Canadiens vs Bruins : Habs accentuating the positives after Game 2 loss

Source : faceoff.com

Songwriter Johnny Mercer offered that sage advice 70 years ago and coach Michel Therrien will take it into consideration as the Canadiens prepare to face the Boston Bruins in Game 3 of their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal Tuesday night at the Bell Centre (7 p.m., CBC, RDS, TSN Radio 690).

When the Canadiens resume practice Monday morning in Brossard, Therrien will encourage his team to continue doing the things it did well on its way to earning a split of the first two games in Boston.

At the same time, Therrien said Sunday he won’t hesitate to point out the areas of the game where the Canadiens have to tighten up.

“We always make adjustments and we’ll look at the tape and tomorrow we’ll work on the areas where we need to get better,” the coach said.

Here’s a look at some of the positives and negatives going into Game 3:

Positive: The Canadiens broke even in Boston, winning 4-3 in double-overtime in Game 1 before losing 5-3 Saturday in a game they led 3-1 with 10 minutes to play.

“We went to play two games in one of the toughest places to play in the National Hockey League and we’re out of there with the series tied,” Therrien said. “That’s the big picture.”

Negative: The Canadiens could have — should have? — left Boston with a 2-0 lead in the series. On Saturday, the Canadiens took a 3-1 lead early in the third period on Thomas Vanek’s second power-play goal of the game and the Bruins had managed only one shot on goal in the period before Dougie Hamilton scored at 10:56. The momentum swung to the Bruins and Patrice Bergeron and Reilly Smith scored before Milan Lucic applied the finishing touch with an empty-netter.

Positive: Goaltender Carey Price starred in Game 1 with a 48-save performance and had the Canadiens in a position to win Game 2 before a series of blown coverages and deflections allowed the Bruins to come back.

Negative: His teammates aren’t making life easy for Price. The Bruins have spent too much time in the Canadiens’ zone and have had too many good looks at the goal. In Game 1, the Bruins had 51 shots on goal, but teed it up 98 times. Thirty shots were blocked and 17 were off target. The Canadiens tightened up a bit in Game 2, but while Therrien noted the Bruins had only one shot in the first 10 minutes of the third period, Boston outshot Montreal 35-28.

Positive: The Canadiens now have the home-ice advantage with three of five remaining games at the Bell Centre and Therrien said he expects the sellout crowd to give his team a lift.

Negative: The Bruins’ only win over the Canadiens in the regular season was a 4-1 decision at the Bell Centre on March 12. The home venue didn’t mean much in the regular season with the Canadiens winning 23 games at home and 23 away. Until he won Saturday afternoon, Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask’s only wins against Montreal were at the Bell Centre.

Positive: The Canadiens have held two-goal leads in the first two games of the series.

Negative: Whether it’s the resilient nature of the Bruins or a lapse on the part of the Canadiens, Montreal has had difficulty holding a lead. The Bruins came back from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits in Game 1 to force overtime and came back from down 3-1 in the third period to win in Game 2.

Positive: The Canadiens’ power play has come to life with a huge effort from P.K. Subban. The defenceman scored two power-play goals — including the game-winner — in Game 1, and his shot lead to two deflection goals for Vanek in Game 2. The Canadiens are 4-for-9 on the power play in this series, while the Bruins are 0-for-5.

Negative: Montreal’s top line of Max Pacioretty, David Desharnais and Vanek has to do more. The Patrice Bergeron line has held them in check, but the situation may be better in Montreal, where it will be more difficult for Bruins coach Claude Julien to match lines.

Positive: Therrien believes his team gained confidence from the split in Boston and dismissed the notion the Bruins will carry some momentum from their comeback in Game 2.

Negative: The Bruins are also talking about confidence after dodging a bullet in Game 2.