Canadiens: 24 Thoughts On Habs Being Outclassed By Bruins

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The Montreal Canadiens head out on the road as they faced the Boston Bruins last night to kick off an odd five game road trip that starts on the east coast, travels through California and then ends in Columbus.

The Habs played a great game a week ago when they beat the Bruins in overtime but then lost three straight on home ice as they turned in a few of their worst efforts of the season.

They have dropped to 7-8-2 with their struggles this week as they head into Boston. Here are 24 thoughts on how game 18 of the season went.

First Period Thoughts

The Canadiens lines are all shaken up as Cole Caufield is back with Nick Suzuki and Jesse Ylonen jumps up the lineup while Josh Anderson has been pushed down. Should be interesting to see if they can create more scoring chances with this lineup.

Anderson does remain on the first power play unit, gets a terrific scoring chance… and of course does not score. I know he is “getting his chances” but at some point you have to put a puck in the net or take a seat at then end of the bench when the team is on the man advantage.

A couple of penalties in a row against the Habs, as Johnathan Kovacevic gets turnstiled by Brad Marchand and has to trip him while the team was already shorthanded. The puck ends up in the back of the net pretty quick when facing the Bruins and down by two skaters. Marchand set up the goal to get his 500th career assist, he could reach 400 goals and 900 points this season as well as 1000 games. I’ll never say I like him because he is one of the most hate-able players in the league, but respect to him for a great career.

This is an odd scheduling quirk. These two teams played against each other seven days ago. Since then, the Habs played three games, losing them all but that is neither here nor there, and there has been one Bruins game since that last meeting. As such, one team looks a little sharper and quicker while the other looks quite tired.

Justin Barron is to Canadiens fans what my kids comfort blankie is to them. Every time Barron gets the puck you just feel safe and know that he is going to take care of it and put it in the right spot. It has been a treat to watch this guy develop this season.

Thankfully, the Edmonton Oilers game ended just in time for them to watch Jake Allen tonight. Another half dozen goals against for the Oilers in a loss and Allen looks sharp early as the Canadiens are being outshot 16-7 and the only goal against came on the 5-on-3.

Not the Canadiens best period of the year. Allowing 19 shots in 20 minutes is a tough way to start a game for a goaltender. Although, with the three goalie system they have going on, maybe this is their strategy to ensure all goalies get a lot of action this season.

Pretty terrible period overall for the Canadiens. Hopefully the new forwards lines can figure some things out in the intermission and look a little more organized in the final forty minutes.

Nov 18, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Montreal Canadiens center Jake Evans. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports /

Second Period Thoughts

David Pastrnak played just four minutes in the first period and left the bench for a while. He is back out to start the second period which makes coming back from down a pair extremely more difficult.

Suzuki made a ridiculous pass across the slot to Alex Newhook, but he can’t convert (this actually is a recording). Suzuki’s playmaking ability is underrated and he should always just play with Caufield because they have chemistry, they are the two best offensive weapons on the team and can create offense on a nightly basis with Suzuki’s setup skills and Caufield’s goal scoring ability.

Brendan Gallagher carries the puck into the Bruins zone and is hauled down. There is no call because… refs. The play heads back the other way and a weird shot at other end goes in as Hampus Lindholm tries to tee it up but it rolls along the ice like one of my golf drives and trickles between Allen’s pads. Three goal holes are hard to climb out of against anyone, and that is especially true against a disciplined team like the Bruins.

Speaking of the Bruins discipline and exceptional defensive system, I always thought Jim Montgomery would have made a fine head coach of the Canadiens. Born in Montreal (and bilingual) he has an impressive coaching resume. Anyway, the Habs chose Martin St. Louis instead and Montgomery won’t be leaving the Bruins any time soon.

Juraj Slafkovsky gets his second of the season! He finds some space in the slot and Suzuki finds him with a pass and the Canadiens first overall pick rips a one-timer over Jeremy Swayman’s shoulder to get the Habs on the board.

Shortly after Slafkovsky’s goal, the Canadiens got a power play which gave them a chance to pull within one. Instead, the two minutes is mostly ineffective and then as it ends, and with the Habs still having just one defenseman on the ice, Trent Frederic breaks down the wing and fires the puck past Allen to make it 4-1.

Well, 14 shots against is better than 19 but they still allowed a pair of goals in the second period. This team is starting to look outmatched most nights and I really don’t remember how they were able to beat this Bruins team just seven days ago.

Interestingly, Kaiden Guhle is leading the team in ice time, taking that torch from Mike Matheson who is among the league leaders in minutes played.

Nov 18, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Montreal Canadiens right wing Josh Anderson. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports /

Third Period Thoughts

Lines in a blender here to start the third. Ylonen is out with Slafkovsky and though it was not much of a chance, Ylonen can really fire a puck. He just stepped over the line and let a quick wrist shot go that Swayman stopped but kind of fumbled as it hit him. I’d like to see a little more of Ylonen in the top six.

Slafkovsky gets a holding penalty and the Bruins work their magic again on the power play. This time it is James van Riemsdyk, who I kind of forgot existed, and it is 5-1. That is the 8th time already this season that the Habs allowed five goals.

Most teams, when they get a lead early, slip a little defensively throughout the game. You often see a team pull ahead 3-0 only to suddenly be leading 3-2 or at least have the losing team coming at them in waves. That is not the case with the Bruins. They are exceptional defensively and do not let up at all. Their goaltenders have ridiculous numbers for a reason, and it is because they play behind the stingiest defensive group in the league. Oh, and their goalies are also really good if you can ever get to them.

Tanner Pearson has been pretty quiet lately. Of course, most Habs have been quiet offensively so maybe I shouldn’t pick on him. He was moved down to the fourth line tonight with Jake Evans and Michael Pezzetta and they have not created much. He looked better with fellow savvy veterans Sean Monahan and Brendan Gallagher.

I don’t know how other teams will evaluate Habs goalies. I thought Cayden Primeau looked great for about 55 minutes against Vegas but he allowed six goals. I thought Allen was really good early in this game but they just keep getting peppered with shots and now he has allowed five. Does anyone want them? Will they make an offer that brings something of value to Montreal? I have no idea.

Johnathan Kovacevic has zero points in his first 16 games of the season but he now has goals in back to back games. He jumped up into the play and was stopped after a couple of nice passes from Slafkovksy and Christian Dvorak set him up, but he dug out the rebound and slid it over the line.

An assist on that play for Slafkovsky who carried the puck into the attacking zone and found Dvorak with a crisp pass. That’s two points tonight and three in his last three games after having just two in his first 15 games of the season. Progress!

Playing five games in eight nights is difficult and the Canadiens lost their final four in that stretch. Things are taking a major turn for the worse after that 5-2-1 start. Still just two regulation wins this season after 18 games played. All signs are pointing to another really high draft pick in the spring.

Next. Should Habs Ship Out Young Defense For Young Forwards?. dark

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