Defensive Collapse | RECAP: MTL @ OTT

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Rick Stephens
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Cole Caufield, Montreal Canadiens (Photo by André Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images)

GAME RECAP | Montreal Canadiens vs Ottawa Senators: Habs, Line-up, Score, Statistics, Highlights, Post-game, Interviews, NHL, Three-Stars

FINAL | Game 79, Away Game 40 | Saturday April 23, 2022
Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, ON

CANADIENS

Montreal

4-6

SENATORS

Ottawa
Cole Caufield, Montreal Canadiens (Photo by André Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images)

Canadiens Lineup

Forward lines

Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Mike Hoffman

Rem Pitlick – Christian Dvorak – Brendan Gallagher

Mathieu Perreault – Jake Evans – Josh Anderson

Michael Pezzetta – Ryan Poehling – Tyler Pitlick

Defence pairings

Alexander Romanov – David Savard

Joel Edmundson – Jeff Petry

Jordan Harris – Chris Wideman

Goaltenders

Carey Price – Sam Montembeault

Scratches

William Lagesson, Kale Clague, Laurent Dauphin

Injuries

Paul Byron (lower-body), Joel Armia (family), Jake Allen (lower-body), Justin Barron (lower-body), Jonathan Drouin (wrist), Shea Weber (multiple injuries)

Game Report

Are the Canadiens playing worse as they trudge forward to the end of the season? It sure seems so. It was disorganized pond hockey tonight from start to finish encompassing both the entertainment and the chaos that stems from unstructured play.

One thing was vividly clear: the visitors were laser-focused on disrupting Senators forward Tim Stutzle. Beyond that, not much thought was given to managing defensive zone coverage or limiting egregious turnovers.

Ottawa scored five goals in the second period, including three goals in 1:07. To stop the bleeding interim head coach Martin St. Louis called a time out and lit into his players. But the damage was done and the Canadiens lacked the cohesive attack to make a comeback.

As a result, the Canadiens lost for the eighth consecutive time, each one a loss in regulation.

Cole Caufield scored his 20th goal of the year. The rookie has done his best to make up for a dreadful start to the season.

The Canadiens will finish in one of the last two positions in the standings. That ensures that they will pick in one of the top four positions in the NHL Entry Draft. 

Up Next

The Canadiens return home to host the Boston Bruins at the Bell Centre on Sunday night.

Plus

▲  Jake Evans, Jeff Petry, David Savard, Rem Pitlick

Minus

▼  Mathieu Perreault, Michael Pezzetta, Christian Dvorak, Mike Hoffman, Chris Wideman, Josh Anderson 

Game Preview

Check out the game preview here: Gallagher vs Stutzle | PREVIEW: MTL @ OTT

The Numbers

Game Statistics
CANADIENS   SENATORS
48 Shots 26
61 Face-off % 39
0-for-4 Power Play 0-for-5
27 Penalty Minutes 25
19 Hits 27
47 Corsi For 35
Scoring Summary
FINAL 1 2 3 OT SO T
Canadiens (20-48-11) 1 2 1 – – 4
Senators (31-41-7) 1 5 0 – – 6
Scorers Goalies
  • MTL: R. Pitlick (14), Caufield (20), Edmundson (3), R. Pitlick (15), 
  • OTT: Kastelic (1), Watson (9), Kelly (7), Norris (34), Kastelic (1), Formenton (18)-SHG
  • MTL: Price (L) (0-4-0)
  • OTT: Forsberg (W) (20-17-4)

Stars of the Game

Official NHL Three Stars
NHL3stars
  1. Mark Kastelic  OTT
  2. Rem Pitlick  MTL
  3. Parker Kelly  OTT

Watch

Video Highlights

What Did They Say?

Post-game Quotes

Marty St. Louis

  • “The more [Jordan Harris] plays, the more he will feel comfortable.”

Cole Caufield

  • “For me [scoring 20 goals] was a goal of mine obviously after the tough start. To get to this number feels pretty good and I think it’s a good thing to build on for next year as well.”

Brendan Gallagher

  • “This is the Montreal – Ottawa rivalry I remember from my early days here so it was fun.”

Quotes courtesy of NHL.com

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