Montreal Canadiens may be trending down the same dark path as last year

The Montreal Canadiens are at a crossroads with this losing streak, and if they don’t change things now, it will likely end in a familiar disappointment.

Five is the worst number in Montreal at the moment. It’s not because it’s the number of goals Artturi Lehkonen has this season or the average number of times you’ve thought, “Fire Claude Julien,” which is a conversation for another day. Five is the number of times the Montreal Canadiens have left the ice without winning.

Julien is trying different things to get the team going, media members and radio personalities are continuously arguing about what’s wrong, and even teammates are going at it. If you didn’t see, Victor Mete and Max Domi dropped the gloves at practice Wednesday.

Both downplayed it and said the typical things like, “It shows emotion” and “It’s a sign of frustration from all of us,” and again, fights at practice are a common thing. However, it does point at how things have gone for the Habs so far.

In less than two weeks, they’ve been outscored 25-12 and have lost their playoff spot to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Does that sound familiar?

Think back to last season. The Montreal Canadiens didn’t make the playoffs, but they were in a playoff spot. At times it was via the Atlantic Division when the Leafs were sputtering while other times it was in a wild-card spot. Unfortunately, losing streaks ended up forcing the decision down to the final week of the season, where Columbus and Carolina got the last laugh.

In that season, the Habs had a five-game losing streak literally a year ago. From November 19th, 2018 to November 27th, 2018, with loses to Washington, New Jersey, Buffalo, Boston, and Carolina. Combine that with a four-game skid in February, and the Montreal Canadiens put themselves in the spotlight at the end of the 2018-19 campaign.

Montreal is playing a very dangerous game here. A number of teams have not played their best and are on the brink of coming alive. I wrote a week ago that they needed to take advantage of what was going on in the Eastern Conference and they haven’t. In fact, the Habs are doing the exact opposite. They’ve let those teams who were out, get back in.

Max Domi said after skate that it’s a must-win for the Montreal Canadiens.

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He’s absolutely right.

The Montreal Canadiens cannot lose this one – and with all due respect – especially to the New Jersey Devils. They’re a team who are likely going to be sellers at the NHL Trade Deadline and are salivating at the next Draft Lottery. Despite their best efforts, it’s going to be hard to salvage any kind of positivity to convince Taylor Hall to stat at this point. They’re a team with a great future ahead, but not the best present.

The Habs can’t lose to the Devils. They have to find something to get them over this slump. Perhaps Carey Price stands on his head and keeps the team afloat as they try to dig in. Maybe the game is at a stalemate for a period or two before the Canadiens step it up. Regardless of the circumstances, Montreal needs this.

They don’t want the same events to take place as last season. As exciting as it was to have every game be a must-win, it’s also stressful and will put a lot of dependence on Price again. At the same time, anything can happen in a game.

Their last three games are against the Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators, and Toronto Maple Leafs. Would it surprise anyone if those three teams stepped up and fought for those wins? Another thing to consider is how hectic March is. The Montreal Canadiens have their California road trip then, and it’s known that it hasn’t been their best stretch over the years.

It’s one game, but this game could dictate how the rest of the season will go. The Montreal Canadiens can change the narrative now. Will they?