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If Martin St.Louis thought his men were going to end their losing streak, he must have been sorely disappointed last night. Although the Canadiens were quick out of the gate and played with a lot of purpose early on, once again they just couldn’t provide a solid 60-minute effort which ultimately led to yet another loss.
Mike Matheson scored the game's first goal thanks to a picture-perfect turnover from Kris Letang right in the middle of his defensive zone. The Canadiens’ most prolific defenseman wasn’t going to miss such a grade-A opportunity and he promptly sent the puck behind Tristan Jarry. Just a few minutes later, it was Matheson’s turn to cough up the puck and, as luck would have it, it was Letang himself who tied up the game.
The score remained tied until the midway point of the second frame when Brendan Gallagher took yet another silly penalty, a selfish holding call against Jeff Carter who wasn’t presenting any kind of threat at the time. Gallagher didn’t have much time to think about what he had done, since the Penguins power play struck six seconds after the start of the man-advantage. Just 21 seconds later, Drew O’Connor scored his eighth goal of the season to give the Penguins a 3-1, and at that stage, it felt like it was game over for the Canadiens.
Earlier in the season, the team had more fights in it, now with Sean Monahan long gone and most of the Canadiens’ firepower consisting of one line, the team just doesn’t seem to have its “can do” attitude. In the end, the Canadiens lost 4-1 with Kristopher Letang scoring a second goal in an empty net.
This latest defeat is probably the least of Martin St.Louis’ worries as the team suffered an even bigger loss on the night when Jayden Struble went down to a weird injury. He was skating on his one and passed the puck before crumbling on the ice and almost crawling back to the Canadiens’ bench where he had to be escorted back to the locker room. Montreal has a day off today, so we probably won’t know anything until tomorrow, but it would be a shame to lose Struble for an extended period as he’s been one of the very few pleasant surprises this season.
In 39 games the rugged defenseman has gathered three goals and four assists for a total of seven points all the while playing a solid defensive game and logging 39 penalty minutes. If he is lost for a while, we’re likely to see a recall from Laval as St.Louis likes to have an extra defenseman with the team to be able to rotate some of them in and out of the line-up. Now would be a terrible time for the Rocket to lose Logan Mailloux as they are chasing a playoff spot, but such is the life of an affiliated AHL team.
Before the game, the Habs claimed Colin White off waivers from the Penguins and put Brandon Gignac on waivers ito send him back to Laval where he can join the team for its playoff push. Before he was called up to Montreal, Gignac was Laval’s top scorer, and his return will certainly go a long way to helping the Rocket.
The Canadiens will be back in action tomorrow afternoon as they’ll visit the New Jersey Devils for an afternoon game. Then, on Sunday, the team will be holding its annual skills competition at 10.00 AM.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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