Canadiens Lineup

Tyler Toffoli – Nick Suzuki – Cole Caufield

Jonathan Drouin – Christian Dvorak – Josh Anderson

Artturi Lehkonen – Jake Evans – Brendan Gallagher

Cedric Paquette – Ryan Poehling – Joel Armia

Ben Chiarot – Jeff Petry

Sami Niku – David Savard

Alexander Romanov – Chris Wideman

Jake Allen – Sam Montembeault

Michael Pezzetta, Mattias Norlinder

Brett Kulak (lower-body),  Mike Hoffman (upper body), Mathieu Perreault (eye), Joel Edmundson (undisclosed), Carey Price (knee), Paul Byron (hip), Shea Weber (multiple injuries)

Game Report

The Canadiens were dominated right from the drop of the puck by the fourth best team in the NHL. Montreal scored three times to add to their personal stats but they never threatened to make it close. Shot attempts (5-on-5) were 63-39 for Washington.

Curiously, high-danger scoring chances were even in the game. But while Ilya Samsonov was making big saves for the home side, Jake Allen was not. The Canadiens struggles in this game went well beyond goaltending, but after an injury absence, Allen looked a little rusty in his return.

The game started with bad play from Jeff Petry, who is expected to be the Canadiens best defenceman. A bad pinch, poor defensive coverage and a lazy penalty by number 26 quickly gifted the Capitals a 2-0 lead. When Cedric Paquette banked the puck off Michael Sgarbossa for his first goal in almost four years, it was game over.

In his 13th game of the season, Cole Caufield finally got his first goal. Post-game Caufield said that the Canadiens are “playing for pride” after their 16th loss in 21 games. It is only the quarter mark of the year but the players know what this means.

American Thanksgiving marks an important milestone in the season having been used as a predictor for years. Currently the Canadiens are 29th place in a 32-team league. They won’t be making the playoffs in 2021-22.

Tonight was the ninth time this team allowed five or more goals. That is, five or more goals in 43 percent of their games this season. That’s unacceptable.

And still, no action from the absent owner.

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