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The Canadiens are struggling to score, but it's not from a lack of opportunities

Montreal only managed to score nine even-strength goals during their series with the Senators, but if we dig a little there's a silver lining to the scoring woes.

By Marc Dumont
Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

Why aren't the Habs scoring?

It's the question most fans are asking right now as the team prepares to face either the Red Wings or the Lightning in the second round.

Dale Weise is the only forward with more than one 5 vs 5 goal, leaving the top-six with a paltry scoring record of four goals over six games. Simply put, that's not a healthy number, however the fact remains that almost every player on the team is participating in more shots and scoring chances compared to their results in the regular season.

sc table

(all numbers sourced from war-on-ice.com. 5 vs 5 numbers only. RS =Regular season, PO = Playoffs, SF60= On-Ice Shots For Per 60 minutes, SCF60 = On-ice Scoring Chances For Per 60 minutes,   OSH%= On-Ice Shooting Percentage)

As you can attest, the major drop-off has taken place in the On-Ice Shooting Percentage column, with only Brandon Prust, Torrey Mitchell, and Brian Flynn eclipsing their regular season marks.

So why is it that they struggled to score? One simple answer was Craig Anderson's fantastic goaltending numbers. The Ottawa netminder only allowed four goals on 142 shots, which resulted in a sparkling .972 save percentage.

The second factor was a lack of rebound chances, as identified by Lars Eller.

Ottawa's defenders did a good job at limiting second chance scoring opportunities, especially once Anderson replaced Andrew Hammond.

Of course, this doesn't mean that Montreal's forwards will suddenly enter a scoring deluge during the second round, but all signs point to them playing well enough to have scored more than nine even-strength goals against the Senators.

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