Editorial – Bad Timing

The Calgary Flames are coming to Montreal on Tuesday evening and this is probably some bad timing in terms of scheduling for the Habs.  The Flames are riding a three game winning streak in November, with solid wins over the Stars, Blues, and Rangers.  In all three match-ups, the Flames played a solid defensive game and received timely scoring from its core forwards and solid goaltending.

On the flip side, the Habs are coming off a tough loss to the Atlanta Thrashers at home, a surprise shootout win against the Bruins in Boston, and a lack-luster effort against the Lightning on Saturday night.  The team continues to show signs of difficulty scoring beyond the top line and is still struggling on both sides of special teams.

The Flames are riding a top lineup with no injuries to report, while the same cannot be said of the Habs.  The Habs have resorted to dressing five rookies in the current lineup, while dealing with a number of nagging short-term injuries and key long-term injuries.  Despite the team’s best efforts, the Habs are still near the bottom on special teams, with a 25th ranked penalty kill combined with a 24th ranked power-play.  With the Flames coming in at 11th and 5th respectively with regards to penalty killing and power-play efficiency, Tuesday night’s game could be a mismatch if the Habs get into penalty troubles.

Between the pipes, Carey Price and Miikka Kiprusoff are still at both ends of the spectrum.  Although Kiprusoff’s numbers are still down in comparison to his career marks, his defense corps in front of him and a strong defensive scheme under Brent Sutter will continue to limit shots against and quality scoring chances.  Price does not have this going for him at the moment, as the Habs continue to give up way too many shots on goal and scoring chances.

If the Habs provide another poor effort as shown by the lack of enthusiasm and drive in the Lightning game on Saturday, this could be a one-sided affair in Montreal.  Price will be looked upon to steal another game and the Habs will need the top line to exceed expectations.  With Mike Cammalleri getting another chance to face his former club, look for him to lead the attack for the Habs.  The Flames on the other hand have more weapons to focus upon, but with Jarome Iginla heating up, the strategy should be to neutralize him first.  Speed on both sides of the puck will be an advantage for the Flames, however, the Habs will look to capitalize on scoring chances through turnovers in the neutral zone.

With a solid team effort and possibly a little luck (and maybe another dose of overtime or a shootout), the Habs could squeak this one out.  Maybe a supportive home crowd will provide some added punch to the team – something they needed against the Lightning, but never found.

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Tags: Brent Sutter, Carey Price, Jarome Iginla, Miikka Kiprusoff, Mike Cammalleri