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10 checks for Brendan Gallagher… and 13 shots for the Canadiens
Credit: Getty Images

The statistic of yesterday’s game is clearly the fact that the Habs took only 13 shots on net for the Utah club last night. Needless to say, it didn’t end with a W.

The Habs were relatively opportunistic, scoring twice and pushing the game into overtime. But in nearly five minutes of three-on-three, open play, the Habs didn’t get a shot off.

It gets embarrassing at times.

Those who followed the game saw that the Habs had only 12 shots before the start of overtime, compared to 28 for the opponents. Not shooting at three-on-three would have meant equalling the franchise “record” of 12 shots in a game.

The Habs didn’t shoot, but a 13th shot was added to the recount. Still, it’s the lowest total since 2009 for the Canadiens.

After firing just 17 shots against Vegas on Saturday, let’s just say Martin St-Louis’ club chose the wrong time not to fire. Doing it at home, once again, is hard to accept.

At the end of the first and beginning of the second, the Habs went nearly 20 minutes without shooting. Ark.

18 minutes without a shot… 13 shots in all… no shots on the power play… no shots in overtime… if the Habs had wanted to sabotage their game, they surely would have gone this way.

Cole Caufield (3), Alex Newhook (2), Christian Dvorak (2), Emil Heineman, Jake Evans, Kirby Dach, Joshua Roy, Jayden Struble and Justin Barron were all credited with a shot.

It’s not normal to have time to list them one by one.

But here’s what strikes me most: yesterday, Brendan Gallagher distributed 10 shoulder shots to his opponents. That’s only three less than the number of shots taken by the Habs.

The man who had a run-in with Mikhail Sergachev during the game raised his total from 16 to 26 this season.

The guys need to learn from the Gallaghers of this world, who always give it their all during games. That’s how the Habs will find their way back to winning and – above all – respectability.


Overtime

– Enjoy.

– Blake Snell in L.A.

– What message does this send to others?

– The CHL won yesterday.

– The Lions have a good goalie.

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