The Montreal Canadiens have had a relatively stable duo in the playoffs, but a change could be in the works.
When evaluating Montreal’s defensive pairings, the results are quite curious. In this particular case, we’re only discussing their 5v5 numbers vs. the Sabres, so, the sample size is limited, but it gives us a pretty good idea of how things have unfolded on the blue line.
Defensive Pairings at 5v5 (vs. Sabres)
The eye test tells us that the duo of Mike Matheson and Alexander Carrier lag behind by a wide margin, and it’s reflected in the numbers. They have managed to control just over 45 percent of their shots, which is far from ideal.
And yet, the fact that they are facing the opposing team’s best players suggests that they are facing higher quality competition than their peers, making their 59% control of high-danger chances an impressive number.
It’s almost the opposite situation for the second pairing, which currently consists of Noah Dobson and Lane Hutson. They controlled more shots than any other pair, but they were lagging behind by a fairly wide margin.
And finally, when it comes to the third pairing of Arbor Zekaj and Caden Guhle, they’re working with an even smaller sample size, but the early results are nothing to write home about.
Montreal Canadiens Brass Tacks
Neither Zekaj nor Jaden Struble practiced on Thursday, meaning there’s a chance the former will have to make way for the latter in the lineup.
Czekaj played only 3:46 minutes on Tuesday, which was the least amount of playing time given to any player on either team, indicating that he was likely falling out of favor with head coach Martin Saint-Louis.
And yet, his replacement in the lineup will likely ease the toughness at a time when the Sabers are going out of their way to increase the physicality of every single inning.
That doesn’t mean Struble is a withered flower, as he can certainly bring a significant element of violence to the table, however, it’s worth noting that he only spent 17 minutes at 5v5 with Guhle in the entire regular season.
But if Struble’s play allows St.-Louis to build its pairings with less apprehension and more confidence, it would be a significant win from a roster construction standpoint.
All Montreal Canadiens stats are 5v5, via Natural Stat Trick, unless otherwise noted.
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