Since the beginning of the season, the Habs have tried a thousand and one solutions to revive the offense, especially on the power play. Changes are made regularly, but the results are similar.
Jeff Petry is no longer a shadow of his former self this year, even though he has just been officially removed from his role as quarterback on the power play. The number 26 has only accumulated two assists in 20 games, in addition to causing a lot of turnovers in all three zones. In short, a real catastrophe.
This morning, Dominique Ducharme officially decided to put Chris Wideman and Ben Chiarot in charge of the two waves of the massive offense. Chris Wideman, I can live with, being an offensive defenseman. Ben Chiarot, on the other hand...
In Montreal, we have a young, super mobile Russian defenseman by the name of Alexander Romanov who is just waiting to get his chance offensively. Last year, Romanov had a taste of the ice in similar situations early in the campaign, but the experience was short-lived. Now that he has stabilized his game in the defensive zone, it might be time to give Romanov a chance on the power play.
I like Ben Chiarot, but not in this kind of role. Probably the Habs will put him on display to get to the point of trading him before he becomes free as a bird next summer. However, if the CH's goal is to win hockey games, they might want to start with some consistent moves. Romanov could definitely use his offensive assets to help the Habs, without taking anything away from Ben Chiarot, who is much more known for his defensive skills.
