MONTREAL - Though Andrei Markov's rigorous practising this weekend inspired confidence that he'd be ready for a return as early as tonight against the Coyotes, Jacques Martin affirms from Brossard that Markov will receive official clearance by this weekend.
Not a moment too soon, considering the Canadiens woeful powerplay operating at a putrid 4.2% efficiency rate.
Markov's presence will surely inflate the team's powerplay success, but one has to wonder if the Canadiens will be able to climb back to the top-5 where they've finished in all but one season since the lockout.
Markov's presence moves P.K. Subban to a shooting position and gives the team many more options in effectively breaking the zone to set things up, and in the execution of plays once the line's been broken.
Markov's incredible vision really opens up the threats that Michael Cammalleri and Subban pose in one-timer positions. Given how much teams will need to key in on those three players, it opens up ice for Tomas Plekanec or Scott Gomez (depending on who's playing on the top unit) and Andrei Kostitsyn/Brian Gionta.
Aside from his influence on the Canadiens powerplay, Markov offers much more to his team in his defensive zone stability; in the workload he's able to handle; in helping the team break out of the defensive zone.
His presence also ensures more balance on the blue line, with Jaroslav Spacek likely juggling less minutes, and P.K. Subban upgrading from Alexandre Picard-- who's done a reasonable job through seven games.
Special Teams and Goaltending
Jacques Martin sounds like a broken record every time he mentions the significance of special teams and goaltending in the outcome of hockey games; but the coach is right.
Technically, with the best penalty kill in the league and some pretty excellent goaltending care of Price, the Habs should be eligible to win 2/3 of their games (4-2-1...9 pts/14--64%-- close enough). Maybe they'd be undefeated if the powerplay were near its click-through rate of the last 5 seasons.
Sincerely though, the team's play at even strength has been impressive. They've scored 16/17 goals without any kind of advantage, unless you consider 4-on-4 to be to the Habs advantage (they did finish second in the league last season in the category).
Not Quite Scoring Enough
The Canadiens rank 27th in goals for... Not exactly cream of the crop.
They desperately need to improve those numbers if they hope to maintain or improve on their current pace. If they don't manage to light the lamp more, they'll need their penalty kill to continue to work miracles, and for Price to continue to improve with each start.
