Connect with us

Canadiens Postgame

Canadiens Loss Shouldn’t Overlook Positives In 2024-25 Season

Published

2 weeks ago

on

montreal canadiens screenshot

The Montreal Canadiens faced the Washington Capitals on Wednesday, looking to extend their surprise playoff appearance for at least one more game.

There was some good news for the Habs ahead of Game 5, as defenceman Alexandre Carrier was cleared to play, giving head coach Martin St-Louis a fighting chance to win a second game against the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

Unfortunately, the Habs could not count on the other injured players, starter Samuel Montembeault and sniper Patrik Laine, adding yet another adversity-filled chapter filled to their rebuild book.

The Capitals started on the right foot, quickly establishing a 2-0 lead and never looking back. Montreal fought back in the third period, but it was all for naught, as Washington emerged with a 4-1 win, both in the game and the series.

Let’s dive into the highlights!

This Is A Rerun

The Canadiens were the best team in the first few minutes of the game, and while that would usually be a positive factor, they failed to score despite several good chances.

As we all know, that’s tempting the hockey gods.

Which is why Alex Ovechkin took only a second or two to score once the Capitals were given a powerplay.

The Capitals doubled-up their lead shortly afterward, with defenceman Jakub Chychrun taking all the time he needed to score his third goal of the playoffs. Defensive coverage has always been an issue for the Habs, and the series versus the Capitals has been a great reminder that there’s still a lot of work to do in Montreal when it comes to everyone’s impact in the defensive zone.


On An Island

Even though Jakub Dobes allowed two goals in the first period, he was still the best Canadiens player on the ice, which says a lot about the team’s initial effort.

Poor starts are common in Montreal, and we’ve come to accept them, but there’s really no room for 20 minutes of underwhelming hockey in the playoffs.

Fortunately, Dobes kept his team in the game via a few great saves.

Dig Up, Stupid!

To make matters more difficult for the Habs, Jake Evans decided it would be a good time to take a penalty, despite the fact that he’s struggled since he signed his extension with the Habs.

I don’t want to put his effort-level into question. Evans tries his best every night, regardless of his contract status, but it’s hard to ignore that his play has gone the way of Thelma and Louise since Emil Heineman was injured in Utah.

A lot of it is luck, which he used up in the first half of the season.

His extension is fine, especially when we consider the salary cap is going up, but there’s no doubt that his role should be restricted to fourth-line usage, and that doesn’t usually involve much offence. More than anything, Evans’ cold stretch has been a reality check as to the importance of monitoring shooting percentages.

Alright, back to hockey.

The Capitals scored on the ensuring powerplay, giving them a 3-o chokehold on the game until Evans’ former linemate, Emil Heineman, managed to score his first of the playoffs. We also have to give credit Oliver Kapanen and Joel Armia for their great work on the forecheck.

It was a rare goal from the fourth line, one that gave the team a lift when they needed it most.


The Montreal Canadiens took over from that point, and though it didn’t amount to much in terms of goals, it was very encouraging to see the team do their best in the final 20 minutes of the period.

They went out on their shields, and that’s all you can ask from the youngest team to ever qualify for the NHL Playoffs.

We’ll discuss the intricacies of the series during the next few days, however, we shouldn’t lose sight of all the positives for the Canadiens in 2024-25.

Few expected them to make the playoffs in the first place, and yet, for stretches, they looked like they were pushing the Capitals to the limit.

Washington simply had more talent, more experience, and more depth than the Habs, and that’s an issue that can only be rectified with more playoff hockey in the upcoming seasons, not to mention a few roster tweaks here and there.

Given how well the rebuild has gone in Montreal, it seems like it will only be a matter of time before they can gain more precious experience.

For what it’s worth, the Canadiens hit a post in the dying minutes of the third period, marking the ninth time they hit iron in the series versus the Capitals.

Such is life in the playoffs.

Stay tuned for our coverage of all things Montreal Canadiens, including the first-round series in the AHL between the Laval Rocket and the Cleveland Monsters. All Montreal Canadiens statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via Natural Stat Trick.

Related Topics:
10 Comments
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
10 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Tyrone

No mention of the fact that it was Savard’s final game of his career? I hated the signing when it happened, grew to appreciate what he brought to the team in a mentorship role for all the kiddies, and then looked forward to trading him away the past 2 trade deadlines for another piece towards the future. Unfortunately, that never happened, but I wish the guy well in his retirement from playing in the NHL. I’ll be surprised if he’s not back with the organization next year in some kind of player development role though.

1
Reply
Marc Dumont

We’ll get to Savard tomorrow. There’s a lot of good to talk about, and I don’t want to tie it into the last loss of the year.

1
Reply
Tyrone

Look forward to it.

0
Reply
GhG55

Fun season! A lot more to cheer for than most people thought there would be. It’ll be cool to see what kids step in to take the slots of Armia, Dvorak and Savard (though it’s clear Demidov gets one of them).

Hopefully they can grab a legit 2C. Ideally one that can not only properly unlock Demidov (and Laine) but also has real size and physicality to help with playoff hockey. It was obvious we were pretty easily pushed around in this series, and we need more than Anderson, Guhle and Xhekaj/Struble (in the few minutes that play) to push back. Heineman looks like he’ll play physically, Slaf can too when he wants, but we clearly need more. Good thing Mailloux plays that way, and Reinbacher as well before his injuries. If they can both make the team in the near future (1-2 years), and keep that physical play, it will help a lot on the back end. But this 2C coming in should be someone who will throw the body around. Only having Slaf in the top 6 who can/will play with a physical edge is a big problem.

