There was no 1980s style brawl, but the Canadiens (13-8-3) were bruised, nevertheless, in a 7-2 rout at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche (18-1-6) on Saturday afternoon at Ball Arena.
The Avalanche were dressed in Quebec Nordiques sweaters for the occasion.
Since Samuel Montembeault dressed the day before in Vegas, Jakub Dobes had no choice to soldier through the entire game. He allowed seven goals on 36 shots, but there wasn’t much he could do against Colorado’s blindingly fast counterattacks.
The Avalanche haven’t lost in regulation in their last 16 games. Despite the blowout, the Habs nabbed four of six points on a tough U.S. Thanksgiving road trip.
Defenceman Jayden Struble was a late scratch because an upper-body injury. Arber Xhekaj came in and struggled along with the rest of the defence corps.
One Quebecer who was happy to see the Nordiques on the ice again: Premier François Legault.
Brock Nelson would’ve had a hat trick if not for his second goal ended up credited to Gabriel Landeskog. The former Islander, who had strong career splits against Montreal on his previous team, had a four-point night, including the opening goal.
Landeskog’s came less than five minutes later. Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis challenged there was goalie interference on the play, but the goal counted and Montreal was assessed a bench minor, 2-0 after the first period.
All Avalanche in a dominant second. Ageless wonder Brent Burns kicked things off with a goal off the draw 50 seconds in.
Just 3:05 later, Nelson followed it up with his second of the night to make it 4-0. Former Hab Artturi Lehkonen assisted on both Nelson goals.
Avalanche goalie Mackenzie Blackwood entered the game with a shutout streak that ultimately reached 173 minutes before it ended at 8:27 of the second period thanks to Juraj Slafkovsky connecting with Ivan Demidov for the latter’s sixth of the season, 4-1 Colorado.
The Avalanche regained their four-goal lead with 55 seconds left in the second period. Nathan MacKinnon continued his Hart-calibre campaign with his 20th goal in only 25 games, 5-1 Nordiques after 40 minutes.
Could the Habs cut into Colorado’s lead in the third? Well, there’s a reason the Avalanche are the best team in the league so far this year. Devon Toews completed the 6-1 touchdown less than three minutes in.
A couple of power-play goals before it was all said and done, starting with Lane Hutson’s fourth of the season. His shot, considered the weakest part of his game, is finding the back of the net more often of late.
With Jake Evans in the box for high-sticking, Landeskog deflected MacKinnon’s shot past Dobes for a 7-2 lead. That’s how it ended.
In acquiring Noah Dobson this off-season, the Habs likely envisioned a quick-countering defensive duo with Hutson comparable to Colorado’s twin magicians Cale Makar and Devon Toews, but there’s no substitute for the real deal, as Montreal fans witnessed Saturday.
Alexandre Carrier took a beating in his own zone with a minus-3 rating. He wasn’t alone, according to Hockey Stat Cards:
Thanks to the Liveblog commenters who chatted on the Hockey Inside Out livestream on YouTube. No doom and gloom after this loss: the Avalanche were just too good. That being said, there was a little extra sting to see them dominate in Nordiques colours.
3. “Dobes hasn’t played bad today, sounds strange in a blowout, but its true.” — Ryan Katz
2. “4 out of 6 on a western road trip … not a bad outcome … could have been worse … let’s take it to the Sens and Jets at home before knocking off the Leafs in TO next Saturday.” — Haari Meech
1. “Now I’m going to buy myself something. A little retail therapy after this loss.” — Marc Taillefer
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