Call of the Wilde: Gutsy Habs rise to the occasion in Washington

Wilde Horses

• Artturi Lehkonen is going to be a regular 20 goal-scorer in the NHL in the not-too-distant future. That's my bold prediction. He scored a goal on a wraparound for number six and then, in the third, another wraparound was even better: fast as a whip, it was. This time it was stopped. Even more impressive than his bullet of a shot is the confidence that his coach has in him. Coming out of a time-out with a one goal lead with a minute left is when we get to see who the coach believes in defensively. He has all 20 players basically at his disposal in this key moment. He chose Weber, Emelin, Plekanec, Flynn, and the rookie Lehkonen. Imagine that. This coach, who is so criticized for not relying on rookies and keeping them down, goes to the rookie at this vital moment.
• Weber with a gutsy performance. He takes a shot off the knee, in a place where he mentioned after the game that he had no protection. He guts it out to keep piling on the minutes. The offensive production has fallen for sure, as everyone keys on his shot on the power play, but he continues to bring it, doing so many small things so smartly that we don't really comment on them as they've already become our expectation. I am so impressed with this player.
• Jeff Petry scored the game winner and that, no doubt, is his highlight, but what a game overall. I think his concentration can falter at times because he is so talented, but don't forget who the Habs best D-man was in the playoffs not too long ago -- on par with Subban. Petry will be there again, I expect, at a very high level in April. Notice, even now, when the Habs really want one and have something to prove and it's a big night, that is when Petry is at his best.
• The entire D corps, Price, the forwards playing team defence, and the head coach all get heaps of praise for their effort. The Caps riding a six game winning streak were shut down. Twenty-one shots on goal for Washington in their own arena. They had only five in the third period. They didn't have a shot until nearly 14 minutes were played. The best teams can shut a game down when they need to and the Habs shut this one down impressively.
• A second strong game for Michael McCarron. His line in the third period was able to actually sustain offensive pressure for 30 seconds at a time for consecutive shifts. McCarron won puck battles and his puck protection continues to improve, which is going to be his NHL bread and butter if he becomes a strong regular in the Show. If McCarron keeps stringing these good games together, before he knows it he's going to be an NHLer.
• Phillip Danault had a rough night against San Jose and it was interesting to see that the head coach actually lifted his role in Washington. Don't know what Therrien saw but he had excellent vision. Danault on the top line had a strong game. The Habs have two injuries down the middle, but they’re finding ways.
• When you can sub in different players into odd roles like these Habs have and they still succeed, that is a credit to the system. That's to the credit of the head coach and his staff. Michel Therrien is having close to a fault-free year so far. Occasionally, he has odd deployment choices out of a time-out, continuing to roll four lines instead of upping a shift for his best players, but that's pretty minor. He wants to roll four lines. He wants as fresh a team as he can get for the playoffs. On the overall, Therrien is razor sharp this season. No time-out misses. No goal challenges for offside and goalie interference misses. No 34 games of first power play time for a guy who has zero points. The man is coaching with his head in the game every moment, reading his players, adjusting to the tenor of the game, and even showing a little humility, taking the blame for the club not being prepared versus San Jose. If you don't like Therrien's work this year so far, it's personal for you. A facts-based argument against him this year compared to last year cannot be made against him. It's that simple. You can nitpick because all coaches can be nitpicked, but you simply cannot make a serious fact-based argument that this coach this year isn't at the top of his game.

Wilde Goats

• Nathan Beaulieu is getting a lot of criticism for his petulance, banging his stick on the ice coming out of the penalty box after the Caps scored. The club has not been happy with his maturity at times and I get that. However, in his defence, I think we can collectively get a bit judgemental. Price hammered someone with his blocker and gave a death stare to the bench in the same 10-day span. Both times he got a pass, as well he should. There is a systemic issue of charging the goalie that could end Price's career so I get the frustration. But let's not forget that if we have all of the love, patience and understanding required to forgive Price at each turn, let's not bring out the long knives for a tap tap coming out of the penalty box. Wrong move by Nathan? Sure. However, let's not pull out a bouquet of flowers for Price, who surely did much more in terms of petulance for his two acts but have the long knives out for an act of much less significance.
• Plekanec is never going to be a scorer in the NHL again. The skill set to achieve that is gone. The sooner Bergevin realizes this and gets a true 2C, the sooner this team will be ready for a cup run. They can't get there with Desharnais as the 2C. Desharnais can still be a part of a successful Habs team, but not in the 2C role. Imagine Duchene in that role. The Habs would be Stanley Cup favourites. I have been scouting the Oilers very closely and have soured on RNH. The level of compete is troubling and if you're the Habs, stay away from Eberle, too. Seems he never met a back check he liked.
• Gallagher will keep getting a pass from me in this section. He is playing good hockey. He's just not scoring. If he is no longer a 20 goal scorer at this age, bringing this much to each game, that would greatly surprise me.

Wilde Cards

• Carey Price said he gave the sideways glare because "I was just pissed. At myself. At everybody." So let's put away this latest chapter of nothing now, shall we? The national and USA media went crazy over this story, filled with reporters with overly active imaginations. Price was just angry because he is a competitor. He was filled with internal frustration and deflected it externally. We all do this every day. We all deflect onto others what frustrations we feel in ourselves. A hard day at the office can lead to the grocery store clerk getting criticized or your spouse can feel the brunt of how frustrating the drive home was. It doesn't mean Price doesn't like his coach or his mates. It just means Price has the same hunger and desire to succeed that he did when he regularly boarded an airplane as a child in Anahim Lake, B.C. to play a game. It's what has made him the best in the world. If the Habs find that promised land one day, it's Price and that fierce desire that leads them there. Embrace the moment the key player stares down the bench and says "Not good enough, everyone. Not good enough." I will take that guy over the ho-hum of failing every time.
• Final thought: If they have the health of every key player, especially the goalie, and the GM acquires an offensively gifted 2C before the trade deadline, I believe the Habs can go to the Stanley Cup final this year. I think they should sacrifice some future for today. Among the prospects, only Sergachev is off limits. Bergevin is a long planner and it is not his instinct to make a deal that helps this year but could hurt years to come, but they're close and they may not get closer than right now. Go for it Bergy! Stand beside them with something big. This group will reward you.