I suppose the most obvious statement you could make about that game is that the Habs weren't good. In fact, they were terrible.
It was a rare off-night for Carey Price, which was unaffordable considering how the team played in front of him, and the brainless turnovers from the defensemen were inexplicable.
The Habs didn't deserve a better fate than the one they were dealt in the first period.
Before the game Michel Therrien admitted that splitting Andrei Markov and P.K. Subban was about 10 days in the making, but the decision couldn't have possibly looked worse last night.
Next to Markov, Alexei Emelin was -3, and this time the stat was completely indicative of how he played in the game. This capped off a six game stretch over which Emelin has found himself on the ice for far too many goals against. His -8 over those six games tells part of the story of how hard it's been for him to deal with the arduous schedule, coming off reconstructive knee surgery, and the other part is about the Canadiens complete lack of goal scoring at 5-on-5.
Brendan Gallagher gave his team the life they didn't deserve last night, and with about eight minutes remaining in the third period, Andrei Markov cut off the air supply with a terrible neutral zone pinch, allowing Jaden Schwartz to waltz his way towards a somewhat helpless Price.
Max Lapierre later added insult to injury, helping long-time teammate Jaroslav Halak continue his untested, remarkable success against the Canadiens.
File this one, but don't forget it. Marc Bergevin has placed a premium on character, and that's exactly what it's going to take to push this team towards a rebound. They should not be so quick to erase the memory of what happens when they don't have enough players committed to the cause. I don't think you could accuse this team of a bad effort on too many nights, but they can't escape the label after last night's game.
On to Nashville, and that Christmas break is calling loud...