3 takeaways from the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche

The Montreal Canadiens wrapped up a tough week of hockey on Saturday night against the Colorado Avalanche. They were able to get one point from the Minnesota Wild before their big win in Boston on Thursday.

The Avalanche are one of the best teams in the Western Conference but were also coming into this game short-handed without Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. However, that didn't matter for Colorado as they would come away with a 4-1 win and snap the Canadiens' 12-game streak with at least one point.

These are three takeaways from the Montreal Canadiens loss on Saturday night.

Nick Suzuki with a highlight-reel goal for the Canadiens

The Canadiens finished with only one goal in this game but it was an incredible goal as Nick Suzuki made an incredible play.

The goal came midway through the second period with the Canadiens already down 2-0 to the Avalanche. On the play, Juraj Slafkovsky found Nick Suzuki in the slot and in one sweeping motion, Suzuki took the pass and was able to backhand a shot past Mackenzie Blackwood.

Suzuki is known for being more of a facilitator on that top line, setting up teammates to score. However, this season, the captain has been handling some of that scoring with eight goals this season, four in the past six games and currently has a career-high shooting percentage over 20%.

Jakub Dobes settles down after giving up two goals in first three shots he faced

Jacob Fowler has surpassed Jakub Dobes as the starter for the Montreal Canadiens and that means for Dobes, his starts are few and far between. On Saturday, he made only his third start in the last 11 games for the Canadiens, and it took him a bit to get into a rhythm against the Avalanche.

Dobes began the game giving up two goals on the first three shots he faced against Colorado but after that looked to settle down. He finished the game with 23 saves on 26 shots and gave the Canadiens a chance to get back in this game.

While the Canadiens have seemingly settled on this rotation between Fowler and Dobes, it might get messier in the coming days and weeks, with Samuel Montembeault looking close to being ready to return from his injury. The last thing Montreal wants to do is take away starts from Fowler, and if that is the case, then it is Dobes who might see bigger stretches between starts.

Canadiens give up another power play goal, sixth game out of the last seven with a power play goal allowed

The Canadiens have played very close games at home and prior to this game against Colorado, they had eight straight home games that were decided by one goal. When the margin is that close, the deciding factor could be special teams, and this is an area that Montreal has started to struggle in.

On Saturday night, the Canadiens entered the third period down 2-1, and the game certainly felt within reach. However, a power-play goal early in the third period stretched the lead enough that Montreal couldn't get back into it.

The Canadiens have now given up a power play goal in six of their last seven games after a stretch where they went six of eight games without giving up a power play goal.

Their struggles could be tied to one thing, and that is Mike Matheson, who missed the game on Saturday after returning on Thursday against the Boston Bruins. That was the only game during this recent stretch that Matheson played in, and Montreal also didn't allow a power-play goal.

The Montreal Canadiens will be back on the ice Monday night on the road against the New York Rangers.

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