Gainey's First Flirts With Disaster

Just like everyone watching, that was the point to key on, and I went looking for distinct differences in how the team coached by Gainey would play, as opposed to what we'd gotten used to before. It took a good while to come up with this. I think I saw three hockey games in one last night. Each period seemed to have it's own identity. I might have seen three coaches coaching as well.

In the first period, the troops rolled out pumped, as is often the case when performing for the first time in front of a new coach. The first thing that was noticable, were the quick lines changes to start, as all four trios were rolled out by the first minute and 45 seconds. You could see subtle Gainey adjustments, such as finding all six Habs within the camera's scan on the TV screen, meaning the forwards were coming back to help out the defensemen with more consistency than before. It was easy to see units of five collapsing in the slot, removing all lateral pass options from the Oilers speedy forwards. There was alot to like about that. With passing lanes all clogged up, Edmonton managed just six shots on goal. 

In the game's opening stages, it looked like Stewart, Hamrlik, and Metropolit had all come to play. Lapierre was being his irritating self near the net after whistles. Kovalev was making a habit of entering the Oilers zone in a less experimental, straight line manner, and twice dumped the puck into the corner when options ran out. In a period defined by control and cohesion, the Canadiens didn't press much offensively, even though they spent a fair slice of time in the Oiler zone.

In the post game presser, Gainey was asked if going back behind the bench was like riding a bike, and he replied in the negative, referencing the second period as an example. In admitting that he had no clue what adjustments Edmonton brought on, or what the Canadiens players were doing badly, Gainey owned up to being a step behind. He cited that with the bench at the opposite end for the period, line changes were badly managed, and that he felt all moves were a step behind. He garnered a giggle from the press corps when he mentioned that he couldn't really blame the players as he himself had no idea what was going on. Gainey closed the question by saying that it would be looked at closer in review and ironed out before the next game.

Most apparent, was an emphasis on puck possession and passing. The Canadiens not only fought harder in desperation for it along the boards, but the additional support of a defenseman and forward in fighting to maintain possession was clearly evident many times along the boards and in the corners. Passes became confident and crisp due to the extra time players created frp themselves. Hits started coming with more frequency, so as to increase the chance of lengthier control. Possession was also evident in open spaces, when entering the Oilers zone where players craddled the puck with less panic. In doing so, it allowed them an extra second to hit the net with shots or crowd the crease area for more opportunities. Such tactics translated into deflected goals by Koivu on both the late third period and overtime occasions.