The Montreal Canadiens should be concerned but shouldn’t panic
By Omar L
The Montreal Canadiens lost their fourth straight game on Sunday, and although it’s not the best time to go on a streak, the team and fanbase shouldn’t panic.
The last time the Montreal Canadiens had a losing streak like this was back in November. The team was starting to emerge as a playoff contender but hit a wall after their Western Canada road trip. It started with a 5-4 overtime loss to the Washington Capitals, and it went downhill from there.
Montreal went on to lose the next four only gaining two points across the five-game slump. The difference between the two losing streaks, however, is context. The Habs had this happen around the US Thanksgiving milestone where they were in a playoff spot (ironically the one they’re in now). The current losing streak is a week away from the trade deadline while other teams are making their end-of-season push for contention.
Pittsburgh is buzzing with their win against the New York Rangers leapfrogging them over Carolina and Montreal for the first wild-card. The Hurricanes are out but surely not down going 8-2 in their last ten and are currently on a three-game winning streak. Even the Flyers and Sabres are still in it to some extent with only a six-point hole keeping them out of a wild-card spot.
Factor all those things together and it makes perfect sense why it feels there needs to be an aura of panic revolving around the Montreal Canadiens and their fans. There doesn’t need to be.
The team has proven the league many times that they respond to adversity. And given how long they’ve been in a playoff spot, it’s unlikely they lay on their backs and accept defeat. That said, things need to be tweaked.
We’ve raved on and on about the powerplay but the sentiment hasn’t changed: the powerplay needs to do something. The Montreal Canadiens have managed to chip in a goal or two here and there over the last few weeks. However, there isn’t any consistency with either unit.
Getting a powerplay goal in Sunday’s game would’ve done wonders for the team’s efforts to battle back, and they failed to score on any of the three.
That doesn’t change the fact that the Habs had an opportunity. It was a tie game for the majority of the third until Aleksander Barkov completed the hat trick putting the Florida Panthers up 4-3. A one-goal deficit isn’t hard for Montreal to overcome given their production at 5v5. Additionally, they had more of the scoring chances and possession numbers which speaks to the impact of James Reimer and the team as a whole.
Similar situation to the Tampa Bay game when Montreal went into the third period still tied 0-0. The final frame lost them the match, but it wasn’t as if they were completely outplayed for the majority of the game.
The Montreal Canadiens will be fine; they only need to tighten some screws and execute more on their strengths. That doesn’t mean the team or its fans should take this slump lightly. But that also doesn’t mean the season is lost and they should sell at the deadline and tank for the rest of the year.
It’s ok to be concerned just keep things in perspective. The Montreal Canadiens are fine from done here.