Montreal is currently 24th in the league through 43 games with an 18-18-7 record and 43 points to show for it. With those numbers, it is virtually impossible for them to make the playoffs, add the myriad of injuries to the equation and it becomes pure fabulation to think that they could make it. With that said, and even if this is not the Canadiens' way, the best thing fans can hope for are entertaining hockey games that result in losses. Simply said, finishing higher in the standing for prides does no good to anyone, at this stage, the Habs need good odds for the draft lottery. If you haven't accepted this yet, the month of January will be rather long for you.
Last night, Claude Julien deployed Ilya Kovalchuk on the first line alongside Philip Danault and Tomas Tatar making him fill in for the concussed Brendan Gallagher. Quite frankly, judging by the buzz on social media, most people watched the game to see how Kovalchuk would fare and that's ok... For now, this season is the Kovalshow and we may as well enjoy it.
Make no mistake, the Canadiens didn't play badly even though they dropped another 2 points in a 3-2 loss. They got the better of the Jets in the faceoff and hits department, were disciplined and even attacked with a feeling of urgency...Once they were down 2-0. Carey Price did make some big saves and was left to his own device on some odd men rush for which you can't really blame him no matter how much you'd like to.
As for Kovalchuk, he ended the night with a +2 rating and an assist. He didn't get a helper on the Habs' first goal but he did manufacture it none the less. The 36 years old played 19 minutes and 25 seconds last night, that is downright remarkable for a player who hadn't played since November 9th and better yet, those were very energetic minutes he even dished out 6 hits believe it or not.
Ilya Kovalchuk a obtenu son premier point avec les Canadiens avec une passe sur le but.
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) January 7, 2020
Ilya Kovalchuk earned his first point as a Hab with an assist on the play.#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/jSDAf88aYl
Meanwhile, Nick Suzuki was used for just short of 15 minutes even though he missed a huge chunk of the first period after a concussion scare. Yes, he ended the night as a -3 and made an awful turnover to gift the Jets a shorthanded goal but this is normal. This right there is called growing pains and when you're using your Young players, that will happen. It seems like Claude Julien has finally realized (or he has no choice) that he needs to trust his Young players and live with their mistakes, here's to hoping the fans can do the same. After all, there's no problem there, your young players are learning and you are increasing your chances at a good draft pick come June.
Lost in the Kovalshow is the fact that the Canadiens now have a much more balanced defense since the arrival of Marco Scandella. Last night, their top 4 d-men all played over 20 minutes while the third pairing logged in over 12 minutes. That means that no one had to play 30 minutes and that is a good thing. For once, the second pairing was on the ice for longer than the first: Petry (25:26), Scandella (22:28), Weber (21:58) and Chiarot (20:13). I liked seeing that, it's good that Weber didn't have to be on the ice half the time. As an added bonus, Chiarot even scored both of the Habs' goals, talk about a good day at the office.
Pas mal cool de marquer deux fois contre son ancienne équipe.
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) January 7, 2020
Pretty nice to score against your former team twice.#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/RES7lco5hG
Tonight, the Canadiens are in Detroit facing a Red Wings team that is dead last in the league. They've only won 10 games this year but two of those were against the Canadiens. Don't expect a walk in the park for the Habs, there are no walks in the park for this team anymore and that's fine. Hopefully, when the puck drops at 19:30, will be treated to an entertaining contest and we'll be able to enjoy it for what it is, a simple distraction and not a matter of life or death.