The Montreal Canadiens head to their final two games of the preseason with a 4-2 loss against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Quebec City Wednesday night.
“It’s just the preseason”, has been a line used more often by Montreal Canadiens fans. When they lost their first two, everyone was fine. There was still a moderate level of calmness even after Montreal lost the next three games. The panic is starting to seep in more after this recent loss.
A couple of things here. You shouldn’t be panicking because it IS just the preseason. However, no matter which way you look at it, the Montreal Canadiens should have won this game. Both teams for the most part had their AHL teams going, but the Habs also had their top line, number one defenceman and the best goaltender in the world playing.
Being outworked by a team like that isn’t a good look at all. On top of that, they were only able to put up two goals. Their total is now nine in six games which is nothing to be proud of as well. The Canadiens need to have some sense of positivity going into the regular season. Yes they’re professionals, but it can’t feel good losing six games in a row.
Related Story: What Happened in the Off-Season?
Thoughts and Observations
The usual suspects stood out for the Montreal Canadiens tonight. The two returnees in Jonathan Drouin and Andrew Shaw showed us why they’re better off in the line-up than out of it. Drouin in particular seemed to find another gear tonight.
He was making plays, laying hits, and of course there was the beautiful breakaway goal. Brendan Gallagher has so far been a great addition to that line and was able to work the puck up to Max Pacioretty who put it on Drouin’s tape. The 22-year-old continued his dominance with two amazing plays made to both his line mates in the third period.
Drouin breaks in and goes backhand ched putting the #Habs up 1-0 pic.twitter.com/YoId6wT9Tc
— Shayne Pasquino (@shaynepasquino) September 27, 2017
Shaw may have taken a sip of some “offensive tea” before the game tonight. He’s usually the physical tyrant on the ice, but he was pulling off some pretty stuff out there. For one there was his power play goal. The Leafs turned over the puck and, with time alone in near the net, Shaw quickly placed it over Curtis McElhinney‘s glove.
More from Habs News
- Montreal Canadiens: Biggest Questions Going Into 2023-24
- Montreal Canadiens: Quentin Miller’s Poise And Confidence Fuel His Game
- Montreal Canadiens: Laval Rocket Top Defence Pair Could Be Set
- Montreal Canadiens: Worst Move Of The Pierre Gauthier Era
- Montreal Canadiens: Could Casey DeSmith End Up In Colorado?
Speaking of Shaw’s goal, tonight was another great performance from Victor Mete. He was directly responsible for the goal even happening by pinching in off the face off and keeping the puck in the Leafs’ zone. Every game he plays adds more reasons to the list of why he should make the team.
Now we get to the ugly stuff. In homage to Jay and Dan on Sportscenter: Brandon Davidson, Joseph Morrow, and Mark Streit…Ya blew it. Claude Julien is still willing to give them all chances to redeem themselves, and all they’re doing is making it worse, especially Davidson. It’s bad enough that he turns over the puck in dangerous areas, but he takes the most poorly timed penalties as well.
Besides Mete, Eric Gelinas looks like the other defenceman who can play on in the top six. That’s saying something because he didn’t really blow anyone away tonight.
Julien mentioned in the post-game scrums that he’s trying to keep the bigger picture in mind. If he’s taking these games more as learning experiences, then perhaps we may see some changes that we haven’t considered before.
Next: Laval Rocket Lines and D-Pairings
What did you make of the game? Let us know your thoughts down below.