Canadiens Lineup

Artturi Lehkonen – Phillip Danault – Brendan Gallagher

Charles Hudon – Nick Suzuki – Joel Armia

Paul Byron – Max Domi – Jordan Weal

Lukas Vejdemo – Jake Evans – Dale Weise 

Ben Chiarot – Shea Weber

Brett Kulak – Jeff Petry

Xavier Ouellet – Christian Folin

Charlie Lindgren – Carey Price

Jonathan Drouin, Tomas Tatar, Karl Alzner

Victor Mete

Game Report

Remember way back to Thursday night’s game? Well, tonight’s loss wasn’t a carbon copy, but close enough. 

The game was filled with obvious examples of players who have thrown in the towel and are going through the motions. Perimeter play with no desire to go to the dirty areas does not create the necessary NHL-calibre scoring chances.

In short, the Canadiens were not a threat.

Sadly that included a 5-on-3 power-play opportunity in the second period that tacked on to a four minute Florida double minor. In almost five minutes of time with the man advantage the Canadiens did not bring fans to the edge of their seats.

Dale Weise was one of the more obvious examples of a guy not playing with intensity and was a drag on his fourth line trio. It is this kind of lazy play that begs for younger call-ups from Laval who will appreciate the opportunity. It can also serve as both a trial and an chance to gain experience for those prospects who are the future of the organization. 

The Canadiens best players against the Panthers were the ones who may be the hungriest: Jake Evans, Lukas Vejdemo and Charlie Lindgren. They are fighting for roster spots next season whether it is with the Canadiens or another team.

Some will be critical about the Panthers second goal but that’s simply a lack of understanding of the goaltending position. Give Lindgren regular starts and he makes that save. Instead, an accurate evaluation of his night would primarily focus on the seven or eight brilliant saves Lindgren made to keep his team in the game.

The Canadiens head home for two games at the Bell Centre next week with the Predators in town on Tuesday night. 

Plus / Minus

▲  Charles Lindgren, Jake Evans, Lukas Vejdemo 

▼  Charles Hudon, Ben Chiarot, Phillip Danault, Xavier Ouellet, Christian Folin, Dale Weise, Max Domi, Nick Suzuki