The Montreal Canadiens dropped a game they couldn't really afford to drop against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night.
With the standings being as tight as they are right now, each game is of pivotal importance, but especially those intra-divisional matchups like the Montreal Canadiens’ Thursday night match-up with the Buffalo Sabres. After being beaten by those same Sabres 5-3 a week ago, Martin St-Louis’ men had an opportunity to get a do-over against Lindy Ruff’s formation.
Even though it was Jakub Dobes who backstopped the Canadiens to their first win against the Minnesota Wild since 2019 on Tuesday night, the coach had elected to give the net to Samuel Montembeault for Thursday’s game. It was understandable since Dobes had given three goals on just 19 shots on Tuesday night. Still, Montembeault hadn’t looked great either in his only game since Jacob Fowler was sent back down to the Laval Rocket, surrendering five goals on 34 shots to the Ottawa Senators.
Confidence Is Key
They say fake it ‘till you make it because if you believe in yourself, others will. As regretful as it is to write, the Canadiens do not seem to be confident when Montembeault is in the net. Once again, on Thursday night, the first shot he faced went in. Granted, it was on a two-on-one, but still, to win, you need a goaltender who will make the tough saves, the ones that make you think that your last line of defence can do the job. On that play, all three of the Canadiens’ forwards went deep in the Sabres’ zone, Lane Hutson applied pressure in their territory as well, and Jayden Struble didn’t play well on the odd-man rush, but if the goalie pulls off a spectacular save, we have a different game.
Then, the Sabres’ second goal was a shorthanded marker. Noah Dobson was outworked and overtaken on the wing, but Montembeault was passive and deep in his own net. Yes, Dobson should have been more of a nuisance for Beck Malenstyn, but nothing prevented Montembeault from making a poke check.
Buffalo took a 3-0 lead early in the second frame when Zach Benson hit both posts before scoring on his third shot. Of course, the defence shouldn’t let a team take three shots in close succession, but if Montembeault stops the first shot from hitting the post and makes the save, he doesn’t end up looking like a weathercock in his net, and the next two shots don’t happen right under Hutson and Struble’s noses.
Three goals on just nine shots, those are not numbers that inspire confidence. That being said, at least in the third period, Montembeault made a big save on Alex Tuch on a breakaway, which allowed the Canadiens to stay in the game and prevented the Sabres from getting a second shorthanded goal in the same game.
Making Adjustments
After the Habs fell behind 3-0, they woke up. On an offensive zone faceoff, Kirby Dach dished out a great hit along the boards, which allowed Mike Matheson to get the puck back. He then left it for Suzuki, who fed Cole Caufield in the high slot. The sniper one-timed it in, bringing the Canadiens back within two.
Less than 10 minutes later, St-Louis elected to send Zach Bolduc out on an offensive faceoff with Suzuki and Caufield. While the Habs lost the draw, it was Bolduc who then intercepted a pass and got himself alone in front of the goalie, who couldn’t freeze the puck on his shot, allowing Suzuki to take the rebound and score to make it 3-2 Buffalo. The coach’s decision to send the Trois-Rivieres native out for the draw was an inspired one. After the game, he explained that he felt Bolduc had played well and wanted to manage Dach's minutes since he had just returned from injury.
On the other bench, though, it took about two seconds for Ruff, who had just seen his team give up two goals in less than 10 minutes after forging itself a three-goal lead, call for a timeout and give his men a stern talking to. Buffalo only allowed two more shots in the rest of the period, and it stopped the Canadiens from building up their momentum right away. That’s one way to prevent a hemorrhage and an example the Habs’ coach could follow. Oftentimes, he seems reluctant to use his timeout.
A Recurring Issue
If the Canadiens have got the message about shooting more, they finished the game with 34 shots on goal, but they still struggle to play a full 60 minutes and start playing the right way straight from the puck drop. Two of the goals they gave were within three minutes of the start of a period, and their power play has been atrocious for the last two games.
The man-advantage doesn’t mean you don’t have to play as well or be as patient. It’s incredible to see how impatient the top unit can be when it’s time to enter the zone on the man-advantage, while they can be as patient as a young parent who never says no to their spoiled toddler when they are set up in the offensive zone, passing the puck.
In the game against the Wild, Caufield tried to beat three guys on his own to enter the zone on the power play, when by definition, a power play means you’ll have at least one man open on the ice. Tonight, the zone entries were just as hard, and, just like Tuesday, the power play coast the Canadiens’ momentum; it didn’t give them any, especially after it gave up a goal and nearly gave up a second one.
In the end, for much of the game, the Canadiens were dominant; they led 34-17 in shots, they won 64% of the faceoffs (36-20), and they led 28-26 in hits, but not playing for 60 minutes can be fatal, which it was on Thursday night.
This defeat leaves the Habs in a precarious position in the standings, with a two-point lead over the Sabres, but Buffalo has a game in hand. They are also just three points ahead of the Boston Bruins, who won tonight as well. As luck would have it, the Canadiens’ next game on Saturday will be against the Bruins, in Boston, and needless to say, it will be a do-or-die affair.
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