The Bell Centre was rocking tonight for the Montreal Canadiens’ home opener. The pre-game ceremonies had a fresher, younger feel; the opening montage played to the Ramones’ Blitzkrieg Bop, just like the players’ introduction. The presentation felt energetic, and two new mini screens were lowered from the ceiling for the occasion. Even though fans cherish the Canadiens players, coach Martin St-Louis stole the show and got the biggest cheer, which turned into an ovation. The Laval native looked like he wanted it to end, but the crowd wouldn’t let him get off easily; they cheered until they were good and ready to proceed.

Once the puck dropped, though, the fans wouldn’t get many chances to cheer, especially from the second period onward. The Canadiens escaped the first frame with a 3-2 lead, but it was mostly down to luck, and once again, they had a disastrous second frame.

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After Mike Matheson had a rough game Saturday night, Noah Dobson struggled on Tuesday night. Through 40 minutes, he had three giveaways, and it would have been 4 had Kirby Dach not flown to his rescue in the neutral zone.

Florian Xhekaj did not expect his backhand pass in the defensive zone; it was tipped on the way, and it became a loose puck in front of Jakub Dobes’s net. Needless to say, Mark Jankowski wasn’t going to miss that opportunity to put the Hurricanes back in the lead 4-3 for the first time since they had opened the score in the first frame.

Speaking to the media after the game, Dobson’s partner, Matheson, explained what the Canadiens would have liked to do differently if they were given an opportunity to play that game again:

Part of the issue in that game, though, was that in any zone, the Canes pressured the Canadiens and forced turnovers all over the ice. So much so that after 40 minutes, the Habs had only 10 shots on goal, and while we’ve seen them win a Game 7 with just nine shots, that kind of miracle happens only once in a blue moon.

After 40 minutes, the Canadiens’ netminder had given up four goals on 29 shots, and while that’s not a great save percentage, the puck seemed to be going around too fast in the Canadiens’ zone for pretty much every player dressed in Bleu, Blanc, Rouge.

The Czech netminder struggled to track the puck at times, and his rebound control wasn’t great either. He spilled a few rebounds straight into the slot and was lucky the puck didn’t come right back to him or into his net.

As the Canes put more and more pressure on the Canadiens in the middle frame, they fired a point-blank shot from the slot past Dobes, but it hit the post and left the goaltender spinning hopelessly in his crease. This kind of game must be rough on a young goaltender’s confidence. Chances are that we will see Samuel Montembeault against the Nashville Predators on Thursday.

The Canadiens have been very vocal about wanting to work on “their details” after their elimination by the Canes last May, but wanting to do something and actually doing it are two very different things. Once again tonight, the Habs were facing both Carolina and themselves, as Martin St-Louis explained:

In short, St-Louis thought his team was just not good enough in puck management, and that’s exactly how it was in the last playoffs.

When it was announced that Ivan Demidov would miss two to four weeks of action earlier today, people wondered who would slot in on the second line, and not many were pleased when it turned out to be Dach. In a game that was a good opportunity for him to show what he could do, the Albertan was largely invisible. Granted, there were a lot of special teams, but in the eight minutes and 26 seconds he spent on the ice at even strength, he didn’t stand out.

Meanwhile, a player who could have deserved an audition on the second line, Zachary Bolduc, did stand out. Skating alongside Alexandre Texier and Phillip Danault, the winger battled hard, and while he committed three turnovers, he at least generated some offense and shots. Of the 20 shots the Canadiens had on the night, six came from that line, and they earned praise from the coach:

Given how well the three worked together, you have to wonder whether St-Louis will even consider giving Bolduc a shot on the second line and messing with the budding chemistry the three francophones have established.

The Canadiens were outplayed and outclassed tonight, and they fully deserved the loss. They’ll now have to reset and get ready for their next game, which is coming up fast on Thursday night.

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