The last couple of Saturday games have not gone well for the Montreal Canadiens.
This time, it was a 4-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings and the Habs didn’t look like they belonged on the same ice surface as their opponent.
The skill discrepancy was on full display and Montreal appeared out of gas after three games in four nights on the west coast.
Simply put, the Habs were dominated and it’s challenging to find anything positive this one.
Pluses:
- They picked up four of a possible six points in California and in years past this is the road trip from hell.
- Juraj Slafkovksy stood out and had some good flashes… He still has to develop that shoot first mentality and passed up on some good shot opportunities.
- If you want to see why you should be patient with young raw players, take a look at Quinton Byfield’s development curve.
- Martin St Louis says they were in it until the third period.. If he says so… Seemed like the second period was decently played by Montreal, but that was about it.
Minuses:
- Defending… This one was a coach’s nightmare, almost every goal was the direct result of a miscue on defense. Two goals were scored that Jake Allen could have been better on, but he wasn’t given any rope to work with.
- Offense…? There was no offense to speak of, this was a low event game and the Kings like it that way.
- Johnathan Kovacevic forgot how to play hockey… Or he’s playing too much because of the injuries. Either way, this has been a rough stretch for a player who’s been stable all year.
- Josh Anderson is never going to score again.
The Montreal Canadiens will look to bounce back in the conclusion of this road trip Wednesday night in Columbus against the Blue Jackets at 7pm.
thehabsblog.com 
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