Canadiens Lineup

Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Kirby Dach

Anthony Richard – Jonathan Drouin – Josh Anderson

Mike Hoffman – Christian Dvorak – Brendan Gallagher

Michael Pezzetta – Jake Evans –  Juraj Slafkovsky

Jordan Harris – David Savard

Joel Edmundson – Justin Barron

Arber Xhekaj – Chris Wideman

Sam Montembeault – Jake Allen

Evgenii Dadonov, Joel Armia, Johnathan Kovacevic

Carey Price (knee), Paul Byron (hip), Sean Monahan (lower-body), Mike Matheson (lower-body), Kaiden Guhle (lower-body)

Game Report

The Canadiens’ longest road trip of the season mercifully game to an end tonight in Nashville. As road trips for NHL teams go, it was hardly the most onerous with a Christmas break planted squarely in the middle of seven games away from the Bell Centre.

On December 19th, Montreal began the trip with a 3-2 win in Tempe courtesy of a Mike Hoffman overtime goal. It was probably a game that the visitors didn’t deserve to win as the Coyotes dominated play territorially at Mullet Arena.

The Canadiens spent the majority of the trip playing without the puck. As a result, the win in Arizona was their last; the Habs went on to lose six straight games. They were outscored 34-14 collectively in seven games.

There are too many players who don’t have the skill or the inclination to engage without the puck such as Jonathan Drouin, Mike Hoffman, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky. And Marty St. Louis added one more to the lineup for tonight’s game: Anthony Richard.

Richard took the place of Joel Armia. The 29-year-old Armia is frequently a target of criticism for Habs fans. While his offence has been non-existent this season, his possession game, puck retrieval and defensive contributions can be more valuable to a team that is leaking goals than an AHL veteran.

Richard found himself considerably underwater in shot attempts tonight 5 CF – 18 CA  (5v5).

With a game plan, the Canadiens were down by two goals early against Nashville. And without a system to lean on, the players’ confidence in their own abilities (and that of their linemates) is rather fragile right now. There would be no comeback in this game.

The Habs will be anxious to leave the losses and the distractions of the road trip behind them as they return to Montreal.

Up Next

When a fragile team hits rough, choppy waters, it’s key to have an experienced hand on the tiller. Unfortunately the folks currently behind the bench don’t fit that profile. So it might be up to management to make moves to shake up the roster.

Reportedly, defenceman Kaiden Guhle has been placed on injured reserve.

The Canadiens will spend the majority of the month of January close to home. The Habs begin a four-game homestand by hosting the New York Rangers on Thursday at the Bell Centre. 

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