The Habs have never been big fans of back to back games and you could see that ending coming from a mile out. In fact, from the Rags’ second goal, the Habs looked like Rocky just taking in Drago’s punches until the inevitable burst of energy in the last round that allows him to win...But this is not a movie and the Habs just couldn’t hang on tonight unfortunately.
Many reasons can explain this spectacular debacle...the nicest fans will blame fatigue since the team was in a tion last night but the root of the problem is deeper than that. Let’s face it, the Canadiens’ defense is somewhat of a mess. While there has been more wins than expected this season, it has kind of hidden the true weakness of the blue line. Benn and Juulsen both had a terrible game tonight and there was a couple of miscommunication between Price and Petry which could have been costly, which it has been in other games this season. Mid-December and Weber’s return cannot come soon enough. I know the team doesn’t want to rush him but his return would bring some much needed stability.
While I raved about Jonathan Drouin last night, tonight he deliver an abysmal performance full of turnovers, bad decision and lack of commitment. Had there not been an injury tonighht, I wouldn’t have been surprised to see him benched.
The Habs could have clinched this game had they taken the opportunity to score on the 4minute power play they got. Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be and they finished the game short a forward when Joel Armia was injured. It remains to be seen if he or Byron will be back Thursday but if not, we may well see Scherbak’s season debut, recalling him from the conditionning stint he is doing in Laval would seem like the logical answer. Slotting him alongside Lehkonen and Kotkaniemi would also give him some scoring opportunities of which he will have to make the most of. The organization’s patience with him appears to be wearing thin...
For the second game in a row, the Habs received a too-many men on the ice bench minor in the last minutes of the game and that is downright unacceptable.
Sole positive point tonight; Tomas Tatar came to play and managed to score 2goals. The Habs will be back in action on Thursday night against the Sabres at the Bell Centre, it will be interesting to see who’s healthy by then...