NHL: Montreal Canadiens at St. Louis Blues
Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The Montreal Canadiens were in St. Louis on Saturday afternoon, facing a Blues club that has struggled to string together wins this season.

The Habs, on the other hand, were coming off two straight wins, and had all the momentum on their side.

But as is often the case in hockey, the team that was higher up in the standings failed to deliver, as the Blues emerged with a well-deserved 2-0 win.

Let’s dive into the highlights!

Playing Down To Opponents

If there was one constant when watching the Canadiens over the years, beyond their complete and utter lack of discipline, it’s that they seem to have a hard time getting ready for games versus clubs that are below them in the standings.

If they’re facing a top club, you can expect the Habs to come flying out of the gates, as they did on Thursday versus the Carolina Hurricanes.

But once they feel a little too comfortable, their preparation is lacking, and they fail to show up, as we saw in the first period versus the Blues on Saturday.

It’s an issue that has gone on for years, though I do have to admit there’s a chance I’m just remembering some bad starts against lowly teams, and applying it to the entire schedule in a classic case of availability heuristic.

Either way, the Canadiens looked lost on Saturday afternoon, leading to the Blues scoring the first goal of the game following a terrible decision by Zach Bolduc in his own zone.

You may argue that Jayden Struble was at fault, but ideally, Bolduc would have retreated behind the goal line, as to avoid sending a wobbly pass into a high-danger scoring area.

Not-So-Special Teams

The Canadiens had a fantastic opportunity to tie the game with an extended 5v3 powerplay in the second period, but they failed to generate many quality chances.

To make matters worse, they eventually allowed the Blues to score shorthanded after they forgot to protect the puck in the neutral zone, leading to a 2-0 advantage for St. Louis.

Not Today, Zach

Former Blues forward Zachary Bolduc had a perfect opportunity to cut the lead to just one in the dying seconds of the second period, but he was shut down by Jordan Binnington, who enjoyed a fantastic outing versus the Canadiens.

Binnington stopped all 25 shots sent his way to secure the shutout, his first of the season.

To Montreal’s credit, they did up the tempo in the third period, but by then it was much too little, much too late.

The Montreal Canadiens are back in action on Sunday, facing the Dallas Stars. The puck drop is scheduled for 2 pm ET.

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

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By Marc Dumont
Marc has been covering the Habs for over a decade. He previously worked for Journal Metro, The Athletic, The ... More about Marc Dumont

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