With the Canadiens leading the New York Rangers 1-0 late in the second period Thursday night at the Bell Centre on a goal by Max Domi, someone in the press box suggested they didn’t want to score another goal to avoid taking the “dreaded 2-0 lead.”
Unfortunately, Tomas Tatar scored at 17:01 of the second period to put the Canadiens up 2-0 and the rest of the game became predictable as the Rangers battled back to win 5-2, including an empty-net goal.
It marked the seventh time this season the Canadiens have blown a 2-0 lead and their record is 1-5-1 in those games. It was the 13th time they’ve blown a two-goal lead and their record is 3-7-3 in those games. It was also the 10th time they have lost after having a lead going into the third period.
This was Groundhog Day at the Bell Centre, where the Canadiens now have a 13-16-6 record.
It was also ugly — again.
“I have no idea,” coach Claude Julien said when asked after the game why his team keeps blowing two-goal leads. “We’re capable of playing 40 minutes. We’re not capable of playing 60. We encourage the players to play 60 minutes. We tell them to play on their toes, not on their heels in the third period. Play the same way in third as we did in the first two, but it’s not happening.”
Then the coach added: “We can’t play for the players.”
When asked if there might be a lack of desperation or urgency from the players to finish games since their playoff hopes are all but gone with a 29-28-9 record, Julien said: “You know what? Honestly, I don’t know. And the reason I say I don’t know is because our game plan is to go out there and play 60 minutes the same way. We ask the players to play the same way. We talk about the things we need to do, even going into the third period. To keep going after these guys, keep putting pucks behind their Ds. Let’s throw pucks at the net.
“We had lots of chances around their net-front area,” Julien added after the Canadiens fired 34 shots at Rangers goalie Alexander Georgiev. “It could have easily been 3-0, 4-0 if we bury our chances. We talk about you got to lift pucks up. Once you get a rebound or something, you got to lift pucks up. We have to make those things happen and they’re not and that’s why we’re frustrated right now. As players, as a coaching staff, you try and help them out and it’s not happening. So that’s where our challenges are.”
Thankfully for the Canadiens and their fans (not to mention the media) there are only 16 games left in the season.
Price gets another start
Canadiens goalie Carey Price made his 11th straight start and his 17th in the last 18 games, stopping 30 of the 34 shots he faced. Price has now started 55 games this season, the most of any NHL goalie, and has allowed at least three goals in eight of his last nine starts.
Price made some big saves to keep the Canadiens in the game, but let in a soft shot from Adam Fox that allowed the Rangers to take a 3-2 lead at 12:21 of the third period.
After the game Julien was asked if he’s concerned Price might be getting worn down from his workload and the coach did not like the question.
“I’m not even going there,” an angry Julien said. “He’s had a break. Guys, ask questions that make sense. To me, he’s had a day off between every game and he doesn’t skate in the morning. He made some unbelievable saves tonight, so we’re going to look at one goal that went through and say is he tired? How about the saves he made. Come on, guys! Really.”
Price’s record is now 26-23-6 with a 2.76 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage.
Tatar ties career high
Tatar scored a gorgeous goal on a breakaway and added an assist, improving his team-leading totals to 22-36-58. He also matched his career high in points, set last season when he had 25-33-58 totals with the Canadiens.
With 16 games left, Tatar has a shot at matching — or maybe even breaking — his personal high of 29 goals set in 2014-15 with the Detroit Red Wings.
Tatar has been one of the few bright spots for the Canadiens this season.
Domi extends point streak
Domi’s goal extended his point streak to four games with 3-3-6 totals during that span.
Before going on his point streak, Domi only had six points in his previous 21 games. He now has 16-27-43 totals for the season to rank second in team scoring behind Tatar.
Domi played centre on a line with Paul Byron and Jordan Weal and there’s no doubt he looks much more comfortable and is a better player when he’s in the middle instead of playing on the wing.
“The individual stuff doesn’t mean much, but if you’re asking about positionally I definitely like centre,” Domi said.
He also likes playing with Byron.
“I love Paulie,” Domi said. “You look back, I think last year myself, Paul and Shawzy (Andrew Shaw) had some really good chemistry. Paul and I think the game very similar. It’s very north and he knows where to go and I know where he’s going to go so I think that’s a big part of the chemistry. Sitting next to each other (in the locker room), we get along off the ice. We always talk together. I absolutely love playing with Paul Byron.”
Domi is in the final season of a two-year, US$6.3-million contract and can become a restricted free agent on July 1, but he said that’s not on his mind now.
“No … it is what it is, right?” Domi said. “You don’t think about that stuff. I know it’s a cliché answer, but just trying to help this team win any way we can and it’s been a bit of a grind lately. But you got to find a way to get through it and treat every game like it’s your last and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
Hudon called up from Laval
The Canadiens called up forward Charles Hudon from the AHL’s Laval Rocket on an emergency basis Thursday morning to take Jonathan Drouin’s spot in the lineup.
Drouin is pointless in eight games and minus-10 since returning to the lineup following wrist surgery on Nov. 18. He also missed one game since returning from his wrist surgery with an ankle injury.
“The reason he’s out is for his ankle, not the wrist,” Julien said Thursday morning while the Canadiens held an optional skate at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard. “That’s what’s bothering him the most right now and he’s not feeling comfortable. You can see he’s not skating the way he can. The medical staff looked at it and said we need to pull him out. So that’s the reason he’s not playing.”
Julien added there’s no timeline for Drouin’s return.
