With 12 games on the schedule, Saturday's NHL action will likely have a big impact on the playoff picture. RoryBoylen breaks it all down:
Their power play has just never got going this season, but Montreal’s 5-on-5 play is what kept the offence alive for much of the season. Through the 2018 part of the schedule, the Habs had 96 5-on-5 goals, which ranked behind only Tampa Bay and Toronto in the NHL.
Since then it’s taken a turn, though. In January they ranked 27th in 5-on-5 goals, they were back up to fourth in February, and so far in March they’re 15th. All told, Montreal has the 13th-best 5-on-5 offence in 2019. Meanwhile, their power play continues to flounder, with a league-low 10 per cent conversion rate since the calendar flip.
As always, the key to Montreal even getting into the playoffs is Carey Price and he’s been great, allowing more than three goals in a game just three times over the past month. But the fact the offence is slowing and that Shea Weber has been leaking shots, scoring chances and goals against this month much more than he had been in his reliable late start to the season is a concerning trend for Montreal. And now, on Saturday night, they have to hang with Chicago’s surging offence.
Meantime, the Leafs continue to bleed defensively with the second pair of Travis Dermott and Jake Gardiner still out of the lineup. We knew defence was the weak point of this club, but it’s slightly worrying to see Frederik Andersen struggle a bit recently. After getting pulled in back-to-back games, he allowed six goals on 29 shots in Friday’s 7-6 win over Philadelphia. It’s a little reminiscent of last season when Andersen posted an .
Andersen has been Toronto’s MVP all season for how he’s patched up some of the defensive issues with the team, but cracks are at least starting to show. If he’s cold come playoff time the Leafs are doomed, so it’s worth watching how he responds in his first game next week against either Nashville or Buffalo.— Sportsnet Stats The Lightning finished with 54 wins and 113 points last season, which set franchise records, and Saturday night they have a chance to pass both marks.
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