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Despite the win, the Canadiens are no closer to the playoffs
Charles-Alexis Brisebois
Despite the win, the Canadiens are no closer to the playoffs
Credit: Getty Images
Canadiens players want to win hockey games. Like everyone, you’ll tell me.

But since the return of the break, it’s obvious. The guys are playing for their survival, but also to keep players in town. Nick Suzuki and Alexandre Carrier said it in the last few days.

Yesterday, the win (a second in two games since the return of the Four Nations Tournament) by a score of 4-0 at the hands of the Hurricanes proved the guys’ point. But it didn’t bring the Canadiens closer to the playoffs.

(Credit: Sportsnet)
Yesterday, the top three teams in the Atlantic division won. The Red Wings and the Blue Jackets won. The Rangers, the Flyers, and the Sabres won. The Bruins lost, but in overtime.

The Islanders and the Penguins lost, which means the Patrick Roy-led team didn’t catch up to the Canadiens. The Senators, however, didn’t play.

There’s the difficulty with the standings: other teams are playing. Not only are they playing, but they’re also playing against each other. And sometimes, games end in overtime, which adds a point to the standings for a losing team.

So the Canadiens’ five points are hard to catch up to. It won’t stop the players from trying and working hard, but it won’t stop us from looking at what’s happening on Tankathon.

(Credit: Tankathon)
Note that in the coming days, the Canadiens will face the Sharks at home and the Sabres (away and home), which could lead to wins within reach before the trade deadline – and before the trip out West.

But if Kent Hughes decides to sell rental players…

But despite everything, we shouldn’t focus on the negative since, during yesterday’s game, Martin St-Louis’ men shut out the Carolina Hurricanes 4-0.

What do I take away from all this?

1. Last year, Juraj Slafkovsky stepped up in the second half of the season, when playoff hopes were nonexistent. This season, he started poorly, but he’s finding his way when the team is further away from the playoffs.

Is he worse under pressure? The question arises at this point. #EmptyCalories #ScoringWhenItNoLongerMatters

2. The Hurricanes were struggling, but the Canadiens did enough to win. And that’s even if the team only took 18 shots on goal… including just two in the second period.

At one point, around the middle of the third period, the team had only 11 shots on goal. And it was 3-0 at that point. #Opportunism

3. Josh Anderson has been missing practices for several weeks due to an injury. And yesterday, he violently crashed into the boards, which forced him to miss the end of the game.

He didn’t leave in an ambulance, and last night, he was still being evaluated. But I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t play tomorrow night, let’s say.

With Kirby Dach injured and Josh Anderson uncertain, the Canadiens may only have 12 healthy forwards. And in such a scenario, the 12th player would be Michael Pezzetta, whom the team doesn’t want to play and who returned from the break injured.

Is a recall from Laval on the horizon? Who knows.

4. Yesterday, the Canadiens’ best players scored. Patrik Laine (again), Juraj Slafkovsky (again), Nick Suzuki (three points yesterday), and Lane Hutson found the back of the net.

For Hutson, it was his first power-play goal in his career. The Canadiens were 2-for-5 on the power play yesterday. #Suzuki #Hutson

5. Defensively, the team looked good. It’s been a while since the team has played that well (since Kaiden Guhle’s injury, perhaps?) and Mike Matheson is at the heart of the story.

He makes a difference when he’s at his best.

6. Samuel Montembeault earned his fourth shutout of the season. He’s been doing well since his return from the Four Nations Tournament, with two wins.

That’s good for the Canadiens.

7. Jesperi Kotkaniemi showed up in Montreal with notable indifference. He wasn’t booed, he wasn’t applauded: he was simply ignored by the Bell Centre crowd.

That’s just the way it is.

8. Seeing Owen Beck on the second line allowed the team to add speed to the top six. He looked like an NHL player and played nearly 12 minutes on the ice.

It also allowed the team to keep the bottom six intact, and it paid off. The return of Emil Heineman is really helping the team, as he’s playing very well.

9. Did the Canadiens play well because the Hurricanes were out? Let’s recall that in recent days, Carolina players were spotted at the Palma.

Was Carolina having a rookie party in Montreal?

10. Is it 100% Mikko Rantanen’s fault that the Hurricanes gave up yesterday? No. But did he do everything to help his team win in Montreal?

No.


overtime

The Canadiens will have a day off today. We’ll have to wait and see how Josh Anderson is doing since coach Martin St-Louis won’t be speaking to the media.

I’m looking forward to seeing the lineup tomorrow against the Sharks.

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