Canadiens Lineup

Tyler Toffoli – Nick Suzuki – Cole Caufield

Jonathan Drouin – Christian Dvorak – Josh Anderson

Joel Armia – Jake Evans – Brendan Gallagher

Mathieu Perreault – Cedric Paquette – Artturi Lehkonen

Brett Kulak – Jeff Petry

Ben Chiarot – David Savard

Alexander Romanov – Chris Wideman

Sam Montembeault – Jake Allen

Alex Belzile, Adam Brooks

Joel Edmundson (undisclosed), Carey Price (player assistance program), Paul Byron (hip), Mike Hoffman (lower-body), Mattias Norlinder (lower-body), Sami Niku (concussion), Shea Weber (multiple injuries)

Game Report

The 2021-’22 Montreal Canadiens, supposedly well-stocked with offensive firepower — Cole Caufield, Tyler Toffoli, Jonathan Drouin, Josh Anderson, Nick Suzuki, Christian Dvorak, Brendan Gallagher (and Mike Hoffman, out of the lineup for now) — have scored two goals in two games so far this season.

It’s not a surprise that the Habs have issues in their own end; that was expected with Shea Weber and Joel Edmundson out of the lineup. But it was hoped that with the makeup of the team, the Canadiens would outscore their mistakes.

The problems begin at even strength. Against a team expected to be one of the worst in the NHL, Montreal managed just two high danger scoring chances while 5-on-5. Even the 40-year-old Craig Anderson could handle a workload like that.

It’s only two games into the season, but it’s not too early to say that the Habs power-play is a mess. The Canadiens went 0-for-4 including a half a minute with a two-man advantage.

Missing their Superman

Carey Price is certainly capable of hiding a lot of warts. His cast of backups cannot. None of them looked good in the pre-season. Jake Allen can’t handle a full number one load and Cayden Primeau needs lots of game experience (two more full seasons) in Laval. That left the net for Sam Montembeault, a career AHL goaltender, who was beaten cleanly on some stoppable shots.

But this result was not the fault of the goaltender.

Expect the Canadiens to look like a completely different team on Saturday night for their home opener. The Habs will be pumped to perform in front of a full house at the Bell Centre.

That won’t mean that the problems have been solved. This team will have the fans riding a rollercoaster all season long. Fans must hope that there are more hills than valleys. 

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