Habs News: Montreal Canadiens, Jonathan Drouin, Marc Bergevin, Dominique Ducharme, Jon Merrill, Victor Mete

ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA | LAVAL, QC. — The Canadiens started the week with a 3-2 win against the Oilers. Edmonton had a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes, before Montreal tied the score to send the game into overtime, where Eric Staal won the match with the winning goal in his debut.

“I could feel the energy through the TV screens. I wish [Bell Centre] was full because I know what this place is like when it’s full, especially in that type of moment, but it was awesome nonetheless,” Staal said.

Corey Perry‘s two goals weren’t enough on Wednesday, as the Canadiens lost 3-2 against the Maple Leafs in Toronto. ““They won the first period. I thought we outplayed them in the second period, and for half of the third they probably outplayed us. It’s close. It’s a bounce here and there,” said Perry.

The following night, the Jets took a 3-1 lead 13 minutes into the match, and never looked back as they went on to a 4-1 win at the Bell Centre.

“We’re shooting ourselves in the foot. Those are things that can’t happen. We knew we were playing back-to-back with travel. Whatever excuses you want to make, it’s not an excuse. We’re professionals. We’ve got to be ready to play,” Shea Weber said.

The Jets had their way against the Habs on Saturday as they scored five times in the last 30 minutes of action, and went on to a 5-0 shutout victory.

“I think it’s just a huge wake-up call. We can’t win on skill, we can’t win on playing a run-and-gun game with some of these teams,” said Jake Evans. “We’ve got to change our ways pretty quickly here.”

Second Slump

Saturday’s match was the team’s third consecutive regulation loss. It’s their longest sequence of the year. In February, they lost five consecutive games under Claude Julien, however collected three points during that sequence from extra time.

“In a perfect season will be to never have slumps, but that’s not the reality. I always see a season with two slumps, so what you don’t want it to be, is too long,” Ducharme said on Sunday. “We’re in our second one, and we know how to handle it. We’ll handle it the right way, we’ll get out of it, it will make us better.”

The Canadiens have allowed their opponents score the first goal in the last five games, including goals in the opening minute of the matches against the Leafs on Wednesday, and the Jets on Thursday. Constantly playing from behind leads to mistakes.

“I think one has team been showing up more than the other. We’ve been shooting ourselves in the foot over the last few games. We’ve been helping teams beat us in a way. It’s up to us to get back to playing the way we know how. We aren’t playing our style of game. We can’t really say that other teams are beating us because we’re beating ourselves at the moment,” Jonathan Drouin said.

“We’ve got to get back to what we know and where we’re successful. Everyone here knows it. We’ve talked about it, and now it’s just about being confident in ourselves and playing the way that we know we can. It’s not where we want to be right now, but it’s something that we can control and we can get back going on our side,” the captain added.

New Lines and Pairings

The Canadiens will ice new line combinations, and defensive pairings for Monday’s tilt against the Maple Leafs. From the forward group, the most notable changes are Paul Byron and Jake Evans moving from the fourth line into the top six.

“It’s a combination of things. First, we want to have a good balance of speed on every line. I think Paul Byron has been playing good hockey over the last few games, and so has Jake Evans. It’s a question of finding the right combinations and using everyone’s strengths,” Ducharme explained.

Joel Armia started skating with his teammates on Sunday, and the coach said that he expects him to be ready later this week to return to action.

On defence, Joel Edmundson was paired with Jeff Petry, and Brett Kulak was slotted with Weber. Petry has been struggling as of late, and Edmundson returning as his defensive partner may help him find his confidence.

In goal, Carey Price is expected to return on the ice within the next couple of days. Last week, we saw that Jake Allen can’t handle the load of being a number one goalie. He’s at his best when in the role of being a backup goaltender that gives his team a chance to win.

Drouin Drought

Jonathan Drouin is in the spotlight again for his lack of offensive production. The Canadiens forward has been pointless in the last seven games, and his last goal was on February 23rd.

“I don’t feel that great about my game,” said Drouin adding that he’s currently having a difficult stretch after his good start, and that he needs to get back playing at his best. “It’s for me to put the work in[…] Right now, I’m getting away from the puck, and I’m not at the places where I should be.”

It’s the third consecutive season that Drouin has a strong start offensively before falling into an extended slump.

“There’s not one-million solutions. It’s like in everything else, when you want to get out of something, you roll up your sleeves and you work. I think he’s grown in that aspect over the last couple of years,” the coach said.

“He has to assure that he’s working, he’s skating, he’s around the puck, he’s going to the net, playing inside, keeping it simple. That’s the challenge he has, and we’re here with him for that.”

Roster Moves

On Sunday, Victor Mete was placed on waivers by the Canadiens. Teams have until noon eastern on Monday to make a claim on the defenseman. (UPDATE: Mete was claimed by the Senators) Ducharme sent a message to Marc Bergevin on Thursday night, when he stapled Mete to the bench for the entire third period.

“We were down by one, and trying to make sure that we’re not giving up the next one. We wanted to keep the game simple, and moving it to the forwards, and hoping for offence,” the coach explained. In other words, the coach didn’t trust him on either side of the ice.

Later in the day, the Canadiens acquired defenseman Jon Merrill from the Red Wings in exchange for a fifth-round pick in 2021 and forward Hayden Verbeek. Merrill will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. In seven games with the Rocket, Verbeek has one goal and two assists.

Merrill has collected five assists in 36 games with Detroit. He’s a shutdown defenseman that can play on both sides of the ice, and can be utilized on the penalty kill. He will join the club after completing his seven-day quarantine.

Canadiens Connection podcast

Current Habs topics were discussed on this week’s episode of the Canadiens Connection. Listen, share and subscribe!

By Chris G., Senior Writer
All Habs Hockey Magazine
Copyright © 2021 Rocket Sports

===