The Montreal Canadiens led 4-0 and felt great with 2:39 left in the third period. After all, 9,652 teams in NHL history had a similar lead and still managed to close out the game. However, after a record-breaking collapse with the Winnipeg Jets scoring four goals to tie it and Dylan Samberg scoring the winner in overtime, the Canadiens are left wondering what went wrong.
Cole Caufield, who scored two goals but wasn't particularly effective otherwise, was obviously less than impressed post-game when talking to reporters. We've reached the point where players are calling out their teammates, which is a bad spot to be in when you're still just two points out of the division lead.
""We had a 4 goal lead. There’s no excuse for this. Terrible.... Some guys thought the game was over. Yeah""Cole Caufield
Well, the good news for the Canadiens is that they are missing their captain and top two-way forward, Nick Suzuki, who surely would've helped the team milk those last 2:39 and get the win. They are also missing Mike Matheson, who would've been one of the defensemen tasked with holding off the Jets once they started gaining momentum.
Nevertheless, blowing a lead like this can have broader effects on this roster. While Jacob Fowler seems to have an iron mind as a rookie, even the strongest between the ears would be shaken by going from a shutout to a 5-4 loss in under three minutes. It also creeps doubt into players going forward when they take a lead and need to protect it.
On the other hand, this could galvanize the team and push their focus to another level. As NHL reporter Jimmy Murphy put it on X, “Come June, will be the best thing that ever happened to this Canadiens team!” While that sentiment could be correct, the loss revealed some deeper issues for this team that a couple of injury returns may not fix.
Canadiens' collapse hid a deeper issue
The Jets entered the Bell Centre on a nine-game losing streak. They were desperate, but even their desperation hadn't led to success lately. The 4-0 score didn't reflect what happened leading up to the collapse, as Winnipeg outshot them 47-22 and beat them in expected goals, 4.76 to 3.25.
Fowler was the only reason the Canadiens were in the game for the first 57 minutes, and if Stuart Skinner had made a couple more saves, Montreal might not have even been in a position to choke away this game. The collapse will take most of the headlines, but in reality, the Jets worked the Canadiens all night.
Is this a reason for panic for Canadiens fans? Not even close. But they’d better hope the roster gets healthy soon and Martin St. Louis can dial the team’s focus back in.
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