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The Canadiens seem to have forgotten what allowed them to have so much success at the start of the season. Even worst, tonight, the Oilers beat them at their own game, they applied forecheck, caused turnovers and generated odd-man rushes. It could have been worst against a team that packs so much firepower, but Edmonton scored a goal per period and that was more than enough as the Canadiens were held scoreless for the second time of the year in this 3-0 defeat.
The Habs took a lot of shots but they launched them from the outside and not in threatening positions. Before the 3rd period, the defensemen had taken 13 shots while the forwards only generated 11, this is not the best way to score. Down 2-0 at the start of the 3rd, the Canadiens weren’t quite out of it until Danault and Anderson took penalties in quick succession and the Oilers scored a 3rd goal while Anderson was serving his sentence in the box.
Tonight, Claude Julien put Byron back in the line-up and stuck to his guns with his left wingers putting Toffoli with Danault and Gallagher and Tatar with Kotkaniemi and Armia. Toffoli and Gallagher linked up well at times and they had a few scoring chances, but nothing to write home about. It’s not that the Habs didn’t try, Tatar, Gallagher, Anderson and Byron all had 5 hits tonight and were eager to create something, but without result. The Romanov and Kulak pairing struggled again, skating into one another at times and putting each other in trouble repeatedly.
Clearly, this Canadiens’ team is struggling and has lost both its swagger and its confidence. Julien and the coaching staff will have less than 48 hours to try and right the ship before the Canadiens battle the Leafs again on Saturday night. After that, Montreal won’t play again for a week and hopefully, the break will do them some good. With this loss, the Oilers caught up to the Habs in the standings points wise and the Jets are just one point behind. This situation is not desperate yet, but something has to be done before it is…
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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