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In Hainsight: Lack of Effort Leads to Third Loss in a Row |
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Follow me @KarineHains for all updates about the Montreal Canadiens and women's hockey
For the second game in a row, the Canadiens were taking on a team which was on the tail end of a back-to-back and for the second time in a row, they were second to the puck all night long. This is a sure way to lose a game and that’s exactly what happened. The Blues are far from being an offensive powerhouse and yet, they managed to score 5 goals and add another one after Martin St-Louis had pulled his goaltender. It was by far the worst collective effort we’ve seen this season and a reminder of what last season’s depleted Habs looked like.
Considering the organization is not looking for wins but for progression this season, the result does not matter but the way in which the loss came is concerning. On top of being second on the puck all night long, the Canadiens committed many mistakes when it came to decision making. The head coach often insists that he doesn’t have a system per se, but rather concepts which require the players to read the play and take decisions accordingly. Last night, a lot of wrong decisions were taken and led to costly turnovers.
Still, there were some positives in this game. For one, Christian Dvorak was back, which meant that Alex Newhook could go back to the wing. The newly acquired forward had to step in at center when Kirby Dach went down to injury, but right now, he’s not ready to take on all the responsibilities that come with the position and his results at the faceoff dot were far from impressive. He found himself on the third line alongside the returning Dvorak and Josh Anderson.
It was a big relief to see Juraj Slafkovsky finally get an opportunity to play on the top line with the Canadiens’ top players. The young Slovak looked like he had an extra spring in his step or in his strides to be more accurate. In the 11th game of the season, he finally managed to score his first goal, but it didn’t come with his new linemates but rather on the power play and on an Alex Newhook feed, the very center with whom chemistry just wasn’t happening in the first 10 games.
At five on five, he didn’t get a point, but he was a factor in Suzuki’s third goal of the season. The captain deflected a Cole Caufield shot right in front of the net. When the Habs next hit the ice on Tuesday, Slafkovsky should still find himself on the top line, he’s done enough to deserve another look on a night when the team is providing a real ensemble effort.
Meanwhile, Sean Monahan stayed put between Tanner Pearson and Brendan Gallagher and picked up an assist on Gallagher’s fourth goal of the season. Who would have thought that 11 games in, Gallagher would have as many goals as Cole Caufield? The sniper only has four goals to his name, but he’s also got seven assists, which means he’s a point per game player and it’s hard to complain about such a pace.
Watching blue liner Mike Matheson closely, he doesn’t look like he’s skating with his usual fluidity, I get the feeling he’s playing through injury which wouldn’t be surprising as he left the game against the Jets last Saturday. He didn’t miss a game, but perhaps he should if that allows him to regain full health. I’ll admit I had hoped that the new medical personnel would be able to talk players out of playing through injuries, but that was utopic, they are hockey players after all.
The Canadiens have a busy week ahead, with four games on the calendar. They’ll take on the Lightning on Tuesday, the Red Wings on Thursday, the Bruins on Saturday and the Canucks on Sunday. With three games against divisional rivals, there will be a big impact on the standings. It will be interesting to see how St-Louis rights the ship since his team has just lost three games in a row.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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