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Flames @ Canadiens: Habs Not Ready | RECAP

Montreal Canadiens vs Calgary Flames Game Recap: Habs Line-up, Score, Statistics, Highlights, Post-game Interviews, NHL Three-Stars

FINAL | Game 40, Home Game 20 | Wednesday April 14, 2021
Bell Centre, Montreal, QC

CANADIENS

Montreal

1-4

FLAMES

Calgary

(Photo by Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images)

Canadiens Lineup

Forward lines

Tyler Toffoli – Nick Suzuki – Jake Evans

Jonathan Drouin – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Josh Anderson

Tomas Tatar – Phillip Danault – Paul Byron

Artturi Lehkonen – Eric Staal – Corey Perry

Defence pairings

Brett Kulak – Shea Weber

Joel Edmundson – Jeff Petry

Alexander Romanov – Xavier Ouellet

Goaltenders

Jake Allen – Cayden Primeau

Scratches

Joel Armia 

Taxi Squad

Michael Frolik, Michael McNiven, Otto Leskinen

Injuries

Ben Chiarot (hand), Brendan Gallagher (hand), Carey Price (lower-body), Erik Gustafsson (COVID protocol), Jon Merrill (COVID protocol)

Game Report

Throw it against the wall and see what sticks. Does that phrase accurately describe Dominique Ducharme’s approach to game strategy and lineup construction? There seems to be very little logic behind the interim coach’s decisions combined with a large portion of stubbornness. 

Let’s try Eric Staal as the second line center and move Jesperi Kotkaniemi to the wing. Perhaps Joel Edmundson is a top-pairing defenceman. Each was a failed experiment that has been discarded. But couldn’t a smart hockey mind have determined the predicted outcome even before it was tried?

Much like the fact that it is not a good idea to begin overtime with Phillip Danault on the ice. That should be obvious.

The players initially welcomed Ducharme mainly because he wasn’t Claude Julien. But Dom’s inexperience and his poor communication skills have not helped the Canadiens out of their wildly inconsistent play. The team is frequently unprepared to start a game and in-game adjustments are either non-existent or ineffective.

The Canadiens mediocre record under Ducharme has caused some to conclude that coaching wasn’t the problem. But coaching, under both Julien and Ducharme, has been an issue along with a roster that contains significant holes.

There’s no doubt that the Canadiens are missing Ben Chiarot and Brendan Gallagher. But it’s also a reminder just how many issues can be and have been covered up by a healthy Carey Price.

Up Next

The Canadiens will have the day off on Thursday and then will return to take on the Calgary Flames once again on Friday night. 

Plus

▲  Brett Kulak

Minus

▼  Jeff Petry, Joel Edmundson, Phillip Danault, Tomas Tatar, Paul Byron, Xavier Ouellet,  Josh Anderson, Alexander Romanov, Nick Suzuki, Tyler Toffoli, Eric Staal, Jake Allen

Game Preview

Check out the game preview here: Flames @ Canadiens: Armia to Return

The Numbers

Game Statistics
CANADIENS   FLAMES
27 Shots 34
40 Face-off % 60
0-for-2 Power Play 0-for-1
2 Penalty Minutes 4
39 Hits 22
56 Corsi For 61
Scoring Summary
FINAL 1 2 3 OT SO T
Canadiens (18-13-9) 0 1 0 1
Flames (19-21-3) 1 1 2 4
Scorers Goalies
  • MTL: Kulak (1)
  • CGY: Hanifin (4), Giordano (8), Leivo (5), Monahan (9)
  • MTL: Allen (L) 6-7-4
  • CGY: Markstrom (W) 15-14-2

Stars of the Game

Official NHL Three Stars
  1. Mark Giordano  CGY
  2. Noah Hanifin  CGY
  3. Mikael Backlund  CGY

Watch

Video Highlights

What Did They Say?

Post-game Quotes

Dominique Ducharme

  • “We got the result we deserved. We didn’t deserve to win. It’s just as simple as that.”

Nick Suzuki

  • “We’re fighting for a playoff spot, too. They’re right behind us and these games coming up against them are going to be huge. We’ve got four more left, so we need to come out on top points-wise. We really need to be desperate. We want to be in that playoff run and these games against them are really big for us.”

Jeff Petry

  • “They play hard. They dictated the pace in the first period. They put pucks behind us and that made it difficult for us to break out. The time you’re spending in the defensive zone, by the time you do break the puck out, you’re tired. It’s about chipping the puck out and getting a change rather than trying to come up the ice as a block of five and do that in their end.”

Quotes courtesy of NHL.com

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