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Red-hot Canadiens vie for sixth straight win vs. Canucks (Mar 07, 2017)
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Claude Julien is living up to the hype.
Julien was cast as a savior of sorts when he replaced the fired Michel Therrien as coach of the Montreal Canadiens last month. There was no shortage of pressure on Julien as he took the helm of a fabled NHL club whose fans have a history of pillorying coaches.
Julien, however, has made what is often described as the toughest job in hockey look easy. The Canadiens (37-21-8) are on a five-game winning streak heading into Tuesday's contest against the Vancouver Canucks (28-30-7) at Rogers Arena.
"When I came here, things weren't going well," Julien told Sportsnet recently. "I'm not going to say they hit bottom, but their confidence was really low. Well, it's pretty hard to turn things over quickly. We go step-by-step, and as I mentioned: I think defensively we've tightened up, which has given us a chance to win every night."
The Canadiens, who are coming off a 4-1 pasting of the New York Rangers, have almost won every night since Julien took over. The Canadiens went 2-6-1 in Therrien's final nine games, but are 6-2-0 under Julien's tutelage, relying on what he describes as "a bit of a swarm" defensively.
"When the puck's in the corner, we're trying to outnumber teams," he told Sportsnet. "If there's two in there, we're three. But we're tight. We're not giving them an opportunity to make plays. I think we're closing the play a little quicker."
With help from some large newcomers at the trade deadline.
Defensemen Jordie Benn and Brandon Davidson, along with forwards Steve Ott, Dwight King and Andreas Martinsen, have made the Canadiens tougher to play against in the short time that they have been with the club -- and show no signs of having difficulty adjusting to their new surroundings.
Benn, 29, who was acquired from Dallas, where he played with his superstar younger brother Jamie, does not mind being subject to intense media scrutiny now that he is with the Canadiens.
"There's probably one or two (media) guys in Dallas and that's about it," Benn told The Montreal Gazette. "There's a lot of cameras here, which is a little overwhelming. But I'll get used to it."
Ott will get a chance to play against the Canucks a week to the night he was held out of the Detroit Red Wings' lineup because his trade to Montreal was pending. The deal for a draft pick was completed before the contest ended.
He has relished the chance to play again for an Original Six team with "another great heritage" -- despite initially having "mixed emotions" about leaving Detroit and having to be separated from his family for a while.
"It's very exciting now to know that I have a chance in the playoffs," said Ott, who had an assist against the Rangers in his first game as a member of the Canadiens. "I've been through (the trade deadline) a few times now, and I kind of prepared my family. I talked to them during the day and knew something was going to go on. There's an adjustment period. Being able to have done this before, being traded at the deadline, it definitely makes it easier when you go into a new room."
Meanwhile, the Canucks have found some success following the deadline. Coach Willie Desjardins' crew comes home riding back-to-back wins in Anaheim and Los Angeles over the weekend.
As a result of the two wins, the Canucks are six points shy of St. Louis in the race for the second Western Conference wild-card berth.
"We're doing little things right and finally just bounces are going our way," said center Bo Horvat, who is on a three-game points streak.
"There's been a lot of games this year where bounces haven't gone our way, so we finally get that reward. It's awesome."
Nikolay Goldobin, acquired from San Jose for veteran winger Jannik Hansen, could play a prominent role against Montreal after seeing limited playing time on the weekend. Second-line winger Loui Erikkson suffered a leg injury in Anaheim, giving Goldobin a chance at top-six forward minutes -- if Desjardins is willing to grant them.
Goldobin scored what proved to be the winning goal in his first game as a Canuck on Saturday against the Kings. But he was also prone to some defensive gaffes in both L.A. and Anaheim and had his ice time curtailed.
The Canadiens will also likely play without a top forward. Alexander Radulov continues to recuperate from a lower-body injury that forced him to miss the win over the Rangers.
