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Habs Losing Streak Reaches 5 Due To McElhinney's 48 Saves...

November 28, 2018, 12:31 PM ET [396 Comments]
Brandon Smillie
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The losses keep coming for the Canadiens and they have now put the Habs back out of the playoff picture.

On the day Shea Weber played his first game as Habs Captain the team found itself stymied by a All World performance from *checks game notes... who the hell is this?* 35 year old net minder Curtis McElhinney... Yup... It's real.

McElhinney essentially stole a game for the Hurricanes last evening in Montreal by stopping 48 of the 49 shots he faced as the Habs poured on the pressure consistently all game. The retirement aged net minder was a rock though for the out matched Carolina squad and used an acrobatic style to keep the Canadiens from achieving victory.

McElhinney must be giving everything he has in the twilight of his career as the win improved his record to 7-2-0 this season with a 2.12 GAA and .930 SP%... What is it with these old dog net minders this season? It seems like soon to be pensioners are dominating the nets this season. Guys like Rinne, Anderson, Hutton, Halak, and Miller are all over the top of the Goaltending Stats Leaderboards and it just doesn't seem to make much sense to me.

A season where the NHL reduced the size of protective padding for goalkeepers to increase scoring has instead led to an increase in near 40 old goalies dominating. I'm honestly trying to think of another reason for this aside from the old players just trying to keep the dream alive, but that's all I got....

Weird.

Anyways, the loss put the Habs at 0-3-2 in their last 5 and that coveted 55% win rate is currently at 44%. If you added the 5 loser points they currently have dangling off the end of their record you could argue that the win percentage is 54% but in one game the Habs gave up their 8th spot to the Carolina Hurricanes. Directly behind them is the NYI with 26 points to the Habs 27, but the Isle's have 2 games in hand. 2 points back of MTL is the struggling Pittsburgh Penguins and they also have 2 games in hand.

All in all, this losing streak has cost them a lot and has started to apply heavy pressure to the young squad. The arrival of Weber couldn't have happened at a better time. A time when injuries to Byron, Armia, and Juulsen are starting to shine brighter and young players, like Mete, are struggling.

The Habs Captain has his work cut out for him to get the team focused and back on track.




The good news is that the Habs last 3 losses (3-2 OTL to Buff, 3-2 L to Bos, and 2-1 L to Car) all could have, of should have, been won by the team. The effort was there for the most part and the team hasn't shown any signs of giving up like they were prone to last season. A bit more finish and this team is on a 3 game win streak.

For example, last blog I spoke about the Canadiens fancy stats being good but the PDO being against them. The game last night saw the Habs post a 66.7% CF and a 67.8 FF with the PDO a putrid 92.2. This was a game the Habs dominated and lost because of a bonehead play in front of the net by Benn, which Mete wore the blame on, and an unreal performance by McElhinney.

Stats like that show that the team isn't "bad", in fact it would tell you they were really good last night. But a lack of finish plagued the Canadiens last season and it's showing again during this losing streak. As I mentioned, the losses of Byron and Armia have thinned out the lineup and brought in guys from last years depression team to fill the gaps and they simply aren't of the same calibre, no matter what one might think of Byron and Armia.

The Canadiens will need consistency from their top 6 in order to compete and since Domi's record breaking run, he has struggled. His struggles will tie directly to his playmaking partner Drouin. It doesn't help that the Gallagher line is a bit of a mess right now, not Gallagher per se but everyone else around him can't seem to handle or protect a puck very well at the moment.

The last couple years have seen Montreal fall off the tracks around the Christmas holidays, and this appears to be no different. The players and coaching staff better start working together to refocus and apply the effort to ensure this doesn't become an annual tradition with this group. Yes, we all love the holidays and such but a strong focus on the season will set these folks up well for their summers traveling the world and sitting on the lake like all 1%'ers do. So buckle down and earn the fans money like we expect and like their agents tell them they have to.




The season isn't lost, but one 5 game skid sure made it so the next stretch will be filled with the pressure. Pressure that the great start created hangs now like the Sword of Damocles on the Canadiens. I don't mean to impose any more pressure by seeming like I'm piling on the team, but I'm just being realistic and honest in my assessment of the situation here.

The last 5 games have put them 7 points away from a divisional playoff position and in 9th place in the conference with teams right up against them with games in hand. The Canadiens should take some time to regroup then come back to the rink with a laser like focus because without that never quit attitude this team could plummet down the standings pretty quickly. December will be a huge month for the team, a month that in the last 2 seasons has doomed them. I hope that doesn't happen again.

Go Habs Go
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