How Can the Canadiens Fix Their 2nd Periods

One of the biggest storylines in recent games, is that the Canadiens tend to come out of the gate with strong first periods, using their speed and skill to wear down their opponents from the opening draw until the end of the 1st period. However, the 2nd period is a different story as they tend to slow down and allow their opponents back into the game. The best example of this came in Monday’s matchup against the Buffalo Sabres, where the Habs completely dominated puck possession and shots in the 1st period, but come the 2nd period, despite having the momentum, they let the Sabres right back in it, which led to the game-tying goal. Immediately when the 3rd period started the Habs were back to pushing hard, and quickly got the lead again with a Juraj Slafkovsky goal and never looked back in that game. 

As great as the game against the Sabres turned out for them, it could still have gone like it did against the New York Rangers where they lost all momentum after allowing a goal within the first minute of the 3rd period, which led to the Rangers scoring another two goals in the first 5 minutes of the 3rd. The Habs started to play better afterwards but it was too little too late. Their amazing first-period start got wasted because they weren’t able to play well in the 2nd period much like many other games. Most nights so far, the Habs are lucky that they can play two solid periods in between their disappointing middle-frame, but eventually, it will bite them back more often.

According to McGuire, the way to fix it starts with the Canadiens’ coaching staff analyzing how the players are dealing with the long change and maybe helping make adjustments on how they can make their changes more effectively. Honestly, it has seemed like players have struggled with getting to the bench for the long changes which has caused the team to often get caught in their own zone, leading to the players tiring out and it becoming a continuous cycle throughout the period.

Maybe the solution is to try to work on making changes on the fly as they approach the offensive zone. It may be easier said than done, but it’s clear the long change has really hurt the Habs in their own zone.

Another thing McGuire brings up is that the Habs coaches look into how they are doing off the faceoffs in that period alone to maybe find a pattern that is holding them back. Honestly, this isn’t something I’ve noticed as an issue in the 2nd period, but it’s definitely something that is worth giving a look at. It may play a factor in what is going wrong during the middle frames

Right now, the Habs haven’t been hurt too much by their inability to perform in the 2nd period but it could end up being a problem down the line against better teams. The more I’ve watched their 2nd periods, the more I realize that the players get hemmed in their zone by making a mistake which leads to them getting tired. Since it is a long change, it’s also harder to get to the bench, leaving their opponents to take advantage of tired players.

What do you think is the issue with the Canadiens’ 2nd periods?