It’s proving to be an impossible task this year to keep the Montreal Canadiens down on the mat after tough losses. The Winnipeg Jets found that out once again, as Montreal, seething after a hefty loss to Columbus on Thursday, came out and buried their waffling team.
The loss to Columbus could have very easily derailed the Montreal playoff push in the final stretch of games, and in past years, teams have struggled to overcome those losses. This team continues to find ways to defy expectations, and they did that again in Winnipeg as the put on a lopsided domination in the first two periods.
Carey Price was Carey Price once again. He only faced 24 total shots, but was crucial in preserving the lead late as the Jets desperately tried to tie the game.
It wasn’t just Price who came up big when it counted. The much-maligned power play set the tone early, and with the Canadiens rolling as they took the ice, they could not afford to stumble. Instead they came out with a perfect tic-tac-toe passing play had a goal from Joel Armia for a well-deserved lead. Connor Hellebuyck was stopping everything else launched his way — the sort of thing that can cause teams to lose a bit of composure — but Montreal battled and got what would be the game-winning goal late in the second.
After a drubbing against Columbus, the Canadiens could very well have packed it up and called it a season. Sure, they showed great promise, and playoffs aren’t everything, but this team is never satisfied with being just good enough.
The chips are down, but that suits this team just fine. They’ve continually shown they will play their best when people start counting them out.
