Canadiens Embarrassed Again Versus 30th Place Senators

The Montreal Canadiens travelled from New Jersey to Ontario to face the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night.

After showing their mettle versus the high-flying Colorado Avalanche and the talented New Jersey Devils earlier in the week, the Canadiens struggled to match the intensity and execution of the basement-dwelling Senators.

It’s become a common theme for this team.

They play up to their opponents, but they also play down to their competition whenever the opportunity arises.

Against Ottawa, the Canadiens players appeared as if they had just been discovered by a group of confused scientists after being cryogenically frozen for seven years.

The Senators cruised to a dominant 6-2 win, with Jacques Martin easily outcoaching his younger counterpart, Martin St-Louis. The Canadiens’ bench boss refused to change his goaltender, modify his tactics, or use his timeout when things went wrong.

Rush Defence

The Canadiens started the game with a lot of enthusiasm, but they forgot playing without any semblance of defensive structure leads to scoring chances for their opponents.

After spending a minute pressuring the Senators in the offensive zone, things went haywire, leading to a bevy of chances for the home team. The Senators had a handful of odd-man rushes less than halfway through the first period, which led to an early 2-0 lead for Martin’s team.

Sens are up 2-0 after this Stutzle goal.

I'm no hockey-ologist but I'd suggest allowing fewer than four 3v1s per minute. pic.twitter.com/C5QPPgJGVi

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) January 19, 2024

Sniper Streak

Given his relatively low goal-scoring numbers, there was a lot of worry concerning Cole Caufield’s play this season, but much like when he failed to score when Dominique Ducharme was the coach, the issue was rather simple.

He had awful shooting luck to start the season.

But with four goals in four games, things seem to be back on track for the Canadiens’ best goal scorer.

It’s worth mentioning that Sean Monahan has looked great from an offensive standpoint in recent games as well. Whether that leads to more interest in the NHL’s trade market remains to be seen.

Monahan wins the puck battle, finds Caufield, and I think he just jedi mind tricked this one into the net. #Habs somehow back in this game. pic.twitter.com/8QnajEMKkg

— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) January 19, 2024

Italian Stallion

I’m convinced Michael Pezzetta would fight The Hulk if he had the chance.

On Thursday, he settled for fighting a player who is just four inches taller and 30lb heavier, Zach MacEwen. It did not go well for the Senators’ scrapper, as he immediately lost balance and was fed a healthy dose of uppercuts by Pezzetta.

Michael Pezzetta loves fighting bigger opponents. #GoHabsGo

Big W over MacEwen here. pic.twitter.com/N3Swg7ejCS

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) January 19, 2024

Pezzetta also scored a goal, although at that point the game was already out of reach. Regardless, he was one of the few players in the lineup that decided to show up versus the Senators.

Michael Pezzetta gets steak tonight.

Everyone else gets mock chicken. pic.twitter.com/Oj6eAlhvrv

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) January 19, 2024

Not So Prime-au

Cayden Primeau had a very difficult time against the Senators, which is the furthest thing from surprising.

Prior to Thursday’s game, he had just played one game in January, a difficult situation for any goaltender, let alone a young goaltender who had to face over a dozen high-danger chances in less than 40 minutes of 5v5 play.

Primeau has looked good on the road this season, but there’s no doubt he struggled to find his rhythm in Ottawa. He certainly could have used a little help from his friends.

3-1 Senators.

Rough rebound here for Primeau. pic.twitter.com/iHlx7SkjcM

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) January 19, 2024

From Bad To Worse

Some game tapes must be preserved for posterity, but the footage from this game was not worth saving.

The only saving grace was that Joshua Roy’s line carried the play while they were on the ice. The rest of the team, however, had a night to forget, and that includes the top line, which was outchanced significantly.

Burn the tapes.

Bury the ashes.

Pray for salvation.

This goal is the perfect example of everything the Habs are doing wrong.

Forwards getting caught deep for another odd-man rush.

Defencemen giving up the zone with the greatest of ease.

Goaltending can't make the key stops.

Masterclass of terribleness pic.twitter.com/ZVCbZYpzrR

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) January 19, 2024

The Montreal Canadiens are back in action on Saturday, facing the Bruins in Boston. The puck drop is scheduled for 7 pm ET.

All Montreal Canadiens statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted via Natural Stat Trick.