Thursday night the Canadiens were in Brooklyn to square off against the skinny New York Islanders (yes, they're under Weight), but things did not go their way. Outshot 14-4 after 20 minutes and 42-22 after 60, this was clearly not a strong outing. Thanks to a powerplay blast at the 5-on-4 resto, Chez Weber, and a near 40-save performance from Carey "Boom Boom" Price, the Habs were technically still in the game nearing the final 10 minutes of play. That is until Paul Byron and Adam Pelech went off for embellishment and hooking penalties at 6:10 of the 3rd.
With a face-off in the defensive zone, Michel Therrien sent out Jacob De La Rose and Brian Flynn, which prompted Weight to attack with Andrew Ladd and John Tavares.
With a face-off in the defensive zone, Michel Therrien sent out Jacob De La Rose and Brian Flynn, which prompted Weight to attack with Andrew Ladd and John Tavares.
While De La Rose has a career face-off percentage of 45.9%, Tavares is up at 51.3% (via Hockey-Reference). Sure enough, the more skilled Tavares beat the 21-year-old on the draw, which set off a 6-second sequence resulting in Ladd's game winner. If we break down the goal, we can see exactly what happened in this short amount of time, and how it helped lead to a New York win.
Upon losing the face-off, DLR did what I believe the coaches would have wanted in a 4-on-4 situation, which was to attack the left point and leave the centre for his left defenseman. Unfortunately, Alexei Emelin didn't get the memo. As we can see above, Emelin lined up on the left side of the circle and so when the puck came close, both Canadiens' players pursued it as Nick Leddy pinched in.
As Emelin threw a hit on Leddy, De La Rose had a choice to make, should he stick with Andrew Ladd, who moved up to protect his d-man? Or should he move to the corner to work against Tavares?
Above, we can see that De La Rose followed the puck and went after Tavares, leaving plenty of room for the Islanders' forwards to connect. Had he stuck with Ladd, Weber could likely then have moved from the front of the net to close the gap on his Team Canada teammate, while Flynn could have still been there to protect the back door. 4-on-4 hockey typically requires a more man-to-man coverage, but Weber's hesitation to leave the front of the net is certainly understandable.
Nonetheless, De La Rose and Emelin's mixup off the draw left a significant gap for Ladd to walk in and rip a quick release shot, using Weber (in no-man's-land) as a screen. Not to take away from the Islanders' display of skill, or the impressive shot Ladd took for his second goal of the game, it's important for players to know where they're headed off a face-off (win or lose).
While the result is only 2 points in the standings (which the Islanders certainly needed more), these are the types of plays a team hopefully has prepared come playoff time. With Montreal considered a contender this year, we'll have to wait and see if Therrien can get em-e-lin'ed up properly by then.
While the result is only 2 points in the standings (which the Islanders certainly needed more), these are the types of plays a team hopefully has prepared come playoff time. With Montreal considered a contender this year, we'll have to wait and see if Therrien can get em-e-lin'ed up properly by then.