Habs News: Montreal Canadiens Week in Review, Claude Julien No Answers, Frustration, Ilya Kovalchuk Debut

ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA | LAVAL, QC. — The Canadiens struggles continued on the ice last week, as they collected two of the eight available points in the standings. To add some perspective, in order to reach the 98 point mark, they will need to add 53 points in the  their last 36 games, which represents a .736 winning percentage. No team in the NHL has maintained that pace this season.

The week started on Monday with a 3-2 home loss against the Jets. Ben Chiarot was the star of his team scoring two goals against his former club.

The following night in Detroit, the Red Wings score two goals with 8:41 remaining in the third period to go on to win 4-3.  “It’s not a lack of effort. Still, we’re making bad decisions and the level of engagement isn’t always there. For some players, it’s a learning experience. We have to look at ourselves in the mirror for tonight’s loss. It’s unacceptable,” said Claude Julien after the game. It was the third time this season, that Montreal lost against Detroit, currently holding the 31st place in the standings. Chiarot suffered a lower body injury in the third period and hasn’t played since.

On Thursday night, the Oilers scored four unanswered goals that allowed them to win 4-2 at the Bell Centre. “Obviously, at this point it’s just frustrating. So you got to stick together in here and find your way out of it. We’re all frustrated, we’re all pissed off. Nobody in here likes losing. At the same time, if you hang your head and sit here and drag your ass it’s not going to fix anything. We got to fix what’s wrong and we got to find a way to fix it,” said Shea Weber after the game.

Montreal snapped their eight game winless streak on Saturday with a 2-1 overtime win in Ottawa. “I thought the first 35 minutes of the game, we were playing really well, we’re killing plays, we were moving the puck quick, had lots of scoring chances. And the only thing I had to say about that is, we should have been up by more than a goal, and this is where we struggle at times, and we give teams the opportunity to stay in the game and have some hope. And sure enough, last five minutes of the second period, I thought they they started coming on and then we got we got on our heels,” commented a relieved coach after the game.

The Canadiens play four games, three at home, before heading to their bye-week. The Flames visit Bell Centre on Monday, the Blackhawks on Wednesday, and Golden Knights on Saturday. Montreal heads to Philadelphia on Thursday for a game against the Flyers.

Julien has no answers

Following the loss to Edmonton, Julien commented that they’re running out of answers. This isn’t the response that you would expect from the coach. It is the job of Julien and his staff to find solutions.

It’s the first time in franchise history that there’s been two eight-game losing streaks in the same season. With the parity in the league, and the number of three-point games, it’s hard to recover from one extended losing streak, nearly impossible from two of them.

On paper, six of the eight losses in the sequence were by one goal. From a practical point of view, if you exclude the empty net goals allowed against the Hurricanes and the Oilers, all eight games were lost by one goal.

The coach has sent several messages to his general manager that he needs help on his roster. He’s made comments several times throughout the season hinting that he’s doing his best with the players on his roster. “At one point there’s only so many things you can do as a coach. You have what you have. We’ve got some young players, we’ve got some guys that would be in Laval (AHL) if we were healthy, and that’s reality, and that’s life. You have to deal with that and adjust,” said Julien ahead of the game against Ottawa.

Frustation

“I’m beyond frustration. Now I’m just gonna play and do the best I can and try and try and get past any kind of frustrations or negative attitudes,” said Carey Price following the loss to Winnipeg. The goalie and his teammates aren’t the only ones that are frustrated. Looking through social media, you can sense that the majority of the fan base feels the same way.

Fans want the coach and Marc Bergevin to pay the price for another failed season. It’s rare that a coach would survive two extended losing streaks in the same season, but I don’t think that Julien should get fired. I agree with him that he doesn’t have a roster good enough to reach the playoffs.

At this point, I expect Geoff Molson to take one of the two actions: fire Bergevin at the end of season, or hire a president to oversee hockey operations. If it was my decision to make, I would let go the general manager, and then hire a president to run hockey operations. Once those two positions are filled, they can evaluate and decide if a new coach is required.

I have no doubt that Molson has already started thinking about whether he needs to make changes in the organization. If he’s lost confidence in Bergevin, a president needs to be brought in before trade deadline to oversee the moves made by the GM.

Bergevin may make desperate moves if he feels that his job is in danger. The recent acquisitions of Ilya Kovalchuk and Marco Scandella fall in that category. I’m thinking out loud, but I do wonder if Brendan Gallagher would have played against Edmonton if the team wasn’t desperately fighting to clinch a playoff spot.

Kovalchuk Debut

In the latest edition of his 31 Thoughts blog, Elliotte Friedman reported that Bergevin met the team after the Kovalchuk signing and told them that he believes in them. In his first four games, Kovalchuk has done his part by contributing one goal and three assists, while playing an average 19:57 per game. He scored the overtime goal that snapped the losing skid.

“He’s a guy we wanted to have to help us given the circumstances,” said the coach. “I find he fits in well with what we want him to be doing.” “[Ilya Kovalchuk] has been bringing enthusiasm ever since he arrived,” added Price.

“I came in here and the guys were so welcoming. I felt like I’ve been here for a long time, but I’ve only been here for a week,” said Kovalchuk in Ottawa. If he continues to contribute, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was traded before deadline to a team in the race for the playoffs.

By Chris G., Senior Writer
All Habs Hockey Magazine
Copyright © 2019 Rocket Sports

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