Michel Therrien tries to calm 'worry' around Canadiens' hot start
At a Monday news conference, Montreal Canadiens coach Michel Therrien tried to calm team supporters who may feel nervous that the group could fall off after yet another hot start.
The Canadiens are 10-1-1 this season and have enjoyed a nice bounce-back after a dreadful 2015-16 where they started 9-0-0 and then missed the playoffs.
Still, based off last year’s start there is some doubt around the team, which was felt after the Canadiens were drubbed 10-0 on Friday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Habs won the next day against the Philadelphia Flyers, but there is still some negativity around the team.
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Therrien was asked about turnovers and his defense giving up too many shots on goal in recent game. He then went off on some of the panic around the Habs, despite the fact that they have the best record in the NHL.
It comes from the heart. Sometimes I’m just not prepared, I just gotta let it go because I’ve been asking the question lately, ‘are you worried?’ Worry, worry. We want to have a good training camp and this is actually exactly what we had because when you have a good training camp, usually you could have a good start. After 12 games, one loss, and people ask ‘are you worried?’ Thank god we’re not like sixth or seventh in our conference. They would have been panicking. And hey, do we have things to work, for sure there are 29 teams, talk to every coach, that’s the same thing. We’re early in November. We have to calm down a little bit and we have a great start, there’s things we need to concentrate – what’s the word ‘worry’ for me? Because I went and did my groceries yesterday and fans are excited about our start and worry for me is little Simon we got in the dressing room. After the game he went to the hospital and he had treatment Sunday and treatment the next few days. That’s worry. One loss in 12 games? I’m happy.
Several new pieces the team added last offseason have helped contribute to the Canadiens this year and should give reasons for optimism that the Habs won’t drop off.
The team traded defenseman P.K. Subban for defenseman Shea Weber, and Weber has four goals and 10 points in 12 games. He is also a plus-15. Forward Alexander Radulov, who was signed from the KHL during the summer, has nine points in 12 games and is a plus-3. Agitating forward Andrew Shaw has added some sandpaper to the team’s game.
Backup goaltender Al Montoya won the season’s first three games as Carey Price dealt with an illness, and should provide a strong veteran option in case Price needs a break over the course of the year. Price, the 2015 Hart Trophy winner, has not shown any lingering issues from an MCL problem that kept him sidelined most of November onwards in 2015-16.
Still, based on last year, it’ll take some consistency through November and into December for these questions to completely go away. Until then, Therrien may still find himself dealing with queries about how and why this group is different than last year’s.
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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper
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