Marc Dumont
Montreal Canadiens head coach Dominique Ducharme has to go back to the drawing board after his team was crushed by one of the worst teams in the league, the Buffalo Sabres, 5-1 Thursday night. In every phase, the Habs were outclassed and did little to support goaltender Samuel Montembeault in his regular-season debut.
On special teams, the Montreal Canadiens have squandered multiple five-on-three opportunities and eight power plays through two games. The team has also allowed four goals shorthanded early this season.
The defensive pairings of Ben Chiarot with David Savard and Alexander Romanov on the left of Chris Wideman have been disasters in their own zone. Offensively, the top line of Nick Suzuki with Cole Caufield and Tyler Toffoli have done next to nothing in the opponent’s zone.
All in all, it’s been a pretty bleak first 120 minutes for the Montreal Canadiens.
“We’ve got to be much, much harder to play against,” an agitated Ducharme told reporters post-game. “If you have a chance to kill a play, if you have a chance to win a puck and you don’t do it, then someone else has to do it. Then, it snowballs. That’s something we take pride in doing, and we didn’t take pride in doing (tonight). That makes a big difference in our game.”
Here are your player ratings:
Goaltender
Samuel Monembeault – 6/10
Like Jake Allen against Toronto, the loss wasn’t on him despite the scoreline. Could have done better on Okposo’s opener and Thompson’s goal to cap off the night. In between, he had to cope with several odd-man rushes against and long stretches of Sabres offensive zone time. The best saves were a breakaway stop on Hinostroza, and a pad save on Olofsson in the slot.
Defencemen
Jeff Petry 5/10
Through two games, he has proven that a power-play quarterback he is not. Petry took a baffling slapshot from the point on a 5v3 yet again. He led the blueline in ice-time but didn’t stand out in any particular way, which he should. A stat line of one shot on goal is nowhere near the impact he must have on this team.
Brett Kulak – 4/10
He failed to tie up Girgensons’ stick on his tip-in shot from the point. It doesn’t make much sense that a guy who will likely be out of the lineup when Edmundson returns is playing on the top pairing. He needs to be more aggressive going forward because that’s when he’s at his best. Kulak was one of the better defencemen on the night, but that has more to do with others on the back end.
David Savard – 5/10
Oddly tied for the team lead with four shots on goal and even had a pretty solid slot opportunity stopped by Anderson. But he’s getting paid for his defensive work, which was far from convincing last night. His default setting seems to be trying to always block shots, but he’s horribly out of position when he doesn’t. He needs a puck mover next to him to be at his best.
Ben Chiarot – 3/10
Hard to have a worse night than he did. Both of the Sabres power-play goals were a result of both of his needless penalties. Inexplicably tried to block Girgensons’ shot towards the net, which fell directly to Bjork for the kill shot late in the second period. Ducharme needs to re-think his usage, and it’s not paired next to Savard. Not set up to succeed two games in.
Alexander Romanov – 4/10
Looks like a shell of himself out there. When he’s at his best, he’s playing physical and aggressive in all three zones. He had a couple of moments, but he seems caught in between two minds whenever the puck or someone with it skates in his general direction. Didn’t get out quick enough to block Okposo’s shot on his goal. Better next to Savard. Puck management has to be much better.
Chris Wideman – 6/10
Didn’t do anything glaringly bad defensively, which is more than can be said for everyone else on the blueline. He snuck down to the crease for his goal. He and Romanov don’t have any obvious chemistry or rapport with one another. His unit of the power play was significantly better and is making a case for replacing Petry early.
Forwards
Nick Suzuki – 5/10
Too early to say that his new contract that kicks in next season is weighing on him, but he needs to have a much more significant impact on the game. The wave of the power play that he runs has done next to nothing. Had a few decent passes in the second period and played more like himself in the third. He is expected to drive the team offensively and hasn’t come close to that yet, but 59% on the dots is encouraging.
Cole Caufield – 4/10
He had multiple chances in the second period on the power play denied by Anderson. That was about it from him. Ducharme moved him to a line with Evans and Gallagher as the coach searched for some kind of spark. Instead, Caufield found himself further and further into the background. No need to worry. Your Calder trophy bets are still on. For now.
