Habs' balloon about to deflate?

It would be hard to rain on everyone's parade after such a stellar season, where the Canadiens have been the surprise (Beast?) of the East. Grossly unfair to play Debbie Downer or Nagging Nellie. To see a glass half empty rather than on the verge of overflowing.

I get it.

Several players, whom we recognized as having great potential, experienced rapid development. Whether it was Slaf reaching the 30-goal milestone and at times being an unstoppable and indomitable beast, Hutson elevating the standards for what a true offensive defenseman can achieve while significantly enhancing his defensive skills, or Dobes standing firm like the Great Wall of China, there are certainly many reasons to be grateful.

However, perhaps a few drops, or even a steady drizzle, on everyone's parade might be justified. To begin with, the Canadiens have generally not defended effectively. Not in their own zone, and definitely not in the neutral zone, which has sometimes resembled the Wild West, allowing opponents to move freely. No barriers, just an open invitation. The same can be said about our goalies' crease: it's open to all, so come on and stay a while....

Unchecked in the middle of the ice and undeterred in front of our netminders.

And, up until recently, an abysmal penalty kill, with the Habs players chasing their opponents like chickens without their heads (prefer not to question the man-to-man system in such a short blog-we'll get to it this summer if St-Louis' tactics fail in the playoffs). Oddly enough, we owned the g'damn parts that led to a solid PK unit last season, and we let them all go. To boot, we ponied up a mid-tier 2nd rounder for Phil Danault, who looks like a shadow of his former self.

Playoff hockey is a game of trenches, of crashing the net, and of course, as we know (when you have the lead, a rarity for this team) the ability to close out the center of the ice (otherwise known as the neutral zone). Oh, and did I mention having a hotter than hot power play (ours is currently a frigid as a moonlit tundra).

To make matters worse, we give up a ton of shots, and our top shot blocker (Noah Dobson) is out, potentially for the entire first round. Stuck with a plethora of LHD and now, only one legit RHD (injured, and who at practice today struggled to even hold his stick), how will this team survive what is sure to be a formidable foe in round 1?

Again, no need to throw tomatoes at me, there have been many positives this season. Sure, many wins were acquired in OT or in SO, but still, this team has shown character throughout, with some epic comebacks.

Nevertheless, the lack of depth, and overdependence on very few forwards to win games, and St-Louis' propensity for squeezing every single drop out of his 3 prized lemons (bad analogy, I know) on D, has led to a group that seems gassed, and is just wobbling into the postseason. The coaching staff's lack of trust in Arber Xhekaj, and to a lesser extent, Jayden Struble, not to mention management feeling Reinbacher was simply not ready, has led us to where we are today, and with seemingly more concerns than one can count.

Therefore, although the exceptional skills of Suzy, Cole, Lane, Slaf, Noah, Ivan, and Mike have elevated this team to unexpected levels, it's important to remain realistic about their chances in the upcoming playoffs, as there are numerous indicators that this spring might resemble the previous one.

And sorry if I deflated anyone's hot-air balloon...