Always give the net to Jake Allen

The Canadiens will be playing a minus-four game tonight at the Bell Centre. The poor Coyotes, who have played their last 12 games, are nevertheless the favourites to win tonight in Montreal: a sign that the Habs don’t inspire confidence in anyone… except maybe Martin St-Louis. #BestSequenceOfTheSeason

Whoever escapes with victory tonight will occupy 27th place in the overall standings tomorrow morning. The loser? 28th. A meaningful duel between our two Quebec coaches…

Knowing that we won’t be making the playoffs and that the season is in the toilet, I’m left wishing for losses when the Habs play a game. Especially since the Habs are slowly but surely approaching the bottom 5 (top 5 for the draft lottery).

The “problem” today is that Samuel Montembeault will be defending the Tricolore cage. His stats are MUCH better than Jake Allen’s. Montembeault has just had four good starts out of five, while Allen has finished six of his last eight games with a save percentage below .900 (the norm).

Seriously, we had Allen goaltending too much in the first half of the season, when the club was competitive… and we haven’t had him goaltending often enough since the season began.

Of all the goalkeepers who have played at least 20 games this season, only six have a worse save percentage than Allen.

And only two (Arvid Soderblom and Lukas Donstal) have a worse save average!

Let’s face it: Jake Allen is having a disastrous season; his second in a row.

HuberdeauAllen hasn’t been the same since signing his contract extension.

You can’t change the past, and no, the Habs won’t be playing any meaningful games again this season (three in a row).

What can we do now? Simple: do NOT trade Jake Allen (you’d have to agree to take salary or a player with negative value in return) and give him the net as often as possible. We want losses… and Jake Allen gives us the best chance of losing. #MacklinCelebrini

The season is over. There’s nothing good left to look forward to in 2023-24. Allen is averaging close to four goals per game, which is why I’m hoping to see him get 15 of the last 24 starts. I’m dreaming, I know, but let me dream. It doesn’t hurt anyone.

The Canadiens don’t win when you want them to, so will they lose when you want them to? Perhaps Montembeault has a little pain that would justify giving him a few weeks off?

Except I won’t be holding my breath.

While we’re at it, let’s try to pass Cayden Primeau on to another GM by March 8. Primeau was almost traded to the Blue Jackets just before Christmas. If there’s still interest in his services somewhere, let’s allow him to try to blossom under other skies… and start next season with a Montembeault – Allen duo or some other veteran from elsewhere. Primeau will never be the Habs’ #1 goalie.

We’re there now.

In gusto

– When we compare ourselves, we console ourselves.

– Connor McDavid hasn’t scored in 10 games. He’s on fire though.

– Will this help the Habs?