Canucks: How do they compare to the Montreal Canadiens? (Part 1)

The Vancouver Canucks are still months away from playing NHL hockey again.

Like the rest of us, they’ve been on the sidelines, watching 16 other teams battle it for the ultimate prize. After a crazy first month to the playoffs, we’ve officially reached the Final Four, meaning that, over the next week or so, fans will be treated to the best team from each division.

Well, kind of.

All four teams that finished atop their division at the end of the regular season are no longer competing for the Stanley Cup. Both Pittsburgh and Toronto were knocked out in the first round, while Carolina and Colorado once again fell short of their high expectations, not even pushing their second-round series to seven games.

Of course, you have to give kudos to the clubs that have made it this far, all of whom will argue that it’s all about what you achieve in the postseason, not the regular season.

The New York Islanders have once again proven that they aren’t a team that anyone should sleep on, and both the Vegas Golden Knights and Tampa Bay Lightning continue to not only get big performances from their star players, but to also build upon their postseason experience and success from the past few years.

But there’s one more team that we have to talk about, a team that no one expected to even be here at this point, and that would be the the Montreal Canadiens.

Like the Islanders, the Canadiens secured the fourth and final spot in their division, but their journey to the playoffs was much different compared to the rest. The Canadiens finished the regular season with 59 points, good for 18th in the league, and have been labeled as the heavy underdogs for all of their series as a result, including their upcoming match-up against Vegas.

So what does that have to do with the Canucks?

As mentioned, the Canadiens claimed the fourth and final spot in the all-Canadian division, but not by much. They only finished five points ahead of the Calgary Flames, eight points ahead of the Ottawa Senators, and nine points ahead of the last-place Canucks. In their last 15 games of the year, the Canadiens only secured 12 of a possible 30 points, posting a record of 5-8-2, with two of those wins coming in overtime.

But, like we’ve seen before, the Canadiens woke up and bounced back at the right time. Since their game four loss to the Maple Leafs, the Canadiens have rattled off seven consecutive victories, outscoring their opponents 24-12 during that span. They’re proving that regular season statistics don’t mean much if you can’t perform in the playoffs, and, regardless of how they got there, have deservingly earned the title of “Kings of the North”.

Like their fans, the Canadiens are hoping that they can ride the underdog momentum all the way to the promise land, something that the three Canadian teams below them might also have achieved had they qualified for the postseason.

With that being said, The Canuck Way is going to take a deeper dive into how the Canucks compared to the Canadiens this season, and how it could affect each team’s playoff success moving forward.

Let’s start with goaltending.

To no one’s surprise, goaltending continues to be a hot topic when discussing the Canadiens. For over a decade, the city of Montreal has been home to Carey Price, arguably one of the best goalies in the game.

And so far during these playoffs, he hasn’t disappointed.

Before this season, Price had appeared in nine different postseasons, posting a record of 30-36 over that span. He didn’t make it out of the first round in five of those postseasons, and his team only made it to the third round twice. Price barely played in those conference finals, losing the starting position to Jaroslav Halak early on in 2010, while only suiting up for one game in 2014 before being injured.

However, losing record aside, Price also entered this year’s playoffs with a respectable 2.67 GAA and .912 SV%. Over 11 games this year, he has posted a 1.97 GAA and .935 SV%, increasing his overall career numbers to 2.36 GAA and .920 SV% in 81 playoff games. To put this into perspective, Price currently sits tied for 13th in SV% and 19th in GAA all-time for goalies that have played in at least 50 playoff games.

Price also had consistency with his goaltending coaches during that span, working with Stephane Waite since 2013. Waite was replaced by Sean Burke after being let go from the team this past March.

GM Marc Bergevin also went out and acquired a suitable back-up for Price this past offseason, landing Jake Allen from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for a third and seventh-round pick.

Allen was drafted by the Blues in the second round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, but has had somewhat of a rocky time in St. Louis. Over seven seasons, Allen recorded a 2.46 GAA and a .913 SV%, to go along with a record of 148-94-26. He served as the number one netminder over that span, but never seemed to put up the numbers to reflect that role. He would eventually lose the starting position to Jordan Binnington, who led the Blues to their first ever championship in 2019.

Of course, Bergevin knew that Allen wouldn’t be the starter when he went out and traded for him. Instead, he was able to land a solid back-up goaltender that could not only put up wins when Price needed a break during the regular season, but could also rely on their personal playoff experience if the unimaginable happened to Price during the postseason. Over his career, Allen has suited up for 29 playoff games.

Fortunately, Bergevin hasn’t needed to call upon Allen this year in the playoffs. Price has been doing his part for the Canadiens so far, much like he has done throughout his tenure in Montreal, and should continue to do so for as long as he’s able to.

Now, the big question – can Thatcher Demko eventually do the same?