MONTREAL – On Friday afternoon I had dental surgery.
On Saturday night, I went through an experience that was just as painful.
The Montreal Canadiens‘ listless 4-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild was a tough one to stomach.
The team is a shell of its former self.
The injured players are almost a better squad than the active ones.
During the game, a fan behind me started chanting “let’s go Ice Caps!” referencing all the call-up players the Habs currently have in their roster.
Only seven players who started the season are still active, including supposed-to-be-the-backup-goalie Mike Condon.
With the partial AHL roster, the Canadiens took a brutalizing at the hands of the Wild.
The first goal was particularly cringe-worthy.
It’s not often you’ll see an open net in the first period, but when Condon turned it over at the blue line, the crowd let out a collective sigh of frustration.
It’s becoming painful.
On Saturday, scalpers were selling their tickets for half the price.
The lower bowl was full, but not very lively.
The Energie Cardio ‘get up and dance’ minute is sounding more like a dirge.
Yet, there are, of course, bright spots in the mess.
Alex Galchenyuk has been one of the hottest scorers in the NHL since moving to centre.
Mark Barberio is learning to become a reliable defenceman and captain Max Pacioretty is finding chemistry on the first line.
But for everything that’s going right, so much more is going wrong.
Losing the team’s best defenceman was a blow to the heart of the Canadiens.
You could feel it in the locker room post-game.
It’s just not the same team without P.K. Subban.
Now, the Canadiens are hanging onto the little hope they have left – a 0.6 per cent chance of making the playoffs.
With a tough schedule coming up to round out the season, it could be time for the Habs to put themselves out of their misery.
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