The Montreal Canadiens are dealing with a few injuries, and some of their top prospects aren't quite ready for the NHL yet.
Expectations have begun to rise, with many hoping that the Habs will clinch a playoff berth this year. Whether that is accurate or not is yet to be determined, but one thing is for sure, the team is still growing and improving. One thing that is frustrating but goes hand-in-hand with growing is growing pains, and that is precisely what the team is dealing with right now.
Nick Suzuki was the first to call out his team, facing a team on the back half of a back-to-back, while the Habs had rest; the effort was unacceptable. But with a young team, these games are bound to happen and if the Canadiens can put this one behind them, that would be ideal. Calling it an immature effort was accurate, considering that most of the mistakes were self-inflicted wounds.
Nick Suzuki calls tonight’s game “an immature effort” from Canadiens. Said they could’ve made it harder on Kings, who were on second half of b2b. Felt they fed Kings transition with sloppy plays.
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) October 18, 2024
I would expect that the Habs are extremely disappointed and a little embarrassed by their outing against the Los Angeles Kings, and they should be. Look for the team to give a better effort on Saturday night against the New York Islanders. The top line has been okay, but the team needs more out of their top two lines.
Lets not hit the panic button
Realistically the team is probably a little ways away from making noise in the playoffs, and with the injuries and ailments piling up, it's hard to be as competitive as they would like. If the team is healthy and has time to gell together, then they would likely be in a different conversation. But let's not forget that it has only been five games, and the second line's best play is battling rust, while Alex Newhook and Joel Armia are probably better suited on the third line.
As mentioned before, Logan Mailloux, who was just called up hasn't established himself in the lineup, and the injured David Reinbacher is another hopeful for the Canadiens blueline of the future. Ivan Demidov and Michael Hage are two of the Habs' most promising forward prospects, and they won't likely arrive until next year or later. Then between the pipes, while Samuel Montembeault has done a commendable job, there are high hopes for Jacob Fowler.
It's obviously frustrating to see the team in a spot where they can and should be able to take the next step, but the future is bright. For this reason, we shouldn't panic, it is early in the season, so things can change. But there is so much hope for the future.