Montreal Canadiens’ coach Michel Therrien was evasive when asked about line changes in preparation for Sunday night’s rematch against the Calgary Flames, a team that they beat 2-1 in a shootout in spite of being outplayed last week.
Therrien had his team running drills with a new look Saturday, as Alex Galchenyuk was in at centre, along with Brendan Gallagher and Rene Bourque.
Dale Weise was paired with David Desharnais and Max Pacioretty, while Eller skated on the left wing along with Tomas Plekanec and Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau.
The fourth line of Manny Malhotra, Travis Moen and Brandon Prust remained unchanged while young Jiri Sekac and Michaël Bournival appear likely to be sitting out as healthy scratches.
“We made changes to create a spark last game,” said Therrien. “It was very positive and we hope to continue. Will it last? It depends on the results.”
Galchenyuk who is tied with Max Pacioretty in points with eight on the season, just one behind leader Tomas Plekanec, expressed impatience when asked once again about the possibility of finally returning to his position at centre.
“I never think about winning a centre position. How many times do I have to answer this question? I always go on the ice to do my best. It seems whatever I tell you, you keep asking me,” he said, laughing.
Galchenyuk would be in as centre for Lars Eller, who has only one goal and one assist in 11 games, and is a team-worst minus seven on the season. One blogger however, argues that advanced statistical analysis demonstrate that Eller has been playing better this year than last.
Although their 8-2-1 record is up at the top of the league, the Habs have only scored 2.36 goals per game, leaving them ranked for 25 out of 30 teams in goals scored. The Canadiens are ranked 17th in goals against, with 2.64 goals going into their own net per game.
The Habs power play has also struggled and is 26th with a 9.4 percent success rate. The penalty kill is doing much better, stopping 86.7 percent of tries, good for seventh best in the league.
Goalie Carey Price said that it would be good if the Habs started taking the lead in some games. The Canadiens have surrendered the first goal in nine of its 11 games and yet still have a unlikely 6-2-1 record in those games.
“I have no explanations for the slow starts. As a group, it's up to us to see it and take steps to correct the situation,” said Price.
Price also noted that it would be a good idea to try getting more shots than the opponent. In Calgary, for exmaple, the Flames outshot the Habs 38-19.
The power play is also in need of improvement. But Therrien wasn’t panicking. "We have chances to score and the guys are moving the puck well," he said.
-With a file from The Canadian Press
