Montreal Outmatched by Los Angeles in Flat Performance

The Canadiens played their worst game of the season as the Kings dominated 5–1, exposing Montreal’s defensive lapses and goaltending issues.

The Montreal Canadiens played their worst game of the season in a 5-1 loss against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night.

The Kings built on their streak of defeating the Habs at home for nine straight. Even though Montreal started the night on the right foot, the game quickly favored Los Angeles, which eventually ended up protecting a four-game lead with some incredibly boring Kings defense. More pressing was goaltender Samuel Montembault’s performance, and it should be noted that this loss wasn’t just on him.

The Los Angeles Kings Goals

The Canadiens ended the first period with a Josh Anderson goal thanks to a Jake Evans takeaway. Despite some very questionable calls from the ref and possession numbers that heavily favored the Kings at 5-on-5, the Habs didn’t look horrible. That would change.

The Los Angeles Kings scored three unanswered goals in the span of just over four minutes. The first goal was a point shot from former Canadien Joel Edmundson. One could argue that Montembault was screened; however, he was far too slow to move across. The point-shot was taken off a Kings’ face-off win. The second goal was the result of a man-advantage from the Kings due to a delayed penalty. They overworked the Canadiens’ defense and worked the puck down low to take advantage of a tired Habs team. That third goal, however, Montembault gave the puck to Kevin Fiala, who scored.

Story continues below.

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