Call of the Wilde: Colorado Avalanche hand the flat Montreal Canadiens a home defeat

Résumé détaillé

The Canadiens faced a weaker Avs club, but they still have a lot of firepower. Montreal turned in a flat effort. It happens in a long season: Colorado 4 Montreal 1.

The Colorado Avalanche announced two serious injuries on Saturday morning. Their top players Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar are both out for an extended period. Makar is expected to miss two weeks, while MacKinnon could be gone a month.

The Canadiens faced a weaker Avs club, but they still have a lot of firepower without their two best. Montreal turned in a flat effort. It happens in a long season: Colorado 4 Montreal 1.

The first half of the game basically saw the Canadiens playing well enough, but not catching any breaks. This isn’t to say they were scintillating as only Kirby Dach stood out above the crowd. Dach is becoming harder to take off the puck. He uses his reach well, and is increasing his offensive-zone time.

Montreal couldn’t mount any answers until one Nick Suzuki scored one of the prettiest backhand goals you’ll ever see. The pass came from Juraj Slafkovsky in the high slot. Devon Toews was right in front ready to defend, until Suzuki suddenly wasn’t there anymore.

Suzuki did a spin-move that left Toews watching, and in that moment, Suzuki fired a backhand off the joint of the crossbar and post, and into the net. It was exquisite. It reminded one of the days when players had a straight blade that made backhands easier.

This wasn’t a night when anything came together. There’s little to praise. Apart from the Suzuki goal, Canadiens chances weren’t of a high quality, and no one stood out except Dach, and the goal from Suzuki.

After 12 games with a point in every contest, what ails the Canadiens finally came to the fore. It’s difficult to believe that the 31st ranked power play in the league was able to take a point in every game considering how vital a power play is to success.

It’s easy to say the club misses Ivan Demidov, and that is true, but this malaise goes much deeper than what changes Demidov could bring. The power play is about talent, but, clearly, talent alone doesn’t get the job done, because the Canadiens have plenty.

The issue is chaos.

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