The Montreal Canadiens were looking to Cayden Primeau to help change their fortunes in New York City, with only four wins in 17 games taking on the Rangers.
Primeau was called up from Laval after Jake Allen suffered an injury in Detroit.
Primeau was solid stopping 31 of 34 shots, but the Canadiens lost again 3-2.
Wilde Horses
With the return of Jonathan Drouin to the lineup after injury, the head coach reunited the line of Drouin and Josh Anderson on the wings with Christian Dvorak.
This was the best line on the night for Montreal. Dvorak scored a superb goal, showing quick hands to get the puck from behind the net then into the net with one deft move. Anderson scored in the third period on a rebound upstairs with a strong shot. The best player on the line was Drouin who had excellent jump with solid possession in the offensive zone.
There haven’t been many times this season that a line has been able to finish shifts with 40 seconds of pressure, but the line did that in this one. Drouin was especially effective at playing keep away.
Though they didn’t get on the score sheet, the line of Jake Evans with Joel Armia and Artturi Lehkonen also had a good night, creating some havoc in the Rangers’ end. Evans was the best of the three as he continues to work hard while playing smart. Evans has gotten this far in his career as a seventh-round draft pick because of his intelligence.
Another Canadien who stood out in a major way and kept the game in a respectable position was a goalie playing his first game of the year. Cayden Primeau was outstanding in the contest. You would think that the players wouldn’t want him to have work that hard for it. You would think they would try to protect him in some manner. It did not play out that way as Primeau was called on to save the night.
Primeau has been good in Laval with a .916 in nine games this season. That he was strong in his 2021 NHL debut is not surprising. He looked confident in the way he tracked the puck. He was square and strong. He slowed the game down when that was needed. He handled most rebounds well.
There is little to be excited about this season, but if Primeau can build on this, it would be a boost to the future for sure to see a goalie begin to exhibit the skills of a number one goalie with Carey Price entering the final third of his career.
Wilde Goats
The Canadiens in the first period looked like they had no idea what they were doing system-wise. The goal that they allowed was a perfect example of a club just not concentrating on the task.
Primeau had already made a first save and was tracking the puck to the half-wall. The pass came back into the middle where there were so many options for the Rangers it was embarassing. Three Canadiens were in front of the net, but no one was covering anyone. The net was wide open, even if Primeau did over-commit to the play in the corner.
When there is a single player that is struggling, that is on the player. When no one seems to have any idea what they are doing or what their role is, the target for blame usually moves to the head coach. Dominique Ducharme is either giving a bad message, the message is not getting through at all, or perhaps they don’t want to listen to his message.
That’s a harsh thought, but the optics in the first period were just so horrendous, one has to speculate that something unusual is happening with the club. The Canadiens were so passive. They let the play come to them. They didn’t lay a body. They didn’t make it difficult.
Thankfully, an effort that horrific didn’t last the rest of the game as the club did play much better in the final two frames, but the result is the result and despite better hockey for the final 40 minutes, the scoreboard shows another loss.
Since they switched to the ‘overtime loss gets a point’ scenario in the NHL, the worst team was in 2000 when the Atlanta Thrashers had 39 points. The second worst was in 2017 when the Colorado Avalanche had only 48 points.
After 18 games, the Canadiens are on pace for 45 points. It is difficult to imagine that President Geoff Molson will let this continue as is.
Wilde Cards
Jake Allen did suffer a concussion in his collision with Dylan Larkin on Saturday night. When a player is groggy, dizzy, or knocked unconscious, he has always suffered a concussion.
A concussion is a brain injury. These are the symptoms of a brain injury. This is not open for debate amongst doctors. However, this was not the case for Allen who exhibited no symptoms whatsoever after he was knocked over.
In some instances with concussions, the difficulties for a player happen after the original moment. When Allen was brought to the locker room five minutes later, even after the play had resumed, he felt fine. In the SCAT procedure that followed with the NHL and its doctors in the next half hour, Allen was deemed unfit to play.
He remains on the sidelines. Also with concussions, there is no time line for a return. It can take four days, four weeks, or four months. Every brain heals differently.
Add another player to leave the lineup as Mike Hoffman was put on the injury reserve list Tuesday. He will be gone a week with an upper body injury. Injuries certainly have been a problem for the Habs who were pleased to see the return of Jonathan Drouin. He is feeling better after taking a shot to the side of the head two weeks ago.
Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sports writer, brings you Call of the Wilde on globalnews.ca after each Canadiens game.
Comments