Montreal Canadiens

Habs stumble against the Hurricanes and lose 4-1
March 24, 2017, 9:24 AM ET [267 Comments]
Jennifer B Cutler
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • RSS • Archive • CONTACT
The Montreal Canadiens have had some big wins recently but it is their losses to opponents that are behind them in the standings which has become disconcerting. The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Canadiens by a score of 4-1 on Thursday night at the Bell Centre, the team’s second loss in a row to an opponent not in a playoff position. In all fairness to the Hurricanes, they have been playing much better as of late with a 6-1-3 record in their last ten games and now just five points behind the Boston Bruins for the second wild card position.

It seemed like the Canadiens were off to a good start as they jumped out to a 1-0 lead. The newly formed line with Alex Galchenyuk at left wing with Andrew Shaw centering him and Artturi Lehkonen was an early success as Galchenyuk scored off of a perfect Shaw pass on a 2 on 1. Unfortunately that was all of the offense that the Canadiens would be able to muster with Hurricanes replying back with four unanswered goals to make it a 4-1 final score.

Puck props and flops:

Props:

Michael McCarron and Andreas Martinsen - The duo of fourth liners got back into the lineup in the place of Steve Ott and Dwight King and they were one of the few bright spots on the night for the Canadiens. They did their job of being energetic and physical. King has been a bit of a disappointment since he arrived at the trade deadline from Los Angeles and has looked disinterested on the ice although he had a better weekend against the Senators. On the other hand, when Martinsen plays up to his abilities he is tough to play against as his size and surprising speed are difficult to contain. Against the Hurricanes Martinsen and McCarron played hard and will be difficult for head coach Claude Julien to take them out of the lineup.

Galchenyuk, Shaw & Lehkonen - The trio showed some nice early chemistry and potential together. Shaw and Galchenyuk’s two on one was a thing of beauty and displayed the possibility of good things to come should they stay together.

Flops:

Where to start?

Max Pacioretty, Phillip Danault, Alexander Radulov - Perhaps Danault said it best, not just he but the whole line’s performance could be considered rotten:




Brandon Davidson did little to prove that he deserves to stay in the lineup over Nathan Beaulieu. In my opinion it was too soon to take Beaulieu back out of the lineup. Julien needs to give him and Jordie Benn more time to jam in order to be ready for the playoffs. Bouncing in and out of the lineup will only hurt Beaulieu's confidence. When he is on his game he is a big part of the Canadiens success. Julien needs to work with him to get him playing consistent hockey...

It was not just the top line that struggled. For the most part the whole team lacked energy. The Hurricanes were the hungrier team and the Canadiens took them too lightly. They thought it would be easy sailing against the ‘lowly’ Hurricanes and would not have to bring their ‘A’ game. Especially when Galchenyuk scored the open ending goal. The pushback that we have come accustomed to seeing did not materialize as the team was uninspired. Even the much improved penalty kill had an off night.




The Canadiens good work and four points against the Senators last weekend are now washed away as the Senators have done their job and are now just one point behind the Canadiens with a game on hand. The rematch of a rematch on March 25th has first place in the Atlantic back on the line. The Canadiens must regroup and get back to playing the way they know that they can. With just eight games remaining, the Canadiens need to work out the kinks as soon as possible if they hope to be in tip top shape come playoff time.