It sure wasn’t a complete effort by the Habs, but it was far superior to Wednesday’s debacle and Jake Allen was able to cover for the rest as the Habs squeaked out a 2-1 victory against the Calgary Flames on Friday night.
The Habs played strong first and third periods on way to an important 4-2 win against the North Division’s top team in Toronto. Jake Allen was solid when he needed to be and new defensive pairings confirmed that Shea Weber and Joel Edmundson needed to be split up.
The Habs likely deserved a better outcome if one considers the entirety of Thursday night’s game. However, another slow start had them playing catch-up from the get-go and for a second straight night, they just didn’t have enough offence to overcome the bad start, falling 4-2 to Winnipeg.
Eric Staal’s debut with Montreal was an interesting one as the Habs dominated the first and third periods, held on in the second and in overtime and ultimately skated away with a 3-2 victory with the newcomer scoring the winner.
There was never much doubt on Thursday night as the Habs were the better team for 60 minutes. Allen made the few saves needed to secure the win and he finally got some goal support as Gallagher and Evans were particularly impressive in a 4-1 victory over Ottawa.
The well-rested Canadiens took full advantage of an Oilers team playing their third game in four nights on Tuesday in executing 60 minutes of complete domination. Considering the incoming schedule, a game that was not intense for the entirety of its 60 minutes of play was welcomed for the Habs as they skated away with a 4-0 win.
In a game that featured many momentum swings, the overall result was dictated by the Habs inability to hit the net. They stole a point that they more or less deserved but ultimately fell to Vancouver in overtime once again, bringing their extra time record to 0-9.
The Habs were not the better team for most of Wednesday’s game in Winnipeg. Carey Price made saves when it mattered and the Habs held on long enough to give themselves a fighting chance and managed to get it to overtime before losing 4-3.
The Jets were firing on all cylinders on Monday night but Montreal there every step of the way for the first 40 minutes as they attacked a vulnerable Winnipeg back end. The Jets didn’t give up as the Habs bent but didn’t break as they escaped with a 4-2 win on Monday night.
The quick turnaround, a different time zone, the loss of Chiarot, and poor execution. All of these factors could be used to explain why the Habs were completely flat in Thursday’s game versus Calgary where they lost 2-1 and didn’t even get their shot count to 20.