After Tuesday’s 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Bell Centre the Canadiens, were 13-3-1 in their last 17 games.
The team has been on a roll, but continues to take too many penalties, including four against the Lightning. Heading into Thursday night’s game against the Red Wings in Detroit the Canadiens had taken 183 minor penalties this season, second in the NHL behind the Florida Panthers with 189.
The Canadiens have continued to win games in large part because their penalty-killing is ranked ninth in the NHL, with an 81.7 per cent success rate. They’ve also been getting solid goaltending from Samuel Montembeault and Jakub Dobes.
In this Hockey Inside/Out bonus episode, former Canadiens teammates and 1986 Stanley Cup champions Chris Nilan and Rick Green join The Gazette’s Stu Cowan to discuss how the Habs are playing with fire by taking so many penalties and what head coach Martin St. Louis can do to help solve the problem.
Let us know what you think in the comments section below, where you can also post a question you’d like answered in an upcoming bonus episode.