Game Six Post Game: Predictable

The Montreal Canadiens were tasked with dealing with the league’s best powerplay and one of the best offenses in the league, in the second game of a back-to-back. Montreal competed hard and had moments, but lost 5-2 to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night at the Bell Centre.

“We fought, we had a tough start to the third and they were on top of us,” said Canadiens’ head coach Martin St Louis after the game. “We couldn’t get some room and it could have been easy to quit, but we didn’t quit and to me that’s a really good habit because if you quit you guarantee one thing, you’re not going to get what you want.”

This loss is no difference than the other three losses this season, special teams were difference.

Pluses:

• Mike Matheson scored what will likely be the nicest goal of the season by a Montreal Canadien. He went end-to-end, shifting gears before darting up the middle, getting a breakaway and finishing off the play past New Jersey Devils goaltender Vitek Vanecek. It’s still hard to comprehend why Pittsburgh dealt him to Montreal for Jeff Petry, Matheson might be Kent Hughe’s best trade to date.
• Cayden Primeau was good, not great. But he’ll be on the highlight reels as well. In his first game of the season, Primeau made an incredible first period save lunging to his right and sprawling out to deny Ondrej Palat of what looked like an easy goal.
• Another game, another goal for Justin Barron. After being a healthy scratch for the first three games of the season, he’s had a big impact and is getting more minutes every game. And with the injury to David Savard and the lack of right handed shooting defenseman with the Canadiens, more opportunities are on the horizon.
• It’s a lot of fun watching Jack Hughes play live.

Minuses:

• David Savard will miss 6-to-8 weeks. That’s two long term injuries and October isn’t over yet. When will the curse end?
• Nick Suzuki has had a quiet start to the season. If he’s supposed to be Montreal’s version of Nico Hischier, this would have been a great game to stand out in. But for the most part he was invisible, lost in the shuffle. Everyone loves seeing Cole Caufield and Suzuki on Montreal’s top line and debates who the third member of the trio should be. Rather than blaming the third player on the line, Martin St Louis and the coaching staff will eventually have to look at breaking up the duo to try to find some kind of spark from their top players.
• Remember how Tyler Toffoli loved scoring against the Vancouver Canucks during the bubble? Let’s hope Montreal isn’t his new target.
• Special teams… Need we elaborate?

The Montreal Canadiens are back in action on Thursday night when they host the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Bell Centre.