Although it’s widely accepted now that that the Montreal Canadiens should finish as low as possible, it’s not realistic to think they’ll lose every game.
The Montreal Canadiens came together on a Thursday night to have one of their most well-played games of the season. There was pace, pressure, plays, and saves from the Habs. The final tally was 3-1 as they outshot the New York Rangers 41-32 to end their six-game losing streak. Players on the team were happy, Claude Julien was relieved, but many members of the fanbase were not.
Montreal winning bumped them up to 27th in the league. If the Draft Lottery were to happen right now, they would have an 8.5% chance of winning. Besides the majority of tweets of posts saying how it was a good win for the Habs, there were others upset that they got the two points. Some were using the line ‘Man, Montreal can’t even tank right’ in some form.
It’s understandable, to an extent, but the Habs can’t be expected to lose every single game. The Colorado Avalanche’s historically bad season was just that, horrible, but even they won a game here and there. Additionally, think about the things that happened during the game.
Tomas Plekanec and Antti Niemi added to their trade stock ahead of Monday’s deadline. The 35-year-old had a goal and an assist bringing his point total this year to 24. Plekanec was also 67% in the faceoff circle and spent 3:28 of ice time killing penalties. All things who teams looking to add a depth centre would love. Niemi stopped 31 of 33 shots (.969 save percentage) to get his third win of the season.
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We’re also ignoring the elephant in the room here. Noah Juulsen was outstanding. It’s not that the 20-year-old looked like he belonged on the Habs blueline, he does belong on the Habs blueline. Juulsen had two shots, both of which could’ve been his first NHL goal, four shots, and played over 17 minutes (including time on the penalty kill and the final minutes of the game). It’s hard to expect that type of contribution and most importantly trust from a rookie defenceman in his first game.
If those didn’t make you excited for what Juulsen will bring to Montreal long-term, check this out from The Athletic‘s Marc Dumont:
During Juulsen's shifts the Canadiens controlled over 60 percent of the shots, 70 percent of the scoring chances, and 85 percent of the high-danger shot attempts.
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) February 23, 2018
Without exaggerating, he's basically he's Karlsson 2.0 and Doughty 2.0 but younger.
Obviously calling him a young Erik Karlsson or Drew Doughty is an exaggeration, but the future is bright for the 2015 first-round pick.
But at the end of the day, Montreal did get a win. However, this should be a win that fans should applaud regardless of the state or goals for the season. There is something new worth investing in now, and it is only one game. With Juulsen, Charlie Lindgren, Victor Mete, and soon hopefully Nikita Scherbak, in the fold, wins or losses may not matter as long as they’re playing.
Next: The Reason for the Jerabek Trade
Were you upset that the Habs won? What did you think of Juulsen? Let us know your thoughts down below.