The miasma that is the Montreal Canadiens’ season continued on Saturday night in a 3-1 defeat to the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena. One supposes that the performance was superior to the ones the club put in on Tuesday versus the Seattle Kraken (Oct. 29; an 8-2 defeat) and Thursday away to the Washington Capitals (Oct. 31; a 6-3 defeat). Even so, familiar negative patterns reared their ugly heads against a team that, on paper at least, the Canadiens could have conquered. Here are the takeaways, both good and bad.
Montembeault Bounces Back
Until a couple of weeks ago, netminder Sam Montembeault was celebrated in Montreal and everywhere where the Habs faithful dwell. Then he was hooked versus the New York Rangers and Kraken within the span of a single week. From hero to zero in a hockey mecca like Montreal.
He was the less busy of the two keepers on Saturday, facing 23 shots on target to the 26 his opposite number Alex Nedeljkovic had to repel. What’s more, he let in two, whereas his rival only conceded one. Some might look at that and cry foul, but Montembeault needed a game like Saturday’s. After some truly risible performances over the past fortnight, a comparatively easy outing in which he settled things down was imperative.
To that effect, the 28-year-old did an admirable job. Few rebounds were conceded, he caught the puck in his mitten often and looked far more comfortable than he had in some time. It’s difficult to blame him for either shot that got past him, especially considering that Sidney “Canadiens Killer” Crosby did the deed twice. The first was pure skill. The second was a wrist shot that travelled at dangerous velocity and through traffic on a power play.
Talk of Montembeault possibly being on Team Canada for next February’s 4 Nations Face-Off has cooled off. A 3.67 goals-against average (GAA) and .891 save percentage (SV%) will do that. But right now, the objective is not to make the national squad for a tournament scheduled in three months. It’s to help the Canadiens, and Montembeault did that on Saturday to the best of his abilities.
St. Louis Juggles Lines to No Avail
When the lineups were revealed shortly before game time, some people were caught off guard. That includes us at The Hockey Writers. Josh Anderson found himself on the top line alongside Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. Joel Armia mostly played with Jake Evans and Brendan Gallagher on the third. Juraj Slafkovsky, usually a first-liner, was on the second with Alex Newhook and Kirby Dach.
There are always two sides to a coin, however much that can frustrate people who staunchly view things in black and white. On the one hand, head coach Martin St. Louis can be questioned for mixing things up when facing a vulnerable opponent. The Penguins had collected only nine points entering the contest. Even after this game, they’re still tied for the second-worst team in the NHL for goals conceded with 50. They concede the most shots on target (390) and have the 18th-ranked SV% with .894. Why not see what Montreal’s regular lines can do against that?
Related: Canadiens Should Probably Send Xhekaj to the AHL at This Point
On the other hand, the reality is that the Canadiens have been a weak attacking side yet again. They’ve launched the sixth-least number of shots on target (300) and only net 2.75 goals per contest. Let’s be frank: Caufield has a lot to do with the fact that the Habs are even flirting with an average of three per game. So why not switch things up, especially against a poor defensive side?
Both arguments have their merit. Whatever happened on Saturday, some fans were going to yell they were right and others were wrongheaded. It didn’t work out. At least, not until 5:23 of the final frame when Montreal, trailing 2-0, finally got on the board. Lo and behold, Christian Dvorak, of all people, finally got his first of 2024-25 by capitalizing on his own rebound. The scoring opportunity was courtesy of Montreal’s pressure in Pittsburgh’s zone that produced a turnover.
While the pressure put on Pittsburgh’s defence in the final minutes was nice, Montreal’s attack was moribund for most of the evening. With only a few minutes left in the opening period, the shots were tied at 3-3. It felt as if nothing was happening.
Same Old Problems for Canadiens
The dearth of offensive prowess was not the only issue. The Pennsylvanian-based unit is not known as an especially fast-skating club. Despite that, Montreal looked sluggish and uninterested for long stretches. It’s not as if the Habs don’t have fast skaters. Lane Hutson and Caufield can rocket past tons of opponents, but Montreal was stuck in neutral for most of the night.
What’s more, the Habs continue to struggle with giveaways. They committed 20 in this game, as per ESPN’s tally. Granted, it was fewer than on Halloween against the Capitals (they had 24), but even in a contest where the opposition doesn’t have a great offence, it’s important to limit bad habits. Montreal looks discombobulated and nervous at times when exiting or clearing their zone. Pittsburgh’s opener was the end product of a Montreal giveaway.
It is said that St. Louis is a “player’s coach.” Fine. There are several reasons why that can be a good thing. Since he is a “player’s coach,” he and his staff need to get some messages through to the players. Why is this team so sloppy with the puck? Why is there such little creativity when they possess it? When they said that this season was going to be another chapter in the rebuilding process, they weren’t kidding.
There are other details about this game that we could go into. Slafkovsky took a hit from Noel Acciari late in the third period that winded him. That led to fisticuffs when the final whistle blew. One can argue that that was a demonstration of character from the team. Sure, but it would have been nice to see more character during the game when the result hung in the balance. Other than the final 10 minutes, this was a sleepy performance.
Montreal returns home for one game on Tuesday (Nov. 5) when the Calgary Flames visit the Bell Centre. After that, their travels begin anew for a quartet of games. It won’t get any easier for Montreal in the coming weeks. No one is expecting a Stanley Cup this season, just decent efforts. They, from the players to the coaches, are the only ones who can come up with ways to make that happen. We’re just sitting idly, waiting for it.
