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After Kent Hughes waived Mitchell Stephens and sent him down to Laval, Martin St-Louis was only left with three centers on hand, and it certainly didn’t help his team last night. Perhaps, had they started the game better, the result would have been different, but Jake Allen gifting the first goal to the Sens by launching a big fat juicy rebound in the slot left the team reeling as it conceded yet another shorthanded goal. Before the players had even digested the first goal, the Senators scored a second only 41 seconds later which felt like a gut punch from which the Habs didn’t get back up until the third frame.
Shane Pinto made it 3-0 in the second frame and still the Canadiens didn’t fight back. Montreal started to show some fight in the third but by then, it was already too late and Jonathan Kovacevic’s goal was too little too late. If the coach didn’t seem to think playing with only three centers was an issue, the players did and that’s something they really need to discuss internally and sort out. St-Louis mentioned he wanted Pezzetta on his bench to take on the Sens, but he ended up using him for only four shifts totaling a minutes and 57 seconds of ice-time. On a night where his team looked flat and running on empty, using Pezzetta more would have made sense as what he lacks in talent he makes up for in energy.
The power play which had looked better of late was atrocious last night. In five man-advantage, the Habs only managed to take three shots on goal and never came close to threatening Korpisalo’s net. Cole Caufield did test the Senators goaltender quite a few times at even strength, taking six shots in the game, but Korpisalo was solid and robbed him of at least a goal with a quick glove hand on a one-timer in the slot.
Overall, after two purely awful performances, the Canadiens still hadn’t hit rock-bottom. Perhaps they’ve hit it last night in the second frame as they started to look better in the third, but St-Louis cannot afford to take that from granted. Even if he still had his glass half-full approach in front to the press, he needs to be tougher on his group and let the players know this is unacceptable. With nearly half a season to go, the Canadiens cannot afford to tune out. Not because they need to win games, but because for the good of the rebuild, they have to be good enough for general managers across the league to be interested in some of their players. Last night, there were a lot of scouts in the press gallery, and none of the Canadiens’ players looked particularly attractive, well, none of those who could be moved.
In his return to the line-up, Arber Xhekaj was discrete spending 16 and a half minutes on the ice, taking one shot, landing three hits and being assessed a two-minute minor for interference. While the organization says a stint in the minors is part of learning to be a pro, I fear the extended stay might have toyed with the gritty defenseman's confidence. He looked like he was playing carefully and somewhat afraid of making a mistake. Perhaps it will sort itself out in time, but I truly hope Xhekaj won't be trying to be something he's not. At the final buzzer, the score was 4-1 Ottawa, meaning Montreal has now lost its last three games but also its last eight games against the Senators.
Just like last season, fans are starting to speculate and trade everyone from Jake Allen to Joel Armia, Sean Monahan, Tanner Pearson and Brendan Gallagher, but it’s not that easy. There are players that are no longer wanted by the team and are just equally not wanted by the other teams. If fans have had enough of Joel Armia, it’s hard to see how a team could want him, even though he’s got eight goals in 31 games, his $4.1 M cap hit for one more year is enough to cool down any potential interest. Sean Monahan should get some interest, his 31 points in 47 games on a low scoring team are impressive, but he has to stay healthy. So far this season, he hasn’t missed a game, but the day before yesterday, he wasn’t at practice as he was receiving treatment. Montreal has to be very cautious in how they handle Monahan to maximize the return.
Tomorrow, the Canadiens will be taking on the Islanders and their newly appointed coach, Habs’ legend Patrick Roy. It’s obvious that Roy’s men will be eager to get him a win in his home province and if the Canadiens don’t show up right away, they game could get away from them before they’ve even arrived.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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