Why Aren't The Montreal Canadiens Shooting More? Not Even The Players Seem To Know
· Yahoo Sports
It was Wayne Gretzky who famously said that “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
For the Montreal Canadiens, who are averaging by far the fewest shots per game in the playoffs, it’s a pretty telling quote. Two days after managing just 12 shots on net in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 2, Montreal had 13 shots in a 3-2 overtime loss in Game 3.
Visit asg-reflektory.pl for more information.
You can’t score — much less win — if you’re not getting pucks on net.
And while the Habs were able to rely on opportunistic scoring to advance to the Eastern Conference final — they beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 despite only having nine shots on net — the lack of volume is finally starting to catch up to them against a Hurricanes team that has forged an identity on playing boring, stifling hockey.
“It’s tough to create offence,” said Canadiens winger Cole Caufield. “We’re going to have to find ways to get that done … you obviously want to generate more shots.”
Indeed, Montreal already set a modern-day record for the least amount of shots in a post-season win in the first round. But three games into this series, the team is playing as though it hopes to shatter that record again.
With the score tied 2-2, the Canadiens were outshot 7-1 in the third period. In overtime, Montreal was outshot again 6-1. That’s two shots in 40 minutes for a team that ranked 30th during the regular season with 25.9 shots per game.
It got so bad that the sold-out crowd at the Bell Centre spent the latter part of the game chanting "shoot the puck."
Not that they listened. With 5:54 remaining in overtime, Carolina's Andrei Svechnikov scored the overtime winner on what was the Hurricanes' 38th shot of the game.
Svechnikov Scores!: Hurricanes Take Series Lead On Another Overtime WinnerAndrei Svechnikov’s overtime heroics and a relentless forecheck stifled Montreal, as Carolina’s dominant puck possession and defensive pressure secured a commanding edge in the Eastern Conference Final.Still, it’s not like Montreal didn’t have chances. It's just that they couldn't locate the net.
In overtime, Nick Suzuki was sprung free on a breakaway. He missed the net by about 10 feet. Several minutes later, defenseman Mike Matheson spun around a defender and found himself alone in the slot. His wrist shot hit ricocheted off the crossbar and went out of play.
“We’re two shots away from being up 3-0 in the series,” said Matheson.
That’s one way to look at it. Another way of looking at it is that the Canadiens won’t get past the Hurricanes unless Montreal can do what it did in Game 1, when the Habs had 22 shots on net in a 6-2 win.
“It can be tough mentally, but that’s why we play the game,” coach Martin St-Louis said of the lack of shots. “You’re a professional athlete, you’re going to get challenged mentally all the time. You can’t let that affect your next decision. Obviously, we don’t want to pass up on shots … we should be having more volume.”
Anyone who watched the Canadiens play this season knows that this team has struggled to get shots on net. Only Vancouver and Chicago, who were the two worst teams in the NHL, averaged fewer shots than Montreal (25.9) in the regular season.
But in the playoffs, Montreal has managed to be even choosier with the puck on their sticks, averaging just 23.5 shots per game.
Carolina obviously has something to do with Montreal's lack of firepower. The Hurricanes were the stingiest defensive team in the regular season, allowing just 24.4 shots per game. In the first two rounds, the Hurricanes held the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers to five goals each. Only Tampa Bay, which faced Montreal in the first round, has allowed fewer shots per game in the playoffs.
“I think it would be easy to possibly let yourself listen to the noise," said Matheson. "But at the end of the day, we need to get four wins. We’ve got a great opportunity to come back here in our building and get a win in Game 4."