Tyler Toffoli – 4/10
Really, the first time he was noticeable was when he drove hard to the front of the net with the puck…early in the third period. Another 40 anonymous minutes from the Montreal Canadiens leading goal scorer from last season. Nothing on the power play and little at even strength. Ducharme tried to add Lehkonen to his line with Suzuki to create space, but it didn’t work. Not great so far.
Christian Dvorak – 5/10
Dvorak led the forwards in ice time with over twenty minutes. Another night over 50 percent in the faceoff dot was part of a much more threatening power-play unit in the second period. He couldn’t really get inside to make much of anything happen offensively. His line wasn’t nearly as impressive as they were against Toronto, but that could result from the back-to-back. Still, the most likely trio to score last night.
Jonathan Drouin – 6/10
The Montreal Canadiens best forward on the evening looked confident with the puck on his stick. Even let a few shots rip that makes you think he needs to keep using it. His one-touch passing on the power play is something his teammates need to key on as it freezes the defenders and creates space on the other side of the ice—a solid start to the year for him.
Josh Anderson – 5/10
He missed probably the best chance of the third period after he drove to the net and couldn’t reach a tap-in pass from Suzuki. Not as obviously dominant as he was Wednesday against the Maple Leafs. Tied for the team lead in hits with three, but none stood out in particular. Didn’t go quietly into that good night like several of his teammates did. He had something going on with Dahlin all night.
Jake Evans – 5/10
He could have changed the game’s course when he turned on the jets for a breakaway on the penalty kill in the first period, but Anderson turned him aside. Probably the Montreal Canadiens best penalty killer on the night, although that’s not saying much. His re-jigged line with Caufield and Gallagher didn’t do much offensively, though 46% on faceoffs is significantly better than the 29 percent he was at last night in Toronto.
Brendan Gallagher – 4/10
The most noticeable positive thing he did was cross-check Caggiula into the net. Had a massive brain fart in the second as his brutal turnover at the blue line sent Hinostroza in alone on Montembeault. Didn’t stand out in any way offensively, and his deployment on the first wave of the power play as the net-front presence with Armia and Anderson on the other unit is baffling.
Joel Armia – 5/10
Great backdoor pass to Wideman for his goal. We still haven’t seen that board battle dominance in the playoffs last season. He was moved down to the fourth line during the coaches shuffling and briefly provided a spark. But it didn’t last long. Armia looks extremely uncomfortable in his role as a trigger man from the left circle on the power play. Wideman set him up for several one-time chances that he didn’t let go. Another player who’s being miscast in his current role.
Cedric Paquette – 3/10
Another night of getting less than 10 minutes of ice time. He took an early penalty early and was only 29 percent on draws. His wave of the PK allowed a PP goal. He has to play with more bite if he wants to stay in the lineup.
Mathieu Perreault – 4/10
He moved around the lineup a bunch but didn’t get much of anything going with whoever he was playing beside. He and Paquette’s skating has been a problem early on. Something tells me Ducharme likes him, and he’ll stay in the lineup even when he continually struggles. Perrault registered an assist on Wideman’s goal with some good work below the goal line.
Artturi Lehkonen – 3/10
For a guy who usually plays with a lot of intensity and energy, his stat line had goose eggs across the board. No shots on goal, no hits. Even though he was moved up to the top line with Suzuki and Toffoli, it was a lot of nothing. He was the most used forward on a penalty kill that allowed two goals. Not great.
Coach
Dominique Ducharme – 4/10
Through 120 minutes, it seems pretty clear what needs to be done for the Montreal Canadiens to play better. And it’s not mixing up your forward lines in the second period of the second game of the season. Chiarot with Savard and Wideman with Romanov doesn’t work. The Montreal Canadiens coach needs to swap those pairing to put together a puck mover and a stay-at-home guy. The penalty kill is far too passive and collapses too quickly towards the goalie. The power play setup looks lost. It’s dubious to use Armia as a shooter on the left when he’s clearly the team’s best option as a net-front presence who can recover pucks. Looked all kinds of furious during and after the game, but his setup has been just as responsible for the team’s difficult start to the year as his players.
