Montreal Canadiens: Scratching Michael Pezzetta Not Going to Wake Up Habs

The Montreal Canadiens are off to one of their worst starts ever and are coming off their worst performance of their terrible season.

The Canadiens lost again Thursday night, but this time it was a completely lifeless 6-0 defeat at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins. The team looked awful offensively and completely uninterested defensively. Looking lifeless is about as embarrassing as it can get for an NHL team.

But they might have even less energy tonight.

The team has chosen to go with seven defenders and 11 forwards for the first time this season. They will take on the Nashville Predators tonight with defenceman Chris Wideman stepping back into the lineup at the expense of forward Michael Pezzetta.

The team is 4-13-2 after 19 games and on pace for about a 43 point season. Perhaps it is useless to complain about lineup changes at the bottom end of the lineup, but taking Pezzetta out doesn’t make a lot of sense right now.

Pezzetta isn’t a goal scoring phenom or a power play specialist or anything, but he at least showed a little life recently. He is one of the few players on the team that can honestly say they are giving it their all every night and battling for wins no matter what the standings say about the team’s playoff hopes already.

The loss to the Penguins was a terrible game to watch, but the game before saw Pezzetta drop the gloves with Ryan Reaves and defend himself after a bit of a questionable hit by the New York Rangers enforcer. Pezzetta didn’t spark the Canadiens to a big win or even win the fight, but at least he is still willing to fight.

How many of the 18 skaters can possibly suggest they are as willing as Pezzetta to go to battle on every shift and try to win tonight? Not many.

Pezzetta is a 23 year old winger who was given almost no chance to make the team out of training camp. However, he did absolutely everything right in training camp practices, during exhibition games and in his short stint with the Laval Rocket to begin the season.

That type of willingness by a young player to work his tail off every single shift should be rewarded  in a lost season. Not scratched after the entire team forgets to show up for a game against Sidney Crosby.

The Canadiens need a wakeup call after their most embarrassing loss of the season. Pezzetta was more likely to provide that than most other players, but he can’t from the press box.