CANADIENS
Montreal

2-6

STARS
Dallas

Lineup

Forward lines and defense pairings: 

[one_half]Pacioretty – Plekanec – Galchenyuk
Byron – Eller – McCarron
Fleischmann – Desharnais – Weise
Carr – Mitchell – Flynn[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Beaulieu – Subban
Emelin – Petry
Markov – Gilbert[/one_half_last]

Goaltenders:

Condon
Tokarski

Scratches:  Jarred Tinordi, Greg Pateryn, Sven Andrighetto
Injured reserve:  Brendan Gallagher, Carey Price, Devante Smith-Pelly

Game Report

On Thursday night after the game against the Kings, there was disappointment about the loss at the Bell Centre. Tonight was different. Frustration and anger spilled out, even from the captain.

“It has been the same f**king thing for the last 10 games. It’s a joke!”

Raw. Profane. Honest.

In the past 10 games, the Canadiens have a record of 2-7-1. That’s worst in the NHL. No other team has seven regulation losses in their past ten.

Some fans seemed to be blinded by the 9-0-0 start. The truth is that since then, the Habs are just 11-11-3 since then. Projected over season, that’s a record of a team that misses the playoffs.

Don’t panic, say some.  The Habs are still in better shape than imagined, right?

https://twitter.com/JohnnyHab83/status/678397662807371777

There was a time when Habs fans were credited with being the most knowledgeable fans in sports. Statements like the one above put that in serious doubt.

For Johnny and his ilk, the Canadiens are below .500 at 10-9-3 without Carey Price in goal. Starting just 12 of Montreal’s 34 games into the season, Price still leads Habs goaltenders in wins with 10.

And since Price was re-injured, the Canadiens record is 3-7-1.

There is no question that Price’s injury has had the greatest impact on the decline of this team. And the coach has no solutions.

It’s easy to be behind the bench when the team is firing on all cylinders. But an elite coach proves his worth when a team is experiencing adversity. If you hadn’t already guessed, it’s painfully evident that this coach is not elite.

In a game where the Canadiens were chasing and needing to generate offense, members of the first line played just over 10 minutes at even strength. While centering Montreal’s top line, Tomas Plekanec played 10:08. The teacher’s pet, David Desharnais, was given more than two minutes more at 12:12.

Maybe Desharnais was having a good night, you ask? His stat line looked line this: 0 shots on goal, 1 giveaway, minus-2. As we know, Therrien’s player deployment isn’t based on merit.

What strategies has he been using to adjust for injuries? Sadly, it appears as changing the composition of the lines is all he has in his toolbelt.

Unfortunately Therrien’s blenderizing is indiscriminately applied negatively affecting trios who had been working well. More recently, the coach has done the same thing with the defensive pairs.

Against the Sharks, the top pairing had a tough game being on the ice for three San Jose goals. Despite the fact that P.K. Subban was primarily responsible for two of the goals, Andrei Markov was dropped to the third pairing.

So now the team’s most consistent defenceman this season finds himself with Tom Gilbert. A bad pinch and a turnover by Gilbert led to the Stars first goal. And Nathan Beaulieu is looking overwhelmed on the first pairing.

“That’s a hell of a hockey team. That’s the tightest-checking game I’ve ever played in this League. They force everything and they don’t give you much room.”

That was Beaulieu’s reaction to playing the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night. The Kings were blanked 5-0 by the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. Perhaps it’s best to get a defenseman who has broader experience back on the first pairing.

Two more early period goals allowed by Mike Condon tonight. And six goals on 23 shots.

This team has serious problems and no one capable or interested in providing solutions.

The Canadiens head next to Nashville for a Monday night game against the Predators.

▲     Daniel Carr

▼     Tom Gilbert

1. Jamie Benn  DAL
2. Jason Spezza  DAL
3. Tyler Seguin  DAL

• “We got a good start. I thought the first period, we were playing some solid hockey. We hit some posts, but the story of the game is I thought couple of the defensemen really had a hard time tonight. They turned pucks over, (made) bad decisions with the puck.“

Max Pacioretty

• “It’s a joke. Eight penalties against a team like that, it’s embarrassing.“
• “We started the year with nine wins in a row. I don’t know why we don’t have confidence. I don’t know why we forgot how to play the game, but we have to find answers really quick.”

Mike Condon

• “We’re not playing with confidence for sure. It’s got to start with those little details, with the hard work. It’s hard, it’s not fun, but we have to turn it around.“

Stars coach Lindy Ruff

• “That sets the tone, when you can get that early goal. I thought Jason (Spezza) scored one heck of a goal. We knew that Condon was the type of goalie that challenges a little bit. I thought he sold him on the shot, and just that quick move had him out a little bit, and he one-step passed it and found the top corner.”

Quotes courtesy of NHL.com

#canadiens Jeff Petry has a small cut under the left eye. Looks like he was feeling better. Officially a upper body injury. #tvasports

— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) December 20, 2015

PK Subban is going back to the Easton sticks that he was playing with last season. #canadiens #tvasports

— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) December 20, 2015

No moment of silence at ACC to commemorate passing of Dickie Moore, Hall of Famer who played for Leafs in '64-65. Brutal. Absolutely brutal.

— Ken Campbell (@THNKenCampbell) December 20, 2015

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