Former Sabres transition seamlessly into key positions for Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens have three more chances to end Ottawa's storybook season, and the team website identified five keys to finishing the job for the Canadiens. Among the typical notes about goaltending and timely scoring stood a somewhat surprising aspect of the team: the players Montreal acquired from last-place Buffalo at the trade deadline.
Former Sabres Torrey Mitchell and Brian Flynn had to jump from a historically bad Buffalo team to a Montreal club in the middle of a playoff race, and bother players made the adjustments well.
"Prior to the start of the 2015 postseason, most poolers and pundits wouldn’t have predicted that two of the Canadiens’ newest players would be leading the team in scoring three games into the playoffs," the Canadiens website said. "Arriving from an organization that finished last in the league in goals for in 2014-15, former Sabres forwards Torrey Mitchell and Brian Flynn have adapted nicely to their new scenery.
"Currently tied with P.K. Subban atop the Habs’ scoring leaderboard with one goal and two assists apiece in three postseason tilts, Mitchell and Flynn are also tied with perennial playoff performers like Sidney Crosby and Patrick Kane in offensive production, and Mitchell is tied for second in the NHL with a plus-4 differential to date."
None of the Canadiens were able to make their presence felt on the scoreboard Wednesday night, but if Mitchell and Flynn are able to feature into the scoring in Game 5 on Friday, the Canadiens will be a very happy team.
(h/t Montreal Canadiens)
Photo by Jean-Yves Ahern - USA Today