Canadiens Lineup

Jonathan Drouin  – Phillip Danault – Brendan Gallagher

Tomas Tatar – Max Domi – Andrew Shaw 

Artturi Lehkonen – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Joel Armia 

Nicolas Deslauriers – Nate Thompson – Dale Weise

Victor Mete – Shea Weber

Mike Reilly – Jeff Petry

Brett Kulak – Jordie Benn

Carey Price – Antti Niemi

Christian Folin, Charles Hudon, Matthew Peca

Paul Byron (upper body)

Game Report

Four games against the NHL’s best was considered a reasonable barometer of what we can expect of the Canadiens for the remainder of this season. After losing three of four, it’s clear that Montreal is not yet ready for prime time.

While Montreal looked strong against a suddenly listing Jets squad, the Canadiens are not equipped for a long playoff run. They are a few guns short.

That should be rather instructive for Marc Bergevin who has been considering his options for the trade deadline. This could be the idea time to part with players who have been performing well, but may not be part of a long term solution. Andrew Shaw and Jordie Benn come to mind.

The wish list includes upgrades on defence. Victor Mete, Mike Reilly and Brett Kulak are each being put in roles that are a little too much for them to manage on a consistent basis.

The Canadiens top scorer, Max Domi, has not lived up to that billing for two-and-a-half months. For 14 games in November, Domi scored six goals. In 33 games since then spanning December, January and February, Domi scored just six goals.

And Domi is running into discipline issues.

Jonathan Drouin has followed his two strongest games this season with another ‘I can’t be bothered’ tour. That’s two straight games where Drouin delivered the puck on a silver platter to the opposition and then got out of the way so they could score.

The Canadiens fourth line may appear to be upgraded on paper but we have not seen any evidence. Dale Weise, Nate Thompson and Nicolas Deslauriers have been dreadful in their first two games together. Perhaps, a solution within the organization would have been preferable.

Rather than getting caught up in the ‘contender talk, they Canadiens must change their focus to ensure that they make the playoffs this season.

Plus / Minus

▲  Carey Price, Joel Armia

▼  Nicolas Deslauriers, Jonathan Drouin, Mike Reilly, Brett Kulak, Dale Weise, Nate Thompson, Max Domi, Victor Mete