he could make his season debut Thursday against the Arizona Coyotes.
“I’m excited to be playing in the season opener,” said Montoya. “I’ve always enjoyed coming to the Bell Centre because there’s such a great atmosphere and it’s going to be even better with the fans on my side. I had a taste of it in the pre-season, but now it’s for real.”
Defenceman Shea Weber will be starting in a regular-season game at the Bell Centre for the first time since he was acquired in the trade for the popular P.K. Subban and Therrien expects him to receive a warm welcome from “the best fans in the NHL.”
“We’ve had some problems in the first two games, but you have to look at where the faceoffs are and the game situation.” — Tomas Plekanec