Bottom Six Minutes 54: The Canadiens don’t quit anymore

The Montreal Canadiens executed the biggest comeback of their season on Tuesday night against the Winnipeg Jets. Unfortunately after erasing a four-goal deficit, they fell apart in the third period due in large part to their inability to stay out of the box, or stop the Jets’ power play when they were there.

The good news is that they never gave up, which was a significant problem for this team just a month ago.

Martin St. Louis has made a number of changes since taking over the bench, but the most obvious change has been in the mentality of the players. They don’t give up like they did early in the season when they fall down in games, they fight back.

Giving up four goals on six shots like they did against the Jets would have been a back breaker in December, with the game likely ending 8-0, or perhaps 8-1. They almost certainly never see a tie game, and we never get the excitement of watching Josh Anderson equalize it with a hat trick.

Giving up a late second period goal while shorthanded — and another three in the third period — made for a disappointing night in the end. But even when the game was slipping out of their hands in the third, they were still fighting to stay in it. At no point during that game did they act as if they didn’t have a chance of winning.

Just to see the team fighting back, and making an entertaining affair out of what used to be a brutal blowout is arguably one of the best improvements one could ask for.

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