Well, the Montreal Canadiens have little hope for a comeback now. This game was supposed to be different. Dominique Ducharme was supposed to be a calming factor behind the bench and help get the match ups that the Canadiens desperately needed.
That would also come with home ice advantage. With thousands of fans in the stands and tens of thousands more outside the rink, this could be the jolt the Canadiens needed. And with last change, Montreal could finally get the Danault line to shut down Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat.
What happened? Montreal fans last vestiges of hope were dashed a mere 2 minutes into the first period. And to put any doubt away, less than 2 minutes later, Victor Hedman scored the second Tampa goal. Danault scored a goal late in the first to make it respectable, but another goal in the first 2 minutes of the second period put the game out of reach.
While Montreal could come back from a 3-0 deficit, it seemed unlikely against this Tampa team, and those goals early in the period were hope killers. Sure there is a faint, dying ember of hope, but the next game or two seems like a formality. It was a nice run. Let’s look at what happened this game, and maybe peek a little eye into the future.