The Canadiens are tied for last in league standings following their 4-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Canadiens extended their season-long losing streak to six games, falling 4-1 to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night at Scotiabank Arena.
With the loss, the Habs are tied for last place in league standings with the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks.
The Leafs scored twice on the power play without captain Auston Matthews in the lineup.
Brendan Gallagher continued his hot start with his seventh goal of the season. That was all the offence the Habs could muster on 21 shots.
Montreal’s forwards failed to get a shot on Leafs goalie Joseph Woll in the first period. Toronto got a goal from an unlikely source in the first: defenceman Conor Timmins spun around Josh Anderson and beat Sam Montembeault to open scoring for the Leafs.
Former Hab Max Pacioretty needed help back to the dressing room after injuring his leg in the opening frame, and he didn’t return.
Four goals were scored in the second period, all on special teams. Toronto’s red-hot power play got things going with a contribution from William Nylander. That was followed by a shorthanded goal from Mitch Marner.
With Jake McCabe in the box for the Leafs, Gallagher got the away team on the board by batting an airborne puck past Woll.
How good has Gallagher been this season? Well, besides Cole Caufield he’s providing most of the team’s offence.
Whatever momentum the Habs might’ve received from the Gallagher goal, it was quickly dampened with another power-play marker, this time from John Tavares. He collected his own rebound to regain Toronto’s three-goal advantage.
After struggling to hit the net in the opening two periods, Montreal nearly doubled their shot total in the third period, but it wasn’t enough to stir a comeback. The Leafs sailed to an easy victory against their divisional foe. For an eighth game out of 15, the Habs allowed at least four goals.
That stat, coupled with their anemic offence, is leading to some pretty lopsided losses.
Caufield, Nick Suzuki, Juraj Slafkovsky, Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook all failed to reach the scoresheet last night, and without contributions from them, the Habs don’t stand a chance.
Two goals in 27 games from Slafkovsky and Dach, in particular, has riled up the Liveblog commenters. Slafkovsky collected assists early on, but his play is sagging compared to his strong finish last season, while Dach isn’t looking any closer to shaking off the rust from his year-long layoff.
Montreal doesn’t have enough offensive firepower as is, but without them and with Laine still injured, someone’s got to pick up the slack, and so far, that person has been Gallagher. Long left for dead after years of injuries and saddled by an unmoveable contract, he’s come a long way to prove hockey players do sometimes have second acts. Lane Hutson also added an eighth assist to his rookie total.
Here’s a taste of how things went down in the Liveblog comments.
3. “Like I said, they could have been the Keystone Habs. The only difference is that this was in hi-def colour instead of grainy black-and-white. I think grainy black-and-white might have hurt my eyes less.” — Michael Way
2. “Well they mailed in their resignation before the game even started. So many players played with such a lack of effort. Incredibly soft plays on a few of the goals. Just fly by’s that aren’t good enough in the NHL. Losing because of lack of talent is one thing, but losing because of lack of effort not acceptable.” — Doug Kirkby
1. “For me it’s not that the losses are getting old but how they are losing. Last year they were in so many games. How many games can we honestly say we’ve been in so far this year? Maybe 6 or 7 in 15 games? That’s just not acceptable. Time to sit some vets that just don’t seem to care and let’s see J Roy and Owen Beck. If we’re going to lose let’s have some excitement from the players. Some pride of wearing the CH sweater. I think even Jean Beliveau would be disgusted by this team and he was the classiest player ever to wear the CH. He also revered the CH and knew what an honour it was. But that was a different era.” — Habs SkiFan