“We have to make the playoffs I feel we have a team to make the playoffs. And then once we get in, I feel that anythings possible.”
Winnipeg Jets forward Paul Stastny, centre top, is unable to get to a loose puck behind Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price in Winnipeg on March 15, 2021. Photo by Kevin King /Winnipeg Sun
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If the NHL playoffs had started on Tuesday, the Canadiens would have been playing the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round.
How cool would that be? The two Original Six rivals havent faced each other in the playoffs since 1979 when the Canadiens swept the Leafs in the quarter-finals en route to winning their fourth straight Stanley Cup.
But theres still a lot of hockey left to be played after the Canadiens hit the midway point of this condensed 56-game NHL season in fourth place in the North Division with 13-8-7 record. The Leafs are in first place with a 19-9-2 record, but are 1-5 in their last six games.
The fight for playoff spots will probably go down to the final weekend of the season.
During a video conference Tuesday afternoon, I asked Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin if the playoffs were to start now, what his biggest concern would be about his team and what he likes most about his team.
Its hard to answer that question, he said. What do I like? What I dont like? I cant really answer that. Its a progress. Id like to be healthy, so obviously Id like to have Ben (Chiarot) back. That would be a big plus for us. I think our special teams overall have improved. Even though we dont score all the time on our power play, I find were more engaged, we have some looks, we control the puck more. I see some good things. I think our goalies are on top of their games now and Id like to see what (head coach Dominique Ducharmes) going to do with our team for the second half of the season.
The Canadiens announced Monday that Chiarot would be out for 6-8 weeks following surgery on the right hand he fractured during a fight with the Vancouver Canucks J.T. Miller. On Tuesday, Bergevin said its probably going to be closer to six weeks, meaning Chiarot could return before the end of the regular season, which wraps up on May 8 when the Canadiens play the second of back-to-back games against the Leafs in Toronto.
The second half of the season for the Canadiens starts Wednesday against the Jets in Winnipeg (9 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM).
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The Canadiens have a 4-3-3 record in the 10 games since Ducharme took over from Claude Julien. Bergevin said he has had a few conversations here and there with players about the new coach and that they like Ducharmes different approach.
Its tricky because I dont want to say something that it comes across that Claude didnt do, Bergevin said. Sometimes the message coaches talk to the players every day. So its a piece of the business in sports, sometimes the message gets stale. It doesnt mean its a completely different message. But now what the guys like with Dom is the message is different, the approach is different.
Another big difference is that Carey Price has found his game after a poor start to the season that cost goaltending coach Stéphane Waite his job. Price made 34 saves Monday as the Canadiens beat the Jets 4-2. In his last six starts, Price has a 4-1-1 record while allowing only nine goals, improving his season record to 9-5-4 with a 2.59 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage. Backup goalie Jake Allen has been solid all season with a 4-3-3 record, a 2.28 GAA and a .922 save percentage.
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Bergevin had high expectations for his team coming into this season after acquiring forwards Tyler Toffoli and Josh Anderson, defenceman Joel Edmundson and Allen, spending right up to the US$81.5-million NHL salary cap. Those players have all produced. Toffoli leads the Canadiens with 17 goals and Anderson has 11, while Edmundson has the best plus/minus differential in the NHL at plus-26.
Bergevin said his expectations have not changed since the start of the season despite what has been a bumpy road in the first half after a fantastic 7-1-2 start.
Its a tough league, the GM said. Every night its a battle and I expect the same down the road. We have to make the playoffs I feel we have a team to make the playoffs. And then once we get in, I feel that anythings possible. Its hard I call it a one-goal league. Every night its a one-goal league. Last night its a one-goal game really, its an empty-net (goal to make it 4-2). So every night thats what it is.
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Pricer, Jake, top of their game were pretty good in net, Bergevin added. Were up there with the best in the league and I like our team. Our young players are progressing. Yeah, they have some little peaks and valleys, but thats part of being young players. But they care and they want to do well. So, yeah, we have high expectations for ourselves.
scowan@postmedia.com
twitter.com/StuCowan1
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