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Game 27: Canadiens vs Bruins AKA Cousins you Little...

December 1, 2019, 10:15 PM ET [200 Comments]
Karine Hains
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The Canadiens played much better tonight but the result remains the same, they lost an 8th consecutive game. On the bright side though, Carey Price was better tonight, he faced 34 shots and saved 31 of them for a save percentage of .912 but more than that, he made some big saves. His puck tracking was on point and even screened ones were met by his glove. Furthermore, he looked like he was finding his confidence again and that was a rather reassuring sight.

It all started well for the Habs, Joel Armia scored not even two minutes in to put the Habs in front for the second game in a row and they would protect that tiny lead for over 40 minutes but against an offensive powerhouse, a 1 goal lead is nothing. They shot on Tukka Rask 19 times in the first 40 minutes while Carey Price stopped 20 shots in the first two frames. Towards the end of the second period though, during what looked like a banal face-off, Brendan Gallagher pushed David Pastrnak towards the linesman and the Bruins' star did not like it. That face-off had to be retaken and just after it, Shea Weber was assessed a penalty and a bit of a line brawl followed. While the Canadiens did manage to kill that penalty, that's when the beast was awaken.

When the third period started, it was clear that the Bruins wanted that game and were going to give their all to get it. 6 minutes in, Pastrnak scored a beauty of a goal with a perfectly placed bullet to make it 1-1. 4 minutes later, Nick Cousin, for some reason, took a really bad penalty in the offensive zone when he held not one but two Bruins players... It was already a miracle that the Habs managed to kill the first penalty and they just couldn't do it again. David Backes put Boston ahead 2-1 with a one-timer from the front of the net. 3 minutes after that, Jake DeBrusk put the final nail in the Canadiens' coffin by making it 3-1 when he escaped from Nick Cousins who was meant to cover him.

It's worth mentioning that in Mete's absence Ben Chiarot stepped up and stepped up big time. He was on the ice for 29 minutes and 36 seconds and finished the game at +1. Meanwhile Petry played 25 minutes while Weber logged in 22 minutes of ice time. Unlike yesterday, the blue liners did not commit a single giveaway today and that made a difference, they looked much better in their own zone. The Finnish line was together again tonight and they played a good game. We also need to mention Joel Armia, not only did he score the Habs' lone goal but he's also become a shooting machine taking 7 shots (he took 9 yesterday) and dishing out 6 hits, one on which was particularly enjoyable:



The Canadiens have a rather though week ahead as the Islanders will roll into town on Tuesday, followed by the Avalanche on Thursday and a trip to the Madison Square Garden on Friday. After 8 losses in a row, can we start to wonder if Claude Julien's job could be in jeopardy? I honestly don't see him being fired right now... They signed him for 5 years to quite a sizeable contract and there's always the "French factor" in Montreal. The head coach must speak French (I'm not saying I agree with that but that's just the way it is) and I don't think that the Habs are ready to put Dominique Ducharme in charge just yet... Kirk Muller? We'd see another version of the Cunneyworth incident. Is it time to just start relishing in those losses? Should Habs fans make their peace with the turn this season is taking? Is it time to aim for a high draft pick? It just doesn't feel like a very Habs thing to do...
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