Static

So I missed the game 3 preview and recap between the Bruins and the Canadiens. For that, I apologize. Instead of offering excuses (and I have a legitimate one), I'll offer this quarter-pole assessment of Montreal. This won't take long, because the problem is obvious, and, what's more, it's easily fixed.

Montreal's power-play flat-out sucks. As of today, they are 24th in the league with a 14.4% success rate. The reason is not because Mark Streit has gone, or that so-and-so is cold. The reason became crystal clear on Saturday when Montreal failed to score on a full two-minute 5-on-3 power play. No Montreal player moved from his set position for the entire two minutes. This let Buffalo have a very easy time of it. The Sabres did not need to move, and thus they were always in position to block dangerous passes. It was the easiest 5-on-3 kill any team has ever had to make.

Compare Montreal's abysmal two-man advantage with the 4-on-4 goal they scored earlier. Andrei Markov moved into the slot to receive a beautiful pass from Saku Koivu, finishing what had been fast-moving, and utterly confusing, offensive zone pressure. The Habs were dynamic, skating circles around a bewildered Sabres team. This is why Montreal's special teams have had so much previous success.

These days, Montreal's power play is static, with players opting for one-timers from a stationary point-man, or low-percetnage shots from the wing that usually end up missing the net and traveling along the boards past the blue line. Last year, Montreal's power play was fluid, with players rotating and causing utter confusion for the opposition.

The really frustrating thing about this is that Guy Carbonneau seems content to do nothing about it. He knows, or should know, what is wrong, and that some practice time and some sage advice are all that is needed to change it. Why he isn't doing anything is maddening. Either he thinks the power play is fine (which it isn't), or he has no idea what to do about it (which makes him borderline retarded). These players are professionals. Carbonneau has no problem benching players who aren't doing what he tells them to, so I find it hard to believe that all five players on Montreal's power play are being deliberately disobedient. No, more likely, Guy Carbonenau has specifically coached his team to play this way.

It's time for Bob Gainey to give Carbonneau a taste of his own medicine. Carbonneau likes to punish payers and make drastic changes the moment they do something wrong. It's time for Carbonneau to be accountable for his own terrible performance. It's time for a coach who doesn't mix names in a blender to find line combinations, and who actually knows something about the power play.