Canadiens Lineup

Tyler Toffoli – Nick Suzuki – Jake Evans

Jonathan Drouin – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Josh Anderson

Tomas Tatar – Phillip Danault – Paul Byron

Artturi Lehkonen – Eric Staal – Corey Perry

Brett Kulak – Shea Weber

Joel Edmundson – Jeff Petry

Alexander Romanov – Xavier Ouellet

Jake Allen – Cayden Primeau

Joel Armia 

Michael Frolik, Michael McNiven, Otto Leskinen

Ben Chiarot (hand), Brendan Gallagher (hand), Carey Price (lower-body), Erik Gustafsson (COVID protocol), Jon Merrill (COVID protocol)

Game Report

Throw it against the wall and see what sticks. Does that phrase accurately describe Dominique Ducharme’s approach to game strategy and lineup construction? There seems to be very little logic behind the interim coach’s decisions combined with a large portion of stubbornness. 

Let’s try Eric Staal as the second line center and move Jesperi Kotkaniemi to the wing. Perhaps Joel Edmundson is a top-pairing defenceman. Each was a failed experiment that has been discarded. But couldn’t a smart hockey mind have determined the predicted outcome even before it was tried?

Much like the fact that it is not a good idea to begin overtime with Phillip Danault on the ice. That should be obvious.

The players initially welcomed Ducharme mainly because he wasn’t Claude Julien. But Dom’s inexperience and his poor communication skills have not helped the Canadiens out of their wildly inconsistent play. The team is frequently unprepared to start a game and in-game adjustments are either non-existent or ineffective.

The Canadiens mediocre record under Ducharme has caused some to conclude that coaching wasn’t the problem. But coaching, under both Julien and Ducharme, has been an issue along with a roster that contains significant holes.

There’s no doubt that the Canadiens are missing Ben Chiarot and Brendan Gallagher. But it’s also a reminder just how many issues can be and have been covered up by a healthy Carey Price.

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