Apologies to readers: due to technical difficulties, this article could not be posted several hours ago.
For the first time since early January, the Montreal Canadiens finally strung together two consecutive victories by defeating the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center by a score of 4-3. Alex Galchenyuk scored in overtime after the Habs erased 1-0, 2-1, and 3-1 deficits thanks specially to captain Max Pacioretty's two goals and Alexander Radulov's four points. Dreadfully boring first and second periods made way for an exciting third and overtime, where a total of five goals were scored. Still, despite the victory, there continues to be glaring issues with the Habs.
- The Habs have not won a single game in regulation in February. Their four victories all required overtime.
- Secondary scoring is still a problem, as the usual suspects- Pacioretty, Radulov, and Galchenyuk- are the only forwards to score consistently. Of the 16 goals scored by the entire team this month, Andrew Shaw is the only other forward to add his name to the score sheet.
- In playing against a supposedly inferior opponent, the Canadiens forgot to show up for the first 40 minutes. Poor preparation is still very much an issue.
- The Habs allowed 37 shots on goal last night while firing 33.
- The Devils won 53% of face offs last night, although that number would be significantly higher had it not been for David Desharnais winning 66.7% and Shaw winning 75%.
- Since November 12th 2016, the Habs’ record is 21-20-7. That is hardly a recipe for postseason success, and they’ll need to win 10 of their remaining 19 games in order to secure a presence in the playoffs.
Raise your hand if you believe that the Canadiens actually deserved the victory last night. Save for Al Montoya and the aforementioned players, there really is not much positivity to take from a close call against the league’s 23rd-ranked team and 14th in the Eastern Conference.
Now, raise your hand if you believe with all of your heart that the Habs will defeat one of the best teams in the NHL tonight at the Bell Centre when they take on the Columbus Blue Jackets.
John Tortorella’s troops are 6-4-0 in their last 10 games and have amassed 83 points in a very tough Metropolitan Division. They are fourth in the league in goals per game and goals-against, fifth overall on the power play, and 10th on the penalty kill. The Habs, on the other hand, are 14th, eighth, ninth and 21st respectively. Playing as poorly as they did in the first 40 minutes of last night’s game would guarantee that the Blue Jackets will embarrass them on their own turf. After all, playing in a back-to-back after travelling last night means that the Habs will surely be gassed, and Carey Price will therefore have to stand on his head in order to give his team an ounce of hope in winning.