CBC-Sports

Habs' playoff hopes rest on goaltending

February 5, 2010 10:00 AM | Posted by   Jim Hughson  

Read up on the latest tidbits and trends as Hockey Night in Canada’s play-by-play voice Jim Hughson takes you behind the scenes and into the game.

This week's work: Pittsburgh Penguins at Montreal Canadiens: Saturday, Feb. 6, 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT (CBC, CBCSports.ca) | Boston Bruins at Montreal Canadiens: Sunday, Feb. 7, 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT (CBC, CBCSports.ca)

The Script:

The Montreal Canadiens managed to keep a playoff spot in sight without their top defenceman, Andrei Markov, for almost half a season. Now they’ll try to stay in the mix without leading goal-scorer Mike Cammalleri, who's out for six weeks.

The Habs are neither gifted nor deep offensively and they don’t exactly play a lockdown game, so their best hope of hanging with the pack will be to get great goaltending.

So far so good.

In two games without Cammalleri the Canadiens have given up almost 100 shots on net, but they have four points thanks to a pair of 45-save gems from Jaroslav Halak. And the way he’s playing there should be little controversy about him starting over Carey Price.

There are eight teams battling for three spots at the bottom of the Eastern Conference and all of them have some deficiencies, so perhaps Halak and a good power play will be enough to get the Habs into the post-season.

So now Bob Gainey will get plenty of advice from thousands of helpful general managers telling him to keep Halak and trade Price. But what happens when the two reverse roles as they so often have?

Trading either goaltender isn’t likely to make or break the season, so there's no reason to make a decision till it’s obvious which one will get the Habs to the playoffs and beyond.

Today it looks like Halak, next week it could be Price. This weekend we’ll probably see both of them, and the competition to win Montreal's starting job might be as interesting as the Eastern Conference sprint to the finish.

In fact, the level of that competition might determine the Canadiens' fate.

On the Hot Stove:

Without Cammalleri, it’s hard to imagine the Canadiens will score enough to win, even if their goaltending is spectacular.

That’s unless the high-priced help can kick it up a notch or two. Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta are both slumping at the worst possible time. Gionta has one goal in the last eight games, Gomez one in the last 11.

We’ve been waiting all season for the two to rekindle the magic they had in New Jersey when Gionta scored 48 and Gomez 33 in 2005-06. As it is, if they can get halfway to those totals the Habs might squeak into the playoffs.

ISO Camera on:

Pittsburgh is first up for Montreal on Saturday as part of the annual Super Bowl homestand. The Penguins have taken advantage of the Devils' slump and have their sights set on first place in the Atlantic Division.

Sidney Crosby, meantime, has an Art Ross and Rocket Richard trophy in his sights and loves to play his former favourite team.

If Crosby wins the scoring championship give him the Hart Trophy as well, 'cause while Alex Ovechkin has Nik Backstrom to play with and Henrik Sedin has his brother, Sid is doing it with Luca Caputi and Mark Letestu.

When the Bruins play in Montreal on Sunday keep an eye on Milan Lucic. A year ago he was impossible to miss. This season? Not so much. Lucic is a big man who won’t win many foot races so he needs to be in top shape to keep the pace of the game, forecheck and fight. Coming off a pair of injuries make him look a step behind in the games. It’s possible the Bruins will have only one 20-goal scoring winger this season so they badly need Lucic to ramp up down the stretch.

Tape room topics:

Last year, before the trade deadline Pittsburgh general manager Ray Shero picked up Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin on his way to the Cup. It’s likely he’ll try and add another player this year and many are betting it will be Ray Whitney from Carolina. A good team guy who’s won a Stanley Cup and can play with top players, Whitney might be a perfect fit with either Crosby or Evgeni Malkin.

If the Bruins keep sliding they could end up with two top-ten draft picks (their own and Toronto’s) which would go a long way towards getting them some badly-needed scoring.

But would that be consolation for missing the playoffs? There was every reason to think the Bruins could play deep into the spring and they’ve probably budgeted for that. Just playing in late April will be tough now.

Would they give the draft picks back to the Leafs and re-think the Kessel trade if it meant he, Marc Savard and Lucic could form a top line again and guarantee a playoff spot? And how would their thinking have changed had they known just how tough this season was going to be for second-year winger Blake Wheeler?

From the stat pack:

Crosby is having a great season but not always while out on the road. Perhaps because of rotating line-mates and having to do so much on his own, Crosby is easier to shut down with a match up away from home.

Home: 25g — 22a — 47pts — plus-15
Road: 12g — 12a — 24pts — minus-5

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