It could be suggested the Canadiens lack a killer instinct.
Or perhaps the NHL’s youngest team still hasn’t learned how to win? As the Canadiens gain more experience and their talent continues to develop, the players must learn to go for the opposing team’s throat.
“It’s just a mentality thing,” defenceman Alexandre Carrier said Friday, after the Canadiens held an optional practice in Brossard. “When we’re behind, we want to be aggressive and come back. It makes sense that we’re a bit fearless. I think we’ve just got to find that balance of having that mindset where, when we’re in the lead, to have that same (philosophy) that we’re in the lead, but they’re not going to come back. And be confident with it.
“We have (that mentality) in the room. It’s just about doing it on a daily basis. It’s not easy to do. We know teams are trying to come back as well.”
The Canadiens returned Thursday night after the three-week break for the Milano Cortina Olympics and lost 4-3 in overtime to the New York Islanders at the Bell Centre. It wasn’t so much the squandered point in the tight Atlantic Division, although Montreal’s defeat combined with Detroit’s 2-1 overtime victory at Ottawa allowed the Red Wings to overtake the Canadiens for second place.
Instead, it was the manner in which the Canadiens succumbed.
Montreal was seemingly in control midway through the contest, leading 2-0. But late in the period, the Canadiens took a pair of minor penalties within eight seconds. The Islanders scored on the subsequent power play and tied the game 53 seconds later. Cole Caufield restored the lead nine minutes into the third period but, with goaltender Ilya Sorokin pulled, Anders Lee sent the game to overtime with 1:41 remaining before Jean-Gabriel Pageau won it in extra time.
It marked the 20th time this season the Canadiens have gone to overtime or a shootout, and their record in those games is 11-9, including 2-4 in shootouts. Arpon Basu of The Athletic reported that Montreal held third-period leads in half of those 20 games. Five of those 10 blown advantages have occurred in the last 17 contests, he added.
Canadiens defenceman Noah Dobson celebrates a first-period goal against the New York Islanders with Kirby Dach, Nick Suzuki, Lane Hutson and Cole Caufield in Montreal on Thursday night.
“I don’t know how many times in the second period we gave up two goals in less than two minutes,” assistant coach Stéphane Robidas said. “Sometimes there’s no explanation. Maybe we’ve just got to regulate ourselves. When you give up one late, make it a little tighter game. You’ve got to regulate yourself.
“Experience? You’ve got to go through it,” he added. “You can’t buy experience. As a young team, that’s what we’re doing right now. We’re going through different phases, different scenarios. I think it’s going to make us stronger. We’ve just got to learn from all those things that are happening to us. (Thursday) night obviously was disappointing. You lose one point and give two to the other team. How can we be better?”
When the Canadiens have a lead, especially a two-goal advantage, Robidas said the team needs to attempt low-risk plays. They need to learn how to play, and manage, in those situations, he added.
“We’re up 2-0. Do we need to make a play that has only a 10 or 15 per cent chance of succeeding?” he said. “Sometimes defending is defending away from your net. It’s about managing the puck in the offensive zone. It’s about being good on the forecheck. Sometimes we all look at what happened in the defensive zone, but sometimes it starts away from the net.”
The Canadiens conclude their brief two-game homestand Saturday against the Washington Capitals (7 p.m., City, SNE, TVA Sports, TSN Radio-690, 98.5 FM). Montreal has struggled against the Caps, dating to last season’s five-game playoff loss in the Eastern Conference’s opening round. Washington has already defeated the Canadiens twice this season — although one was in overtime — while outscoring them 11-6.
“It would be nice to finally beat them,” Carrier said. “We owe them. We know the history, obviously, with the playoffs. They have a lot of depth. Good skaters. They’re physical. A good goaltender as well. We’re going to be fine. It’s just a matter of playing with pace and being confident in ourselves.”
Jakub Dobes is expected to start in goal for Montreal. Winger Zachary Bolduc, one of nine skaters who practised on Friday, said he hasn’t been told whether he’ll dress after he was a healthy scratch for the first time this season against the Islanders. Bolduc hasn’t scored since Dec. 23, at Boston — a stretch of 20 games.
hzurkowsky@postmedia.com
Related