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In Hainsight: Former Montreal Canadiens in the Playoffs |
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Follow me @KarineHains for all updates about the Montreal Canadiens and women's hockey
In Colorado, Arturri Lehkonen has already won Lord Stanley’s Cup once, but the Avalanche are still hungry. Last night the Avs, in the first game in Denver, gave the Jets a good walloping scoring five goals in the third frame alone to down the Avs a 6-2 win. Lehkonen had a single goal in the game, but so far, in three playoff games, he’s gathered five points, three goals, and two assists. He leads Colorado in goals and is second in scoring (tied with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen) to Cale Makar.
Even though Jonathan Drouin will miss the entire first round, the Avalanche’s attack hasn’t skipped a beat. There’s no doubt he could have been useful though, he did set a career-high in points with 56 this season and played in 79 games, the most he’s played since the 2018-2019 campaign. He struggled mightily to stay healthy in Montreal, but it wasn’t in Colorado until this latest ordeal. He’s dealing with a lower-body injury.
On the other side of that series, the Jets have paired Sean Monahan and Tyler Toffoli with Nikolaj Ehlers. Both players also feature on the team's power play units. Monahan on the top one and Toffoli on the second. In three games, each of them has only gotten one point. If Winnipeg is to win the series, they’ll have to be much more productive, especially since they play on the second line.
In the Toronto-Boston matchup, there’s a single former Canadien, Joel Edmundson. The veteran was traded to the Leafs on the eve of the trade deadline. In three games so far, he’s only got an assist, but Steady Eddy was never known for his offensive talent, he’s a shutdown D and he could stand to turn the intensity up a notch or two when the puck drops tonight.
Over in Raleigh, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who was in the doghouse at the start of the playoffs has gotten a lifeline. Jesper Fast is injured and KK has landed on the Canes’ second line alongside Martin Necas and Teuvo Teravainen. So far, he’s failed to put any points on the board, but Necas has three in as many games and Teravainen stands at two. During the regular season, the Finnish center only got 27 points, his worst production since he was signed away from Montreal. There are speculations he could be moved this Summer, but it’s hard to see how a team could want to trade for that contract which has six years remaining at a $4,82 M.
In Edmonton, Corey Perry avoided cancel culture and signed a deal with the Oilers. Right now, he’s on their third line and even though he’s pointless, Canadiens’ fans know Perry brings much more than points in the playoffs. On defense, Brett Kulak still patrols their blue line on the third pairing and has a goal so far.
In Florida, Nick Cousins who played 58 games for the Canadiens in 2019-2020 has become one of the most hated players in the league and plays an energy role on Florida’s fourth line.
As for Philip Danault in Los Angeles, he centers the Kings’ second line and has one point in three games so far and he’s -1, not easy to counter the likes of Connor McDavid. With the Islanders, Alexander Romanov has landed on the first pairing alongside Noah Dobson and keeps up his physical play. Mike Reilly has found a home on the third pairing. Meanwhile, Erik Gustaffson is skating with the Rangers and has a couple of helpers to his name.
In Vancouver, Thatcher Demko is on injured reserve which has made Habs for an offseason, Casey De Smith, the de facto number one. In two games, he’s got a 2.02 GAA and a .911 SP. Clearly the Canucks defense is landing him a big hand as he’s only faced 45 shots in those two games.
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