Hockey

Monty, Dobes… it doesn’t matter: The goalkeepers aren’t doing the job at the moment
Marc-Olivier Cook
Monty, Dobes… it doesn’t matter: The goalkeepers aren’t doing the job at the moment
Credit: Getty Images

Losing 7-0 at home is…[insert whatever word you like].

I'd like to say it's insulting. Humiliating.

Yesterday, the Canadiens really let it slip against the Stars. Martin St-Louis' men got off to a good start, playing some good hockey in the first period. But things went sour pretty quickly after that…

Clearly, Jakub Dobes' performance had to be mentioned. The big goalie allowed five goals on 13 shots… which is really atrocious. Samuel Montembeault started the third period and he didn't do much better either… because he gave away two goals on six shots.

As for Monty, I'm ready to give him a pass. It's never easy, coming in cold in the middle of a game and at 5-0, it's like it's already over in a way.

But with the Québécois' recent failures and last night's Dobes game, it's easy to come to a conclusion. There's no controversy in front of the net… because both guys have been struggling to get the job done for some time.

And it makes you wonder – jokingly – if Jacob Fowler is ready to face the music.

So, what do we do tomorrow against the Bruins? Actually, the question is this:

Who deserves to play between Monty and Dobes?

I've got a feeling we'll be going back to Montembeault because it's a Saturday night game at the Bell Centre. Usually, it's the #1 goaltender who gets to play in these circumstances.

And anyway, it's not as if Dobes has proven that he really deserves to play tomorrow. I can't wait to see what happens next…

The performance of the two goalkeepers wasn't exceptional, but that's far from being the only thing that went wrong in this match.

There are some things to remember, after all…

1. In the dressing room, we saw that the defeat hurt.

Mike Matheson, in good veteran fashion, rose to address the situation – as we've seen him do in the past. In the defender's eyes, the club's performance was embarrassing… and it's true that it's a shame for the fans who were on hand.

Matheson wasn't too happy after the game and that's normal in a way. We know how proud he is, playing for the Canadiens.

And we know how much he takes the club's success to heart. To be washed out like that at the Bell Centre must be frustrating…

2. Only three forwards finished the game with a 0 differential.

Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield… and Juraj Slafkovsky. The first line wasn't bad defensively, but didn't create many chances offensively either.

When the first line isn't rolling and the other units are struggling to contribute… this is what happens.

3. The Canadiens' powerplay has been on a tear for four games now.

In fact…

The Canadiens haven't scored on the powerplay in four games now. That's not ideal: just yesterday, the Habs were 0 for 3 with the man advantage.

That's got to change. And the guys have got to stop complicating themselves by looking for the perfect game…

4. Martin St-Louis, seeing his club being picked off, tried a few new things in the third period.

Zachary Bolduc, Kirby Dach and Ivan Demidov made a few appearances together. It's a small sample, but I liked what I saw of the three guys on the same line.

5. For the first time all season, the Canadiens face a lot of adversity.

It's not going great: the club is playing better teams and has only one small win in its last five games. That's where we see that there may be a certain lack of maturity within the group… and it'll be interesting to see how the guys bounce back in the coming weeks.

Because if the Canadiens keep losing, it's going to be a lot less fun around town.

6. Once again, Martin St-Louis's men failed to get many shots on target.

just 24 shots… not nearly enough. We really need to find a way of correcting this aspect, because to win in the NHL, you have to score goals. And to score goals, you have to shoot.

It should also be noted that the 7-0 shutout defeat was one of the worst thaws in the Canadiens' history when playing at home. You can't make this stuff up:


Extension

Today, at 11:30 a.m., the Canadiens will practice in Brossard.

It will be interesting to see if any players are recalled for tomorrow's game against the Bruins… because Alex Newhook's injury complicates things a bit.

Besides, I'm probably not the only one who was really disappointed to see him go down last night…

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