The Montreal Canadiens dropped another two points tonight and it was their own fault, something we've seen often of late.
For a second night in a row, the Montreal Canadiens were in action at the Bell Centre, this time against the Anaheim Ducks and with Brendan Gallagher in the lineup. The veteran drew back in while Zach Bolduc was a healthy scratch, and Jayden Struble made way for Arber Xhekaj.
Before puck drop, the Habs celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Bell Centre, and while no Stanley Cup has been won there, there have been many moments over the years worth including in a great video montage. The Saku Koivu ovation after his fight against cancer, the moment when Ken Dryden passed the torch to Carey Price, and the conference final game-winning goal on June 24, 2021, to name a few. It set the tone for what the fans hoped would be a great game.
Xhekaj Wants To Stay
The hulking defenseman played like a man who doesn’t want to come out of the lineup anytime soon. Early in the first, Jeffrey Viel blindsided Kirby Dach with a big hit, and the blueliner took his number to pay him a visit in his next shift, which he did. Viel refused to engage, but the message was clear. The result was the same when Josh Anderson came knocking. Unfortunately for Dach, he had to leave the game, and the severity of the injury remains to be seen.
The former Hamilton Bulldog also unleashed a few rockets from the blueline, with a pair making it to the net in the first frame, and as always, he dished out some bone-crushing hits. After 40 minutes, he had played 9:40, which is almost more than he has in the entire games of late.
The times his pairing was in trouble deep in the zone stemmed from poor decision-making by Alexandre Carrier, including one occurrence of skating the puck right across the ice in front of the net and losing it. Still, he only saw a 30-second shift at the start of the third frame, and that was it for him.
Managing The Risk
If there’s been one recurring theme for this Canadiens’ team since the return of the Olympic break, it’s been their ability or lack thereof to manage the risk. Martin St-Louis has spoken about it time and time again, and tonight he said:
What disappoints me the most is our risk management. Hockey is a game of mistakes, whatever structure you play. They made mistakes in their structure as well tonight, and if you look at their goals, they came from mistakes in ours. You’ve put yourself in a spot to get a point or two, so I’d say what annoys me the most about this game is how we managed the risk towards the end of the third.
The bench boss felt like, for most of the third frame, the two teams were playing it safe to get one point and then roll the dice in overtime. However, the Canadiens made mistakes that allowed the Ducks to pounce on grade A chances. They weren’t going to hold back when the Habs lost the puck at the offensive blueline. Fowler had to make two game-saving glove saves, but then, there was a communication breakdown in the defensive zone, and Cutter Gauthier escaped his coverage, skated in from the side, and beat Jacob Fowler five-hole.
The coach also added that when his guys have a numerical advantage, like a three-on-two, they have the freedom to make a play, but the truth is that if your execution is lacking and the play goes the other way, it’s the other team that has the opportunity.
Fowler Wasn’t Pleased
Members of the press had asked to speak to Jacob Fowler after the game, and while he eventually came, it took quite some time. The young netminder wasn’t best pleased with the result and said that while he would like to take the blame for the four goals allowed, hockey is a team’s game, and it’s not just on one person.
In other words, he saw what everyone saw tonight, a team that was struggling in defensive coverage in its own zone and that shot itself in the foot quite a few times.
The Canadiens will have a day off on Monday before facing the Boston Bruins at the Bell Centre on Tuesday night.
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