Canadiens Lineup

Tyler Toffoli – Nick Suzuki – Joel Armia

Jonathan Drouin – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Josh Anderson

Tomas Tatar – Phillip Danault – Paul Byron

Artturi Lehkonen – Eric Staal – Corey Perry

Ben Chiarot – Shea Weber

Joel Edmundson – Jeff Petry

Alexander Romanov – Brett Kulak

Carey Price – Jake Allen

None

Michael Frolik, Michael McNiven, Cole Caufield, Jake Evans, Xavier Ouellet

Brendan Gallagher (hand), Erik Gustafsson (COVID protocol), Jon Merrill (COVID protocol)

Game Report

The Canadiens have been inconsistent in their play particularly with Dominique Ducharme at the helm. One thing they have been consistent about: slow starts. As Ben Chiarot said post-game, too often, this team is not ready.

Or put another way, they aren’t prepared. And that falls squarely on coaching.

Falling behind early in games means that the Canadiens are always chasing the game. There is no opportunity to gain confidence and build momentum.

So why have the Habs had so much difficulty generating offence? Let’s go back to Coach Chiarot. While recovering from his fractured hand, Ben had a chance to watch Montreal games from above. And what did he conclude?

Chiarot says that the forwards aren’t generating enough high danger chances. They aren’t getting the puck to the slot and players aren’t willing to take the punishment necessary by going to the areas where goals are scored.

Bingo!

Chiarot is exactly right. Now why can’t the interim head coach speak so clearly and directly to his team and the media?

The Canadiens had just one shot on goal in the first 17 minutes of the game. One shot against Matt Murray and the 30th placed team. That is unacceptable.

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