Canadiens' Top 4 Defensemen Key to Stanley Cup
It's too early to call the Montreal Canadiens' postseason run a Cinderella storey, but the NHL's most renowned franchise has defied the odds to reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 28 years. Their success has mostly been due to their top-two defensive pairings, which have limited the opposition's ability to create attacking opportunities.
During the conference finals against the Vegas Golden Knights, interim head coach Luke Richardson referred to his top-four defensemen as "having four Prongers out there," but their defensive plan of collapsing the slot, blocking shots, and checking bodies off the play has proven effective. I want to look at the ups and downs of the Canadiens' top-two defensive pairings and why they have had so much success, though I don't want to cover every element of their game.
Shea Weber is the club's captain for a reason. He's not only a seasoned captain on a young club, but his defensive play can swing a game in the Canadiens' favour. He still has an impact at 35 years old, as we've seen throughout the playoffs, whether battling along the boards or in front of the net. We've seen glimpses that he wants nothing more than to hold the Stanley Cup over his head for the first time in his 16-year NHL career, even if he's not one to show his emotions on his sleeve.
Weber's defensive partner, Ben Chiarot, has been quite effective. When the puck is along the boards, Weber may go toward it because he knows his partner will mop up any potential scoring opportunities. It's difficult to find that kind of synergy, but the issue is that Chiarot is a risk-taker on and off the ice. He may be a shut-down defender, but he's more prone to get caught out of position than the others.
Like Weber, Chiarot is big and physical, at 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, and he's difficult to play against. He will make you pay for hanging around the net, and he leads the Canadiens' top-four defenders in hits (64) this postseason. While Weber is more likely to pin an opposing player against the boards, as his teammate picks the puck loose, Chiarot will remove his opponent from the play with a big hit.
There's a reason Jeff Petry has been with the Canadiens longer than any other defenseman on the roster. While he sometimes makes questionable plays, he is the defender most likely to join the rush and create scoring chances. He's not afraid to carry the puck into the offensive zone and wait for the offence to get set up. None of the other top-four does this as often.
Petry's absence was felt during Game 1 against Vegas when the team struggled with zone entries, and stretch passes became an issue. He's averaging almost 25 minutes TOI this postseason, and he's been arguably the most impactful defender on the team. He has the fewest penalty minutes of the top four (two minutes), which means he's competing and being effective physically without hurting his team.
Point production is not what comes to mind when I think of Joel Edmundson, who has no problem wreaking havoc on the opposition. Like Chiarot, Edmundson plays a physical game, with 50 hits and 23 blocked shots this postseason.
Edmundson, like Petry, has maintained his physical game in the postseason without taking penalties. He has three penalties in 18 games, which is impressive for a defensive system that's built to shut down the slot. The Petry/Edmundson pairing has been effective and clean at keeping the slot clear.
Stick to the System
The Canadiens' defence may not be the best in the league, but when they play as a unit, they are near-impossible to score on. Since they were down 3-1 in their first-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal's top-four defensemen have been an absolute force. To lose even one of them for a game would hurt the team, as we saw against Vegas.
Tampa Bay is a strong offensive team, and the Canadiens' top-four will need to make their presence felt going forward and improve on the mistakes made in Game 1. For a team that plays a trap game, Montreal's defence plays best when they are close, clogging up the slot and the neutral zone. The Stanley Cup is within their reach, but the top-four will need to continue shutting down the slot, forcing the opposition to the outside, and making good neutral-zone passes. Success will come if they stick to the game plan.
Credit: TheHockeyWriters
