A Wasted Weekend as the Habs lose to the Blues & Blackhawks (Habs)

Habs

A Wasted Weekend as the Habs lose to the Blues & Blackhawks

By Jennifer B Cutler

Jan 18, 2016 • 7:14 am

0comment-bubble

It was a tough weekend for the Montreal Canadiens, falling to the St. Louis Blues Saturday night 4-3 in overtime and then losing once again to the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday by a score of 5-2. On Saturday night the Canadiens played their hearts out, it was one of their best efforts of the year led by none other than their leadership core. On Sunday night against the Blackhawks, the effort was there at times but it became evident as the game went on that the players were emotionally and mentally drained. By the end of the night they simply had nothing left to give.

Against St. Louis, an early goal 34 seconds into the game by Robby Fabbri did not demoralize the Canadiens. They kept at it and in the 2nd period P.K. Subban would score a powerplay goal, his 3rd goal of the season to tie the game. Midway through the second Max Pacioretty scored to give the Canadiens a short-lived lead as Paul Stastny replied for the Blues just 1:06 later. The Canadiens poured 22 shots on net in the second and enjoyed numerous powerplay advantages as the Blues were undisciplined. While scoring 2 goals in a period is somewhat of a moral victory for the Canadiens, they needed to take better advantage of their opportunities to put the game away. Tomas Plekanec would give the Canadiens another lead in the 3rd period, only this one lasted just 44 seconds as miscommunication between goaltender Mike Condon and defenseman Mark Barberio led to an easy goal by Ty Rattie. In overtime, Jori Lehtera would score the winner as Andrei Markov and Alex Galchenyuk were both guilty of errors. Post-game it was obvious that the Canadiens knew that they needed to and should have won that game.

It was hard to imagine that the Canadiens could replicate their effort against Chicago and unfortunately that was just the case. Mental mistakes proved costly once again and the Canadiens once again put themselves in the hole by allowing the first goal of the game with less than 3 minutes played. Lars Eller would tie the game by going to the net and taking advantage of a rebound from Jeff Petry’s initial shot. In the second period Jonathan Toews would give the Blackhawks the lead, scoring a powerplay goal with Torrey Mitchell in the box. Toews would score what would prove to be the winning goal later in the same period although hindsight is always 20-20 as the Canadiens should have challenged the goal as the play should have been called off-side.

In the 3rd Pacioretty would bring the Canadiens within 1 as he scored a powerplay goal. Any momentum that the Canadiens might have been able to build from that was killed as Patrick Kane was left all alone in front of Ben Scrivens just 1:11 later. Yes, Nathan Beaulieu should have known better than to leave Kane alone in front as we went to try to help his defence partner Barberio. However, Therrien should not have had his 3rd defence pairing on the ice against Kane along with Galchenyuk, Desharnais and Weise who had been struggling all night. Marion Hossa would tally the empty net goal to make it an official 5-2 loss for the Canadiens.

There is so much to say regarding the Canadiens two games and never-ending woes and yet at the same time we are left somewhat speechless. How much worse can it get? When do the Canadiens hit rock-bottom? Have they hit rock-bottom? How could a team that looked so good look this bad at times? Fans are frustrated and want action. How long until their patience fully runs out?

The obvious answer is that the Canadiens are missing their Vezina and Hart trophy winner Carey Price. However, the first time that he was injured the Canadiens were still able to score. Yes he most likely could have stolen some games for them in December/January, but there is only so much he can do. Perhaps the Canadiens are also missing his leadership in the dressing room.

More depressing stats for Habs fans:

And for those that enjoy analytics and puck possession numbers:

The Canadiens have run into some very hot goaltenders as of late but that is still no excuse for their own defensive mental lapses and mistakes. The team is trying to stick together though and are say the right things. I don’t believe that they have quit on Michel Therrien. On most nights throughout this dreadful stretch, the Canadiens are in the majority of games that they have played. At least up until a point when someone makes an error and the wind is taken out of their sails. The Canadiens have to find a way to stay sharp and focused. Is removing Therrien the answer? I honestly cannot say. He needs more help in the top six but I also believe that he has misused some of his players. Alex Galchenyuk and David Desharnais have accomplished nothing in their last two games together. Andrei Markov being played in 3-on-3 overtime should stop happening, even if he was having a good game up until that point. It has even come to fans missing Tom Gilbert on defence and the extra stability that he can bring on the 3rd pairing. Would adding coaching consultant Craig Ramsay to the bench full-time make a difference? Perhaps… I would not be surprised if an assistant coach gets let go before Michel Therrien.

Or perhaps Jonathan Drouin is the answer? The scout watch was on over the weekend in Syracuse as the Canadiens had two members watching him Friday night and another on Saturday. While his talent is certainly there, he still has not proven himself in the NHL and anyone would be misguided to believe that he could instantly boost the Canadiens. I do believe in Drouin and that he could be a real asset to the Canadiens, but one cannot expect him to come in and save the season if the Canadiens are able to trade for him. Fans must have realistic expectations…

The Canadiens have now returned back home where they will face the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night. Will they be able to recapture their level of play from the Winter Classic? Will they wake up Tuesday morning still in a playoff spot or will they have been surpassed for the final wild card spot? Is the sand in the hourglass trickling down for head coach Michel Therrien? Will Bergevin wait until Carey Price returns to play before making a move? Only time will tell…

Cheers & Follow Along:

Show Comments
Loading...
Loading...
0
Show comments for this article