In the Montreal Canadiens’ first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, it was after Game 4 that Martin St-Louis elected to make some significant changes to his lineup, right after the Bolts had tied up the series. Fast forward two weeks, and the Habs are in the same position, but this time against the Buffalo Sabres. Should we expect the coach to react in the same way? That seems unlikely.
While the series is tied at this stage, the Canadiens have been the better team for most of the four games played, and it doesn’t feel like changes are needed, at least not for the same reason. Against Tampa, the coach called on Brendan Gallagher to provide a much-needed spark, but it’s unlikely that he would turn to the veteran this time around. With all due respect to the winger, he doesn’t have the speed to keep up with the pace of play in this duel.
Advertisement
Two Canadiens Rookies Top 4 In Calder Trophy Voting
Canadiens’ Newhook Stays Hot Despite Loss
Canadiens’ Power Play Could Have Made The Difference
It’s hard to look at the ice time in the last game as a guide to know who could come out of the lineup. There were so many penalties that many players saw their ice time melt like snow in the sun. Joe Veleno saw less than seven minutes of action, Kirby Dach was on the ice for less than nine minutes, and Zachary Bolduc was on the ice for less than 10. For the latter two, it is certainly not because the coach is unhappy with their play.
It’s not out of the question that we could see Oliver Kapanen at some stage in this series, however. The Finnish center scored two goals in four games against the Sabres in the regular season, and he would have some very fresh legs, since he hasn’t played since Game 4 of the series against the Lightning. There’s a lot more space on the ice against the Sabres than there was against the Bolts.
On the blue line, Arber Xhekaj saw only 3:46 of action across six shifts on Tuesday night, and according to many pundits, the coach may be worried that he could be penalized just because of his reputation. While that’s an interesting theory, the gritty defenseman doesn’t play on either of the special teams, so that’s probably part of the reason why he saw so little action.
Advertisement
The Canadiens didn’t practice on Wednesday before heading to Buffalo, so there were no clues about the lineup that St-Louis is likely to ice on Thursday. Not that he tends to show his hand in advance this day.
Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens’ page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.
Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens’ roundtable on The Hockey News.
Subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here.
Read the full article here
