Eight points out of a possible 10. Four time zones, four victories. A win against each of the four Stanley Cup champion teams. In a trip where we didn’t give much of our skin, the Canadian came close to perfection.
In doing so, he is only one point away from the last place giving access to the playoffs in the Eastern Association. Say that at 1is December, the CH occupied the 31e and penultimate place in the general classification.
“For the past month, I have had a good idea of the team that I have on hand,” said Martin St-Louis, at the end of the match in Chicago, curiously the only one that the Habs lost in this journey.
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One month coincides with Patrik Laine’s return to the game. What happened during this month in which the Habs maintained a 10-5-0 record? We asked our friends at Sportlogiq.
Volume and goals
During these 15 games, the Canadian was much more threatening in attack. He hadn’t had a night of over 30 shots before December 20 in Detroit. Now he has crossed this plateau four times in his last eight games.
The Habs are also more dangerous on the counterattack, which was lacking at the start of the season. On this, we can give special mentions to Jake Evans, Joel Armia and Emil Heineman. The three members of a fourth trio that has become extremely effective recently. They have scored 15 goals during this period.
That’s more than the three members of each of the other units. Caufield, Suzuki and Slafkosvky combined for nine goals. Newhook, Dach and Laine scored 14 (including Laine’s eight on the power play). Anderson, Dvorak and Gallagher moved the strings on five occasions.
That said, the Habs have increased their number of high-quality chances and their number of expected goals. And that’s without counting Laine’s shots when fired from the left circle, in numerical superiority.
Thanks to the guards
If we mainly highlight the offensive statistics of the Habs players, it is because, defensively, it is not necessarily better. Yes, the Canadian allows much fewer goals (2.60 in the last month compared to 3.83 previously).
But he owes it largely to the newfound confidence of Samuel Montembeault and the resounding debut of Jakub Dobes. The proof is the number of expected goals against whose tangent has not really changed (3.55 in the first 24 matches, 3.25 in the last 15).
Montembeault has saved 7.06 goals since December 3, which gives him sixth place on the circuit during this period. We remind you that he started 10 consecutive games. A grueling sequence to say the least.
As for Dobes, he averages 1.94 goals saved per 60 minutes in two starts. He ranks first among goaltenders with a minimum of two starts since December 3.
The 23-year-old Czech’s career is still in its embryonic stage. But so far he has been very convincing.
Now, if the Canadian can stay healthy and improve his defensive game, it could lead to surprising results.
The Canadian on attack
First 24 matches Last 15 matches Last 5 matches
Expected goals 2.82 2.97 3.02
Shots on goal 25.3 28.7 28.8
Shots from the slot 12.5 13.5 12.8
Shots from the bottom of the slot 5.4 5.8 6.0
Counter-attacking chances 5.9 7.1 7.8
High quality used 13.4 15.1 14.4
The Canadian in defense
First 24 matches Last 15 matches Last 5 matches
Goals allowed 3.83 2.60 1.80
Expected goals 3.55 3.25 3.65
High quality used 16.9 15.9 15.2
Shots on goal 30.5 30.5 28.6
Passes into the slot 16.8 16.7 20.4
Possession en zone offensive 7 :33 7 :30 7 :50
Counter-attacking chances 6.9 6.6 9.4
Opportunities in offensive cycle 11.8 12.3 13.8
*All figures are averages per game at even strength.
Source: Sportlogiq
