Montreal Canadiens: Three Players Underperforming So Far This Season

The Montreal Canadiens stormed out of the gates with a much better record early on than anyone expected. It took some extra time, and a few third period comebacks, but the team was looking great after about 10% of the season.

Their record after eight games was 5-2-1 which put them in unfamiliar territory as they were firmly inside a playoff position. Obviously that was quite early in the season, and no one was changing their final predictions to include the Canadiens as a team that would have home ice advantage in round one of the playoffs, but it was a pleasant surprise to see them pile up 11 points in the first eight games.

Since then the team has lost three straight on a tough road trip out west. It started well as they outplayed the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights but lost in a shootout. That wasn’t all that troubling and a tough 3-2 loss to the Arizona Coyotes followed. Their 6-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues on the weekend was not their best effort, and it dropped their record to 5-4-2.

That is probably still a little better than most anticipated, but the quick three game slide has seen them drop back to the middle of the pack in the overall standings.

Yesterday, we looked at three players who have performed above expectations and helped the team get off to a better start than expected. Today, we look at the flip side of the coin, and focus on three players who have played below their expected level so far this season.

You can’t be greedy, as all teams will have players that play above expectations and some players that don’t play to the same level they have in the past. But it is interesting to wonder how good the team’s record could be if these three players got off to better starts this season.