The Montreal Canadiens must figure out their scoring woes, and Patrik Laine won't be able to do it for them every night. Laine gave the Canadiens a massive boost in their past two games, which led to a two-game winning streak, but he could not find the scoresheet on Saturday night. Nevertheless, the Canadiens took a 2-0 lead in the first period off goals from Cole Caufield and Alex Newhook.
The scoring dried up for the Canadiens after the Caufield goal, as they had just 14 shots over the final two periods, and Logan Thompson was up to the task. Beating Sam Montembeault and the Canadiens must've felt great for Thompson, as the goaltender stole his spot on Team Canada for the Four Nations Faceoff.
The Canadiens may not have piled up the shots on Thompson, but they miraculously had four breakaways in the third period. Jayden Struble, Josh Anderson, Nick Suzuki, and Brendan Gallagher all had chances, but Thompson turned them aside. It's a small part of a more significant issue for the Canadiens, as they have one of the league's worst offenses.
Caufield and Suzuki are the only players with double-digit goals. Gallagher is third with eight, while rookie Emil Heineman has six. Compare that to the NHL-leading Capitals, and you'll see why the Canadiens can't keep up with inferior competition this season. You have to go to the eighth-best scorer on the Capitals to find a six-goal scorer, which showcases their tremendous depth.
Jakob Chychrun has eight goals, six more than the Canadiens' leading scorer from the blueline, Mike Matheson. Montreal must find scoring up and down the lineup, and they'll luckily have some help coming with that issue in the coming years with Ivan Demidov and Michael Hage. Lane Hutson gives the team an offensive look from the blue line, but the Hockey Night in Canada broadcast showed a stat that he is quickly approaching an NHL record for most assists in a rookie season without scoring a first-career goal.
The Canadiens can have as much talent as they want, but if they don't have the weapons to find the back of the net, it won't matter. They've shown flashes of goalscoring prowess this season, but their losses seem to stand out with plenty of missed opportunities. You can add their loss to the Capitals on Saturday night to the list, as the four breakaway shooters will have nightmares about being unable to put the game away.