The Montreal Canadiens were in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, facing the Kings in the second leg of back-to-back games in California.
Fresh off an ugly, but important win over the San Jose Sharks, the Habs were looking to build on their momentum against a team with much more talent than their previous opponents.
Head coach Martin St-Louis decided to insert rookie defenceman Logan Mailloux in the lineup, playing him alongside Mike Matheson on the first pairing. With all due respect to St-Louis, that’s the blueprint for a guaranteed chaotic situation, though his options at the moment do not allow for many encouraging combinations on the blue line.
St-Louis also turned to rookie goaltender Jakub Dobes, a continuation of the very difficult assignments given to the 23-year-old during his NHL baptism by fire.
The Kings ended up winning 6-3, but if we’re being perfectly honest, the scoreline was a little flattering toward the Canadiens, because Los Angeles was far and away the best team on the ice.
Let’s dive into those highlights!
Here We Go Again
The Canadiens starting a game on the wrong foot is a recurring theme, but they brought it to a whole new level on Tuesday night. The Habs allowed the Kings to take eight shots on net within the first two minutes of the game. And no, that’s not a typo. Eight shots, on net, in the first two minutes of the game.
I’m no hockeyologist, but giving up a shot every 15 seconds feels less than ideal. The Habs offered little to no resistance as the Kings gained access to the defensive zone with ease. This led to the opening goal of the game at 1:51 of the first period, Vladislav Gavrikov’s third of the year.
The good news is the Canadiens settled down as they approached the first intermission. The bad news is the damage was already done, and Dobes was clearly hung out to dry.
One play, in particular, epitomized how the Canadiens played in the first 10 minutes of the game.
Instead of taking a shot, which was desperately needed at the time, Kirby Dach sent a hip-high pass to Lane Hutson, who ended up crashing into the boards. Hutson was fine, but the team’s pride definitely took a hit.
There’s no reason to even attempt that pass. Hutson was serving as a distraction, not a pass target.
Perfectly Planned Montreal Canadiens Goal
The Canadiens briefly tied the game when Mike Matheson’s point shot deflected off two Kings before making its way to the back of the net. It was one of the ugliest goals we’ve seen this year, but beggars can’t be choosers.
Less than two minutes later, Mailloux was penalized for tripping Warren Foegele, which led to a penalty shot, and while I don’t think we can argue against a tripping penalty, Foegele really didn’t have possession of the puck as Mailloux tripped him.
Regardless, Foegele made the Canadiens pay for their poor defensive coverage by beating Dobes with a quick release.
Soft Boiled Passes
NHL players are obviously much more talented than I am, but if I could offer a little advice, some serious practice time has to be dedicated to passing. Or maybe a few entire practices. Back when I wasn’t afraid of destroying my ACL every time I hit the ice, we would practice hard, crisp passes the moment we felt we were getting too fancy.
Right now, the passing from Canadiens players is as crisp as a wet noodle, and it’s making even the simplest plays difficult. To make matters worse, the Habs are forcing passes, and it’s turning high-quality scoring chances into nothing but frustration.
The Habs can’t stop making terrible decisions, akin to a landlocked nation spending all their money on naval forces. Or trading a goalie named Ken Dryden to the Canadiens when you’re their historic rivals.
Despite the lack of quality in executing plays, the Habs were fortunate to score another goal thanks to a seeing-eye shot from the point, Alexandre Carrier’s second of the season.
Montreal had no business cutting the Kings lead to just one goal, but there’s no such thing as ‘deserve’ in professional sports.
That being said, the lucky goals were all for naught, as Kevin Fiala scored midway through the third period, restoring Los Angeles’ two goal lead.
Mailloux responded with his second NHL goal, briefly giving Canadiens fans a faint glimmer of hope. Say what you will about Mailloux in the defensive zone, he’s legitimately talented in the offensive zone, and his shot selection is elite.
Unfortunately, the glimmer of hope was dashed less than 30 seconds later, thanks to yet another goal from Fiala, which secured a well-deserved win for the home team.
The Montreal Canadiens are back in action on Saturday. They will host the New Jersey Devils, with the puck drop scheduled for 7 pm ET. All Montreal Canadiens statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via Natural Stat Trick.
