Gord Miller was talking about it last night and I think it's worth discussing. The Habs currently sit 3rd in the NHL in 5-5 GF/GA ratio at 1.53 (26 GF 17 GA). They have slowly gotten better 5 on 5 under Carbo and now they are near the top.
They also sit 9th in FO%, which is pretty good because this was another area where they seemed to struggle before.
Power play sits at 14th, which isn't great but they seem to be creating a lot of chances. Auld made a couple of huge saves last night otherwise they would of got a couple.
PK is 11th right now, which is OK. Better than last year.
Montreal has been good 5 on 5 since the start of the season. The team is way more balanced, should fair well in that stat.
They were also talking about Emelin again. Mcguire saying that he is great and all. Maybe Montreal can smuggle him out of russia. Since they can poach NHL players under contract. Why not the other way around?
On the other hand, our PP at home was 21st going into last night, but I'm sure that will be fixed. Also I don't really care as long as our 5 on 5 play continues to be this good, as teams know that we have a good PP the last few years and are going to key on that.
Well I think more balanced is the key. The low FO% last year hurt us especially in the playoffs, we need a go to guy for those crucial moments in the games where you need a faceoff win. Also Weve proven two years in a row that you can have a killer PP and still not go far in the playoffs so if it drops, no biggie as long as we can stay balanced, maybe 14th or 15th would be great. Also I believe our PK needs to continue to be strong, top ten would be awesome.
When Carbo played we always had a #1 PK unit, Chipchura would be great in this role.
