Montreal Gazette’s preview of Canadiens vs. Lightning. 1) Lightning doesn’t have the Habs’ last-minute magical luck, losing to the Sens in a shootout on Saturday. 2) We missed the NHL debut of Jonathan Drouin by a day, because he has been recovering from a broken thumb. [Gazette]
(French) If you included shots that went wide, the Habs made 91 shots at Philadelphia’s net. 38 of those were registered as on goal, 32 were blocked by Flyers players, and 21 went wide. Possession-wise, that’s not bad. [RDS]
The three breakout stars from the first three games. Did you know Tomas Plekanec has a shooting percentage of 45% right now? [A Winning Habit]
The Numbers Game: if you’re still not tired of the dramatic comeback vs. Philadelphia, here’s a numerical look at Saturday night. Worth it for this bit. [Canadiens]
Around the League and Elsewhere
Peter Laviolette is doing well in his new coaching job with the Nashville Predators. He’s keeping the emphasis on skating – abandoning Barry Trotz’s emphasis on two way play and puck possession to focus on aggressive forechecking. Defensemen will now join offensive rushes. Laviolette’s philosophy seems to be that the best offense is a good defense. [NHL]
On that note, check out this frame by frame analysis of Derek Roy’s secondary assist on a Nashville Predators goal vs. the Ottawa Senators. Like the NHL article was saying before: it’s all about the skating and the footwork [On the Forecheck]
Not so greatest: Erik Johnson elbows Eric Haula. You can practically see Johnson being ejected from the game before his skates even land back on the ice. [SB Nation]
Seriously cool documentary that premiered at the Cannes film festival: Red Army (2014), about the Soviet Union’s Red Army hockey team. “From the USSR to Russia, the film examines how sport mirrors social and cultural movements and parallels the rise and fall of the Red Army team with the Soviet Union.” [Youtube]
