I’m going to keep this brief, because your Montreal Canadiens have now won 1 out of their last 7 games. I’m going to keep it short because truthfully, they faced off against a Jonathan Quick who was on top of his game last night and gave them absolutely no chance to score. I didn’t think the score was going to be what it was, and I believed that the Habs would have tried to right the ship with a win against a talented Western conference team. Instead, they were served their first goalless loss since March 10th 2015, wheN a certain Ben Bishop of the Tampa Bay Lightning blanked them.
If a goaltender robs a team on three different breakaways and stops all 7 shots taken by a team’s leading goal-scorer, you’re in for a rough night. If the goalie stops 45 shots en route to a shutout, there’s hardly any way that you’ll solve him, and that was certainly the case last night at the Bell Centre.
Habs fans have every reason to start worrying. The Canadiens will be embarking on an 8-game road trip starting on Saturday as they face the Dallas Stars, the best team in the league. Beating a team that’s experiencing as much success as the Stars are would be a much-welcomed confidence boost for a team that sorely needs to regain their lost identity. While the Habs sit in third in the overall NHL standings and their 20-10-3 record is still amazing, it’s the downward spiral that the team is in that has members of the media claiming that Michel Therrien’s troops were simply a mirage throughout the first 20 games of the season. Moreover, the lacklustre performances of some of the stars on this team is cause for concern:
Subban hasn't scored in 24 games and only has one to his name this season. Plekanec is goalless in 17, Markov in 16, and Desharnais in 11. Dale Weise has a single tally in 13 games, and Pacioretty scored twice in 10 games. Unfortunately, that simply won't cut it, and the reinforcements from the Ice Caps are not particularly leaving their mark.
Charles Hudon was sent back to St. John’s Ice Caps, but it was clear that he wasn’t necessarily the long-term solution to the team’s offensive woes. Sven Andrighetto still looks decent out there, as does Daniel Carr, but I expect that the latter will eventually be sent down to the team’s AHL affiliate shortly.
What is there to say that hasn’t already been repeated countless times? In truth, that wasn’t the worst performance by the Habs all season, despite being kept off of the score sheet. In fact, overall, it was a good hockey game with lots of entertainment value, and the Bleu Blanc et Rouge deserved a better fate. With three games in the upcoming 4 nights (starting on Saturday night), they have an opportunity to put together a few wins. They’ve shown that they can, and need to prove that they will continue to be the team to beat this year.