Extending their losing streak to six games on Saturday night, the Montreal Canadiens really didn’t offer much of a challenge to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Losing 4-1, they took a Saturday night game that fans will usually circle on their calendars to get excited for, and turned it into one that most fans wish they didn’t bother watching.
Alas, I think it was the Montreal Canadiens out there, because about the only player who actually showed up for the game was Brendan Gallagher.
This was another abhorrent effort from the team. For most of the first two periods, they looked like they would rather be doing their taxes than playing that game, which showed in their paltry four shots on goal near the midway point of the game. Possession was in their favour for most of that time, but they looked so disinterested in actually doing anything with it other than some half-hearted attempts towards the goal.
Possession favoured them even more in the third period, and again they accomplished next to nothing with it. You could look at the statistics from that game and fool yourself into thinking the Habs weren’t that bad. They had all the energy and urgency you’d expect in a Sunday afternoon scrimmage, so they generated precisely what they deserved from their possession time, which wasn’t much at all.
To make matters even worse, they were playing a Leafs team without Auston Matthews, who lost Max Pacioretty in the first period, and had played the night prior. Even against a tired team with a short bench and no captain, this was the best they could offer. It simply isn’t acceptable.
Martin St-Louis needs to send a message. He hasn’t shied away from sitting Arber Xhekaj when he’s made mistakes, so he needs to put a few veterans in the press box for the next game. It can’t be everyone, because if he sat everyone who deserved to sit, he wouldn’t have nearly enough players to even play their next game. But it has to be someone, because apparently things like bag skates haven’t actually driven home the message that this team actually needs to play the games.
The losing right now is only helping their potential draft position, but the way they’re losing is starting to make people wonder about a coaching change.
Click the play button below to listen to your full Bottom Six Minutes, also available wherever you typically get your podcasts. We’ll be back on Monday night when the Habs will be in upstate New York to take on the Buffalo Sabres.
