This past week wasn’t a particularly strong one for the Habs as some of their early-season defensive struggles returned. Nonetheless, they still managed to pick up three points along the way to stay within striking distance of a Wild Card position in the East.
The Habs pulled off another comeback on Saturday night, coming back from two goals down to force overtime against New Jersey. However, in the extra session, Jack Hughes scored on a breakaway to give the Devils the 4-3 win.
The second quarter of the season was much better for the Habs who played themselves back into the playoff picture. Not surprisingly, our writers assigned some better grades. We begin with the goalies and defencemen.
After a big win over Tampa Bay on Tuesday, the Habs were in Detroit on Thursday to take on the Red Wings. But instead of carrying over the momentum, this was a letdown game for Montreal as they fell 4-2.
Montreal got off to a sluggish start on Tuesday against Tampa Bay, trailing by two early in the second. However, they got those back quickly and then Jake Evans potted the winner with just 2:15 in regulation for the 3-2 victory.
While last week saw the Habs lose a tough one after blowing a big early lead, they also picked up three victories to help keep pace in their surprisingly strong run to get back into the playoff discussion.
The Habs were in comeback mode for most of the night on Sunday against the Rangers, erasing four separate one-goal leads. That set the stage for overtime where Patrik Laine buried the winner in a 5-4 Montreal win.
Since late December, the NHL has been revealing each franchise’s Quarter-Century team with one announcement per day. On Sunday, it was Montreal’s turn to have its roster revealed.
The Habs got off to a terrific start on Saturday against Toronto, scoring three goals in the first period. However, things went downhill after that as Montreal allowed seven unanswered, kicking off their back-to-back weekend set on a low note.
Christian Dvorak was once a key offseason acquisition for the Habs. However, he hasn’t had much success with the Canadiens and has the lowest usage of any Montreal centre, making it likely that he’s in his final half-season with them.