“Ankle injuries are, I guess, touchy,” the coach said. “Some guys can play through it depending what it is, some other guys can’t. Length of recovery varies on the type of ankle injury that you have, so it’s hard to tell right now. They (the medical staff) haven’t given us a timeline.”
Hudon played on the fourth line with Jake Evans and Dale Weise and was pointless and minus-1 while logging 11:42 of ice time. In 46 games with the Rocket, Hudon has 27-8-35 totals. He has only one assist in 10 games this season with the Canadiens.
Defenceman Xavier Ouellet missed his third straight game with a concussion. Ouellet hasn’t been cleared for contact, but skated with assistant coach Luke Richardson Thursday morning.
Happy for Hudon
Defenceman Karl Alzner, who played 53 games with the Rocket this season and posted 1-12-13 totals, was happy to see Hudon get called up.
“The way he’s been playing for us in Laval, kind of pulling for him and hoping for him that he could get another shot here,” said Alzner, who played his third game with the Canadiens Thursday night since getting called up from Laval. “I don’t know how he was playing when he was up (with the Canadiens) at the beginning of the year but most games (with Laval) by far the best player on the ice. So it’s nice to see him get an opportunity. I’m sure he’s going to be pretty happy.”
The Rocket beat the Senators 4-1 Wednesday night in Belleville, improving their record to 26-23-8, good for fifth place in the North Division as they battle to make the AHL playoffs. Nikita Jevpalovs scored twice for the Rocket, while Hudon and Laurent Dauphin added singles. Goalie Cayden Primeau stopped 27 of 28 shots, improving his record to 15-10-3 with a 2.53 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage.
Alzner said all the call-ups to the Canadiens because of injuries have made things difficult for the Rocket and coach Joël Bouchard.
“It’s tough, for sure,” Alzner said. “It’s tough when guys come back (to Laval) because it’s a big emotional lull. And so guys come back and they’re obviously good enough to be playing in both leagues, but it’s tough to get the emotion to where it needs to be sometimes. And then you got the guys who are teetering on the edge of that (Laval) lineup that bring it every single night. So it’s a tough balance. I wouldn’t want to be in Joël’s position down there with everything he’s had to deal with. But luckily the group of guys is unreal and everybody I think it seems like is pulling on the same rope right now. Happy to see that they got a big win yesterday, too.”
No coaching future for Alzner
The veteran Alzner has been a positive influence on the young Rocket players, but he doesn’t see coaching in his future after hanging up his skates as a player.
“Not a chance,” he said. “The only thing that I would ever do would be assistant, maybe. Just because I’m more of a one-on-one kind of guy. I don’t like to get up in front of everybody and talk. One-on-one would be something. But when I’m done, it’s family time. The schedule’s more demanding as a coach than it is as a player, so I don’t want to get into that.”
Alzner and his wife have three young children.
The defenceman said he has been impressed by the young players on the Rocket.
“I just feel like everybody seems to be so well-rounded now,” Alzner said. “Guys can handle the puck, they can shoot, they can skate. There isn’t so many one-dimensional players anymore. Everybody need to be able to do everything and the guys down there can do it. I’m impressed by them all. I’m trying to learn from them every practice. I don’t know if they’re trying to learn anything from me but if they are, great. But there’s a lot of guys that once they kind of figure out some of the little details about playing pro hockey then they have the tools.”
Lindgren defends little brother
Rangers defenceman Ryan Lindgren, the younger brother of Canadiens goalie Charlie Lindgren, managed to get under the skin of the Boston Bruins’ Brad Marchand during a game last Sunday.
The Bruins beat the Rangers 3-1 and Ryan, who plays a hard-nosed game, had a few battles with Marchand. During the first period, Marchand rabbit-punched Ryan and in the second period he cross-checked the Rangers defenceman to the ice from behind. Ryan also took a high-stick in the face from the Bruins’ David Krejci during the game that cut him and required stitches.
After the game, Marchand said about Ryan: “He’s not going to be a player there that’s going to have a very long career. I’m not overly concerned with him.”
The Bruins selected Ryan in the second round (49th overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft and two years later traded him to the Rangers as part of the blockbuster deal for Rick Nash.
“To me, it’s just hockey,” Ryan told the New York Post on Tuesday when asked about Marchand’s comment. “He’s a competitive guy, I’m a competitive guy. We’re competing against each other. I like to just leave it out on the ice. I’m not a guy who’s going to talk about it after. That’s what he wants to do? Go ahead.
“He is a good player and I like playing against top players,” Ryan added. “I try to be physical on guys. Obviously, he didn’t like it. But that just means I’m doing my job.”
Lindgren picked up two assists against the Canadiens and has 1-13-14 totals in 53 games this season and is plus-14 with 39 penalty minutes.
“You look at a comment like that … obviously, I got a ton of respect for Marchand,” Charlie said Thursday morning when asked about his brother’s feud with the Bruins pest. “I like the way he plays. But I think that comment was maybe a little off-base. I guess my brother will probably see him next year … I know they don’t play the rest of the season. But my brother’s a guy that’s going to play a lot of games. I fully believe that. I know the Rangers love him. Just one of those comments. But I think my brother handled it with a ton of class. Just two competitive guys.”
What’s next?
The Canadiens will practise at 11:30 a.m. Friday in Brossard before facing the Carolina Hurricanes Saturday night at the Bell Centre (7 p.m., SNE, CITY, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM).
Next week, the Canadiens will hit the road for three games starting Tuesday in New York against the Islanders (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM). After that the Canadiens head to Florida to play the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM) and the Panthers on Saturday (7 p.m., CBC, SN, SN360, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM).
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