Canadiens: 3 Takeaway From The Crucial Showdown In Detroit

The Detroit Red Wings are a different team since their coaching change and Todd McLellan’s men were ready for battle when they puck dropped, Martin St-Louis’ Montreal Canadiens’ not so much.

Everybody Must Play The First Frame

After 20 minutes of play, the Wings lead 2-0 but also 16-4 in shots which is just unacceptable. Samuel Montembeault had a very busy first frame, but they other players? They looked like they were waiting to board a plane, they weren’t even passengers yet.

In the first, the Wings had seven shots from the slot, including four high danger opportunities. The two goals given were not on Montembeault at all, there’s only so much the goaltender can do. Perhaps his new mask which looks a lot like Carey Price’s last one has the players confused. I know, he misread the play and ended up in a different time zone because he believed Lucas Raymond would pass, but still.

The Canadiens looked flat and emotionless, a bit like the game was much more important for the Wings than for them. Detroit trailing the Habs by five points really needed the win, but so did Montreal to make the playoffs.

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Not Scoring On The Power Play Is One Thing, Losing Momentum Is Quite Another

Already down by two at the start of the second frame, the Canadiens found a way to give a shorthanded goal rather than making the most of a Moritz Seider‘s roughing penalty.

Not scoring on the man-advantage is already bad, but finding yourself in an even bigger hole thanks to a shorty is terrible. The Habs were lucky though, they managed to score seconds after the penalty expired, but it’s a dangerous game. Plus, there’s a huge difference between being down by two or by three.

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Worst still, Detroit scored the next goal with Nick Suzuki in the penalty box to get their three-goal lead back not long after Kirby Dach’s goal.

One Does Not Simply Touch The Canadiens’ Goaltender (Anymore)

Roughly three years ago Jeff Petry got a lot of heat for doing nothing when Momtembeault was run over by Zack Kassian, nowadays, this would not happen. When Michael Rasmussen collided with him tonight, it didn’t take very long for Arber Xhekaj to manhandle him off his goaltender and that’s exactly as things should be.

The Canadiens ended up losing the game 4-2 and it’s not a disaster, after all, they’ve only lost twice in regulation in their last ten games, but the manner in which they lost could be cause for concern. Lane Hutson’s point streak stops at nine games, so he won’t get to beat Shayne Gostisbehere’s 15-game point streak as a rookie blueliner.

Montreal now heads back home where they’ll take on the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night. With Jacob Markstrom injured, former Hab Jake Allen should get the start.

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