As one of only five teams yet to reach five wins this season, it would be an understatement to say things aren’t going great for the Montreal Canadiens right now.
The Habs dropped to 4-12-2 on the season after last night’s 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers. They are mired in their worst start in franchise history.
In 112 years of Montreal Canadiens hockey.
There isn’t any time for excuses with this team. It’s been an extremely frustrating season to this point. It boiled over in the final minute of last night’s game as Brendan Gallagher walloped Barclay Goodrow in the mouth. Josh Anderson joined in on the fisticuffs with Jacob Trouba as time expired.
It has been a remarkable, K-T extinction level coming down to earth for a team that just a few short months ago were three wins away from the Stanley Cup.
It’s clear the Habs need to rebuild. Not necessarily the organization, although at this point everyone’s job is on the line. But rebuild their confidence? Absolutely. And they’re in the process of doing that.
But these close losses are just that much more unpalatable considering this team’s no-show performance the first month of the season.
Here are your 5 takeaways from the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers
Suzuki is still a kid
Don’t look now, but Nick Suzuki has been held pointless in three straight games.
Cue the Michael-Scott-stay-calm memes now.
Yes, the glow has dimmed just a tad around the Habs young centreman. One of the few bright spots in this wretched season. In fact, he looked like he was cooking offensively in the first period. Some deft passes to go along with a few more intricate and elaborate ones. Ripping a puck off the near post in the second period on the power-play.
But defensively, he showed that he is still just a 22-year old kid. Those warts cost the Habs two goals last night.
Positionally, Suzuki got caught in no man’s land on Kakko’s opener. And he knew it right away. Sure, the play had broken down and it was scrambling time. But the Canadiens centre got stuck between two minds and it cost his team.
The second was inexcusable. Early in the third period, chasing a one-goal lead, with a team as fragile as April ice. Suzuki cannot afford to turn the puck over five feet from his crease. Julien Gauthier made no mistake and there’s your hockey game.
On the list of problems for the Montreal Canadiens this season, he’s somewhere near the bottom. But not last night.
Chemistry
With all of the injuries surrounding this team, developing chemistry has been a challenge to say the least. But you could see the benefits of it last night.
The line of Jake Evans, Artturi Lehkonen and Joel Armia have been dominating the puck down low for several games now. Head coach Dominique Ducharme is starting to deploy them against some of the opposition’s better players.
With the return of Jonathan Drouin last night, the line of Drouin, Christian Dvorak and Josh Anderson were reunited again. The result? A goal and an assist by Dvorak (albeit his goal was off a pass from Brendan Gallagher) and a goal for Anderson. When everyone returns healthy up front (and that when is more of an if), it’s become rather clear that those are lines that should not be tinkered with. With Adam Brooks being placed on waivers, it appears as though Ryan Poehling is here to stay for the time being. With everyone healthy up front, the Montreal Canadiens ought to line up like this:
Hoffman – Suzuki – Toffoli
Drouin – Dvorak – Anderson
Perreault/Caufield – Poehling – Gallagher
Lehkonen – Evans – Armia
Primetime Primeau
The feel good story of the evening was Cayden Primeau’s 29 save performance in the loss. Had he not been there, it would have likely been another bloodbath in the first period as the Habs bucked tradition and picked the opening 20 minutes to fall asleep.
Some have questioned whether Primeau has the goods to be the heir to Carey Price in the coming seasons. They shouldn’t. Stepping into the shoes of the man re-writing the franchise’s record books is a tall task for anyone. But Primeau has ideal size at 6’3, is efficient in his movements, has underrated athleticism and plenty of time to develop in the AHL.
Oh, and he has the same monotonous tone in post-game interviews as Price does.
“Just trying to see the puck,” deadpanned the 23-year old post-game when asked what’s going through his mind when he has a good start. “Just worrying about the next shot. It’s cliche but you know that’s pretty much the game. You try to complicate it, that’s when things get complicated. So you’ve just got to simplify it, take it back to the basics.”
Never change, Cayden. That crease will be yours in a few short years.
Pez dispensed
It wasn’t quite Hercules versus Hydra. Or David vs Goliath. But when Michael Pezzetta took his life into his own hands when he challenged Ryan Reaves in the second period, it’s safe to say the collective sound from Montreal Canadiens fans was something like…
Gulp!
You have to appreciate the moxie of the Habs forward. NHL.com might say there was only an inch and nine pounds separating the two. But that’s a bunch of nonsense based on the way they looked when they squared up last night.
While Pezzetta is not long to stay in the league when everyone is back healthy with the team, his impact last night cannot be overstated. Although the Rangers scored shortly after his fight with the Blueshirts heavyweight, there was a noticeable uptick in the battle level from the Canadiens after that. He’s a player that makes his teammates stand taller, brings them into the fight. At this point, Brendan Gallagher has been doing it for so long you get the feeling his teammates take him for granted.
But boy, did Reaves ever lay into him with some solid combinations. If Pezzetta is still on the team in late December when these two teams match up again, maybe he can pick someone in his weight range.
Just for self-preservation purposes.
Ducharme’s record
Yes, the Montreal Canadiens probably shouldn’t fire their head coach under 20 games into the season. Especially after the Cup run and being given a three-year extension before the season. Not to mention that general manager Marc Bergevin is in the final year of his contract without an extension in sight. He shouldn’t be allowed to hire his fourth head coach.
But Ducharme’s regular season record is 19-28-7. And it’s not trending upwards.
He should be allowed to see out the year. But in a season that is going the way it is, it’s hard to imagine him surviving after that.
Marc has been covering the Habs for over a decade. He previously worked for Journal Metro, The Athletic, The … More about Marc Dumont