It’s not that the Montreal Canadiens didn’t start on time on Saturday, they were dominant early on, but only at one end of the ice. Unfortunately for Martin St-Louis’ men, hockey is a 200-foot game and just playing the offensive game won’t make you win.
It’s Not On The Goaltenders
Granted, the Tampa Bay Lightning scored on its first two shots, but that wasn’t on Jakub Dobes. The Canadiens’ defensive coverage was so atrocious that the first goal was scored with Nick Paul being left all alone by Dobes’ side. Mike Matheson and Alexandre Carrier were the blueliners on duty, but it’s Juraj Slafkovsky who lost his man.
Then, Tampa Bay found itself going down the ice four on one and Victor Hedman ended up all alone, coming to Dobes with speed and beat him. Early in the second, on the power play, the Bolts cross zone pass completely fooled the Canadiens and the poor Dobes had no chance to come over to the other side. St-Louis had enough and tried to change the momentum by sending Montembeault in, but even with a different goaltender, the same defensive breakdown were happening.
Wind Of Change
The Canadiens coach was also fed up with what he was seeing up front and changed most of his lines, only keeping Josh Anderson, Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook together. Owen Beck, who had been impressive, got an audition at centre flanked by Joel Armia and Patrik Laine, Slafkovsky was demoted and skated with Brendan Gallagher and Christian Dvorak while Jake Evans found himself playing wing alongside Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.
Related: Ivan Demidov Puts On A Show
Beck showed great things, executing zone entries with speed and the more we see him, the more he seems ready to make the jump to the show next season. Josh Anderson seemed to be everywhere, creating chances left, right and centre, but he lacked finish, even on a penalty shot. If it was possible to wish a puck in, he would have had a hat trick on Super Bowl Sunday.
Asked about the overhaul of his lines, the coach was quite clear:
I liked our first frame, but these are mistakes we need to stop making. I sent a message for sure, Slaf changed lines but I liked his reaction, he played an excellent game.
Asked if his line changes was as close to him blowing a gasket as can be, he simply said:
I wasn’t going to be patient tonight.
He said the same thing when asked about his goaltending change.
Your Best Players Must Be Your Best Players
While Josh Anderson’s performance was great tonight, if your energy players’ effort doesn’t spark your best players, it won’t amount to much. On Sunday, the power forward had 15:25 of ice time, hat 10 shot attempts, six of which found the net, two hits and two blocked shots.
He’s not the one who’s meant to be scoring goals though and nor is Gallagher either, even though he got two today. Goals need to be coming from the Caufield, Suzuki, Slafkovsky, Laine, Dach and Newhook. While Caufield was his trigger happy self, the others weren’t all that visible. Perhaps the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament will help Laine find his confidence back, today, even what used to be so easy for him seemed so hard, the confidence just isn’t there.
Related: There’s Nothing Shocking About Laine’s Performance
To be fair, the Canadiens had more scoring chances today than the Lightning did and they worked hard to claw their way back in, but there are some massive mistakes you just can’t do at this stage of the season. They came close to doing it, but in the end, it was the seriousness of their defensive mistakes that sunk them.
In his post game media availability, Jake Evans was asked what it mean to him to be a Montreal Canadiens and he replied:
It’s been an honour, such a fun place to play, such a great place to live…I’ve just really enjoyed it. It’s truly an honour. There’s so much tradition here, so many great players that have worn this great jersey with pride, and it’s truly an honour.
The verb tense is interesting there, it’s sounds like someone who knows his time in Montreal is coming to an end. Interesting considering Pierre LeBrun’s report that Evans and the Canadiens have exchanged numbers in the negotiations for a possible contract extension but they are not close.
After the game, the Habs sent Logan Mailloux and Owen Beck down to the Laval Rocket, this wasn’t about their performance, but about the huge break the Canadiens now have (their next game is on Feb. 22) and how useful they can be to the AHL team.
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