Tough work for Hugo though… finding a young, adequately skilled top 6 C who plays with edge for a price that doesn’t derail the rebuild is going to be difficult (even moreso since ideally this C is a left shot as well)…. We’ll see what happens! They’ve done very well so far. I have faith!

GO HABS GO!!! Thanks for the exciting season!

0
Reply
Steve

I doubt they could find a 2C that meets your criteria then Dach if he could stay healthy. Would a Crosby trade satisfy you? Makes so much sense for both teams.

0
Reply
GhG55

Yeah I’d be shocked if Hugo meet all the criteria so I’m really not expecting everything. The most important would be someone who maximizes Demidov directly, while taking pressure off the top line. Physicality is secondary and can be filled through other positions, but it’s clearly still important to wear down their D on the forecheck and win the net front, so it’s still important. Idk what they’ll do because young top 6 players don’t hit free agency, and they’ll be expensive in a trade. Plus if one is available, there will likely be multiple suitors… idk, fingers crossed.

As for Crosby, it depends. He’d be the perfect vet player for skill, experience, leadership etc. He’d show the team how to win, and certainly maximize Demidov while taking pressure off the current top line… however, it would only be for a few years. This will still be an enormous contribution to the team, no doubt. But if the assets it takes to acquire him leave us without enough assets to fill the hole he leaves when he retires, and hinders our ability to fill other holes, then no, I dont want him.

IMO we didn’t go through the pain of a rebuild for 3 years of playoff hockey. We want 10+ years of legit cup contention. To get that we need at least a 2C and a top pair RD. At LEAST. It’s true that Hage and Reinbacher may fill those roles, but we don’t know. If we had a surefire top pair RD I’d feel more comfortable taking Crosby because we’d prob still have enough assets for a 2C when he retires if Hage doesn’t pan out. But needing both, he might be too expensive. It would likely take both firsts this year, a roster player, and a good prospect, at minimum. The years we have him would be great, but we also still wouldn’t be legit cup contenders with the D we have right now. Once he’s gone, if we still need a 2C and top pair RD… we’d have to sell off pretty much every top pick we have left plus good prospects to fill those holes. If we need to make tweaks we won’t have much ammo left.

But if Hage and Reinbacher hit those ceilings, absolutely the price for Crosby is worth it even if it’s just to teach the team how to win once he’s gone. The problem is, we won’t know about Hage and Reinbacher in time to make the decision…. So honestly, it depends on how confident management is in Hage and Reinbacher, or their ability to attract top free agents without overpaying.

Of course all of this means nothing because he’s been adamant he’s not going anywhere. I get his coach was fired, but still, he’s constantly reported to be a creature of habit and changing cities is a much bigger change than just a new coach.

1
Reply
Tyrone

Sam Bennett is the guy I want, and he fits your criteria pretty well, I’d say.

1
Reply
GhG55

I’ll be honest, I don’t know enough about him. On the surface he looks okay. Plays physically, wins battles, has a ring, left shot. But I hesitate for 2 reasons (in addition to not watching him a ton, which means I may just be wayyyy off here)

1. He plays for the champs surrounded by stars, has a career high of 51pts and crazy defensive help from the best defensive forward in the league in Barkov, plus Reinhart who is also great defensively. I get that 51pts is decent for a 2C, but playing with the offensive stars on that team, it’s not amazing. To really maximize Demidov (and Laine, Hutson, and the top line) you’d hope our 2C is more of an offensive threat. And if you argue that he’s great defensively, which seems like a decent argument at least, how much of that is because two Selke-level forwards help make him look good/take defensive pressure off of him? What happens to both his offense AND defense when he’s not surrounded by those offensive and defensive stars that team has? For offence, you can say that maybe you move Demidov to the top line so he can be maximized with Suzuki, but depending who you drop, both Caufiel and Slaf would then also suffer by being with a lesser offensive player in Bennet, plus if you swap with Slaf, that top line of Suzy, Cole, and Demidov is definitely on the small side….

2. What is this guy going to cost? Again, I don’t know a lot about him, but he sounds like he’s due for a big raise. After everything I said above, do we want to pay what it will cost to get him? Factoring in how he’d be going from a no tax state to the most highly taxed team in the league? A team that just so happens to be the most hated rival of his childhood team (he grew up a leafs fan)? Idk… sounds like it would require a big cap overpay, but I could definitely be wrong.

He checks boxes for sure, and once again, I don’t know a ton about him. But if I’m a decision maker, those two points are keeping me up really wondering about what such a signing would mean.

I fully understand that to check ALL my boxes will likely not be possible, I fully expect to not have all of the be met. I also know I could very well be nitpicking with the two points above… I just have a hard time being like “that’s the guy” with what little I know.

Perhaps you can sway me lol

0
Reply
Tyrone

I’d prefer an elite offensive 2C with all those other qualities, but that’s not a player that’s ever going to be available. You have to draft those. I look at Bennett as a placeholder (and leader) until Hage is ready for the 2C role. When he is, Bennett drops to become an elite 3C or winger. I don’t actually think we’ll get the guy, but I’ve loved his game since back in his Flames days. He’s the type of guy you need to win championships. Kadri wouldn’t be too bad of a choice too. He’s gritty, high offensive skill, and comes at a good cap hit. Plus, maybe he’d love to stick it to the Leafs as well. 😁

0
Reply
Tyrone

PP1 is a thing of beauty to behold. And to think that we could have Suzuki, Caufield, Slafkovsky, Demidov and Hutson for probably a decade more together. Wow! It’s gonna be a blast to watch next season.

3
Reply

MHN in your inbox

Enter your email address and get all of our articles sent directly to your inbox

Canadiens Roster & Cap Info