The Montreal Canadiens have been seven games over NHL .500 only once this season. Since that night, in an easy win over the Utah Mammoth on Nov. 8, the Canadiens have been scrambling while playing under .500.
They had a chance to move back to seven over NHL .500 with a win over the Flyers at the Bell Centre. However, Philadelphia is playing tremendous defensive hockey. Their roster is not strong, but their discipline is. The head coach, Rick Tocchet, has a not-that-good roster but they put on a clinic.
If the Canadiens players want to improve their defensive game, they just watched the blueprint for 60 minutes. The Flyers posted a 4-1 win.
Wilde Horses
It was a difficult night without Mike Matheson to win the ice overall. The Canadiens could not generate any offence, making only 10 shots over two periods. Their only goal was from Alexandre Texier who is playing strong hockey. He seems to have found new life to his career so far in Montreal.
He has terrific hands. It’s a mystery that he has not been a better scorer in his career. In Montreal, he already has six points on three goals in 11 games. He seems to fit nicely into Martin St. Louis’ system. Until the health return, Texier would be a good option with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.
The best Canadiens player was Lane Hutson. He picked up the slack for Matheson. Hutson gained strength as the game went on, even though his ice time approached numbers that are high for him. His motor is otherworldly. It’s a joy to watch him at work. He can create something special out of absolutely nothing simply by wearing down the man assigned to him.
Hutson had a game-high ice time of 26:53. He didn’t cheat for one second of it. Canadiens fans are so fortunate to have the joy of watching him for the next decade. Hutson is only getting started in lifting fans out of their seats.
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Wilde Goats
The Canadiens had a terrible time trying to create against the Flyers. The manner that Philadelphia plays is quite unlike anything they have faced recently. The Penguins and Rangers are all over the place defensively, and the Oilers are even worst than them.
They have played wide-open teams recently who allow odd-man rushes, and ample chances. This one they faced a team that gave away nothing easily. They were fierce with their back pressure. They made almost no mistakes. To break them down didn’t take just one good play, it took three.
Meanwhile, the Canadiens were tight for the most part, but when they weren’t it was painfully obvious. The first goal against was good tic-tac-toe hockey that exposed Montreal, making them look like they were all standing around.
The second was the one that turned the contest against the Canadiens. It is easy to pick apart Ivan Demidov on that goal for losing the puck on the half wall, but when Alexandre Carrier moves in to support, someone has to support Carrier. It’s an obvious odd-man rush in the making, and that’s exactly what happened.
If pointing a finger at Carrier, know that the Canadiens actually do want that pressure to continue with Carrier moving in to keep possession, but when he loses it, Oliver Kapanen has to be there immediately in support. When he doesn’t, Lane Hutson is alone. It ended with a Trevor Zegras breakaway off of a two-on-one.
The third goal against that solidified the final result was a simple matter of poor communication. No one yelled at Jacob Fowler to pass it when he was handling it behind the net. He left it to no one but Flyers. Fowler has looked confident at handling the puck, but one error in communication can ruin a lot of confidence in that area. Hopefully, Fowler keeps it up, because he’s strong.
Carey Price used to handle the puck a lot, and he was extremely effective at it, but there were moments he was also caught out. On the overall, it’s a big plus if your goalie can help out in that area.
Wilde Cards
Samuel Montembeault has agreed to a conditioning stint in Laval to help him find his form. Credit to Montembeault as he certainly doesn’t have to agree to the demotion to the minors.
To improve, though, it is in his best interest to play without the bright lights and intense pressure of Montreal. Something has happened to Montembeault that no one can understand. He is the worst goalie in the entire league five-on-five. He was among the best last season.
Montembeault’s technique has left him. It would be interesting to be so close to the training sessions in Laval to see if Marco Marciano can recognize what Eric Raymond has not been able to recognize. Marciano is doing an outstanding job for the Rocket. Goalies are always among the league’s best in Laval.
Montembeault can be down in the American Hockey League only 14 days maximum on a conditioning assignment playing only three games. Montembeault is exempt from waivers, but the NHL did have the right to rule against the move, suggesting it as merely a tactic to avoid losing the player to a claim.
The stint allows the Canadiens to take a longer look at Fowler while hoping that Montembeault can find his old form. The best-case scenario is the Canadiens, through this attrition, can find themselves with three NHL goalies. Ten days ago, they didn’t have one NHL-ready goalie.
The Rocket’s first game with Montembeault in the net is Thursday night in Cleveland against the Monsters. It will be his first start since Dec. 2.
Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sports writer, brings you Call of the Wilde on globalnews.ca after each Canadiens game.
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