The Canadiens went 2-6 during the preseason, often looking bad in the process, which brought out the worriers among the Habs' fan base. Goaltender Carey Price allowed seven goals in the first 31 shots faced, prompting some internet muttering about him switching from pads manufactured by Vaughn to Reebok. Settle-D, Goalie geeks. The Habs and Price finished on a high note. Using a group of players resembling the one that will suit up tonight in Toronto, the Canadiens rolled to a resounding 5-1 win over Tampa Bay in their preseason finale.
The biggest concerns entering the offseason were health and personnel-transition on defense, an undersized group on the front line, a need for more scoring, particularly in even-strength situations, and perhaps someone the team could feel comfortable with giving Price 20-25 games off a season.
Injuries last season to defensemen Andrei Markov and Josh Gorges sent the Canadiens into scramble mode, filling holes with mid-season acquisitions like James Wisiniewski, Brent Sopel and Paul Mara. Those three have moved on as did stalwart Roman Hamrlik. To address their needs, the Canadiens looked in house, re-signing the twice-operated-on Markov to a multi-year deal in the offseason. Markov suffered a setback in his rehab prior to training camp and hasn't practiced with the team yet. He was placed on injured reserve, and he won't be in the lineup tonight. Beyond that, head coach Jacques Martin isn't saying much and there doesn't seem to be a sense of panic from the team. The slant coming from Montreal is that Markov worked too hard to recover and just needs to be brought along more slowly. I have no reason to believe anything else, however, Canadiens general manager Pierre Gauthier didn't plan on him not being available. His absence leaves a void on the power play, where Markov has been one of the better quarterbacks in the league.
Other in-house defenseman candidates didn't pan out during training camp. Yannick Weber has been moved to forward and is skating on the fourth line. And bruising Russian defenseman Alexi Yemelin, lured to Montreal after seven years in the Kontinental Hockey League, hasn't been as comfortable in North America. This opened an opportunity for Swiss free agent Raphael Diaz, who will be part of the defense. He keeps the game simple and has worked well with Gorges, whose knee has held up nicely. Montreal also added free agent Chris Campoli late in the game and he's expected to be part of the top six D-men, if there are no lingering effects to the head shot he absorbed from the Lightning's Ryan Malone. Until Markov returns, it looks like the three pairings are Hal Gill-P.K. Subban, Diaz-Gorges, Jaroslav Spacek-Campoli. Yemelin is the seventh defenseman.
The early signs from free agent Eric Cole are encouraging. The former Panther scored in his first preseason game for Les Canadiens, and later added a shootout winner plus a two-assist game. He brings size and scoring. The only thing left is to determine which line he skates on. It was presumed he'd line up with Tomas Plekanec and Michael Cammalleri, but he may be needed to help add scoring touch to the third line. A full season of Max Pacioretty should help alleviate the scoring problem as well. Scott Gomez was a producer during his preseason action. After the worst statistical season of his NHL career, Gomez has committed to shooting more, feeling he became too predictable for defenders. The third and fourth lines are mess right now. Andrei Kostitsyn, whether he's happy about it or not, will skate on the third line. He's entering the final year of his contract. Lars Eller (shoulder) has not been cleared for contact just yet, meaning we'll probably see David Desharnais skate on this unit to start the season. The freshly acquired Blair Betts, claimed off waivers from Philadelphia on Wednesday, is expected to add some size up the middle, centering the fourth line with Travis Moen and Weber.
Price returns as the most important player on the team. After watching their No. 1 play 72 games and finish second among goalies in minutes played, the Canadiens inked Peter Budaj in the offseason. The thinking is that they can't ride Price as hard as they did last season. Budaj is coming off his worst season in the NHL, but he's been a serviceable backup for several years and surely he'd be better behind the Canadiens defense than Colorado's. Based on the preseason performance, Price better keep his new Reebok pads handy. Budaj was not sharp in his three starts, which included a seven-goal shellacking at the hands the Bruins.