Canadiens: Preparing For The Capitals’ Terrorizing Power Play

After holding an optional skate on Friday morning, Martin
St-Louis held a regular practice on Saturday. While it was scheduled to start
at 11:00 a.m., at 10:30, most of the players were already on the ice, ready to
get going.

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Former assistant coach Alex Burrows was also present and had
a long conversation with Montreal Canadiens’ center Jake Evans. Samuel
Montembeault revealed the nature of the conversation in the post-practice media
availability. The netminder told us that Burrows had been scouting the Washington Capitals
for a few weeks already, paying particular attention to their lethal power
play.

Once practice started, St-Louis got everyone’s legs going
with three vs. three mini-games on a reduced ice surface. Then there were some
passing and shooting drills, but not as complete lines. Nick Suzuki and Cole
Caufield always worked together, while Ivan Demidov was always with Patrik
Laine.

Then, the focus was squarely on the power play. There was no
change to the first unit, with Suzuki, Laine, Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, and
Lane Hutson skating together, but much of the focus was on getting Caufield to
unleash shots from the bumper position. Asked how he felt about being deployed
there, the diminutive sniper answered that it was a work in progress and that
it would depend on how Washington deployed its penalty kill.

On Caufield, the coach said:

He’s progressed tremendously from goal line to goal line on
both sides; he’s had to score goals differently a little bit this year; you see
him more on the inside. I think it’s important for him not to be a perimeter
player, having all those touches in space all the time, the game isn’t going to
give you that space all the time. I think especially in the playoffs, you must
be willing to play inside regardless of whether you’re big-bodied or not.

– Martin St-Louis on Cole Caufield.

On the second until, Brendan Gallagher, Alex Newhook,
Demidov, and Mike Matheson participated in all the drills while Suzuki and Joel
Armia alternated. Time will tell if St-Louis has finally decided not to
overwork his captain and give him a bit of downtime. It wouldn’t be a bad idea,
and it would allow him to be fresher and play better minutes.

After practice, the members of the penalty killing units
were whisked away for a meeting to dissect the Capitals’ power play
and its weapon of mass destruction, Alexander Ovechkin. Speaking of the Great
Eight, Ivan Demidov explained that he watched him play growing up, but he was
more of an Evgeni Malkin fan. The youngster is preparing to play in his second
professional playoff tournament in the same season. When he was asked what he
thought was different between the postseason and the regular season, he said:

The playoffs are a different game than the regular season,
you need like more energy.

– Ivan Demidov on the difference between the regular season and the playoffs.

When asked about his feelings about playing the newly minted
best goal scorer in league history, Patrik Laine simply replied, “I couldn’t
care less.” Clearly, the Finnish sniper doesn’t feel like too much emphasis should
be put on Washington’s captain.

Meanwhile, goaltender Samuel Montembeault is ready to
finally make his playoffs debut and is excited about the challenge of facing
the Caps.  

It was about time, after eight years, to finally get to play
some playoff hockey. I’m really excited to do it with this team and am looking
forward to Monday.

–

As for how he stayed cool and collected down the stretch
while under much pressure, he explained:

I had some meetings with our sports psychologist here. We
spoke about staying in the moment and just focusing on your breathing. When you
focus on your breathing, you’re not thinking about what’s going to happen in
the future or what happened in the past.

– Samuel Montembeault on how he stays calm. 

You can expect some very physical hockey when the puck drops
on the series on Monday night in Washington. Josh Anderson mentioned how hard
someone like Tom Wilson would play and added that he would do the same for the
Canadiens. Caufield was asked how important it was that Slafkovsky played a
physical game, and he said:

That’s how he should play every game. He knows it, it’s just
about him making that decision himself and leading the way physically, I’d say.

– Cole Caufield on Juraj Slafkovsky

This is an assessment that most fans will agree with. There
was a bit of excitement in the air in Brossard. The players were visibly happy
to have reached the postseason, as they should be. The bench boss was also in
good spirits, even teasing The Athletic’s Arpon Basu when he had to be called
on twice to ask his question. St-Louis smiled and asked if he was in Ferris
Bueller, giving everyone a good chuckle.

The Canadiens will hold another practice in Brossard on
Sunday morning before taking off for Washington to prepare for game one the
following day. Game two is scheduled for Wednesday, and the series will move to
Montreal on Friday, when the Bell Center should be filled to the brim with
overexcited fans.

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