|
In Hainsight: Too Little too Late |
|
|
|
|
|
Follow me @KarineHains for all updates about the Montreal Canadiens and women's hockey
The Red Wings came to play last night and outrageously dominated the first frame. So much so that at 3-0, it felt like history might just repeat itself 28 years after the same Wings scored nine goals on beloved franchise goaltender Patrick Roy before rookie coach Mario Tremblay finally decided to pull him, but Justin Barron stopped the hemorrhage by getting Montreal on the board with six seconds left in the first.
Then, it was Joel Armia who scored a shorthanded goal to give hope to the Canadiens’ faithful pulling the team back within one goal. Less than a minute later though, DeBrincat struck on the power play, making it 4-2. Still, Montréal didn’t give up and scored a man-advantage goal of its own through Nick Suzuki before former Red Wing Gustav Lindstrom scored the game-tying goal to send everyone to overtime. Unfortunately for the Canadiens though, they lost the opening draw in extra time and barely touched the puck before Walman got the game winner and proceeded to dance to celebrate.
Once again, the Canadiens paid for their late start, digging themselves into a hole they just couldn’t get out of ultimately. For the first time this season, Sean Monahan joined Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield on the top line, but the combo just didn’t click and by the third frame, the enigmatic Joel Armia found himself in his spot. Martin St-Louis has yet another puzzle on his hands since Alex Newhook, who was fitting in nicely alongside Suzuki on the top line, went down to a serious injury in Thursday’s game. A high ankle frame will keep him out of the action for 10 to 12 weeks, meaning he joins Kirby Dach as the second top-six player to punch his ticket to the infirmary. For a third year in a row, Montreal is having rotten luck in the health department and the hiring of new medical stuff has had no impact whatsoever in proceedings.
Jake Allen, who did manage to make a few spectacular saves on the night looked to be fighting the puck early on, struggling to make even the simplest of saves with his glove hand in the first and having issues tracking the puck after making the initial save. His 28 saves on 33 shots only gave him a .848 save percentage which is just not good enough to win in the NHL. If Kent Hughes wants to trade the veteran, this performance won’t be enticing to potential suitors.
Cole Caufield took 4 shots on goal last night (and a few which were off target) but was once again held off the scoresheet. The sniper is just not releasing his shot as fast as he was last season and that extra second or two is allowing goaltenders to make the saves. While he’s the second most prolific point getter on the team this season with 19 points, his seven goals even if team leading jointly with Suzuki and Newhook are disappointing.
Meanwhile, Josh Anderson still can’t buy a goal, but still features in St-Louis’ top six unlike youngsters Juraj Slafkovsky and Jesse Ylonen. If the young Slovak wasn’t noticeable yesterday, Ylonen had yet another strong game and was very noticeable. When will the head coach stop favoring veterans and give center stage to the kids? It’s a bit disheartening to see that even with two top-six players missing, they land in the bottom six.
The Canadiens will have a day off today and be back on the ice on Monday morning, before welcoming the Seattle Kraken on the night.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»