In what has been a disappointing season so far for the Canadiens — and their fans — there were some brights spots Tuesday night at the Bell Centre worth noting.
As Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports pointed out, it was the first time Martin St. Louis had a full lineup with no injured players since he took over as head coach on Feb. 9, 2022. That was a span of 225 games with at least one player out injured.
Patrik Laine played his first regular-season game with the Canadiens Tuesday night after being acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets during the off-season and then suffering a sprained knee during a 2-1 pre-season loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sept. 28. Laine scored the first goal of Tuesday’s game on a power play and the Canadiens went on to beat the New York Islanders 2-1.
The Canadiens’ power play — which should get a big boost from Laine — went 1-for-2 against the Islanders and ranked 15th in the NHL after the game with a 21.5 per cent success rate. The Canadiens killed off all three Islanders power plays and they are tied for fifth in the NHL in penalty-killing with an 82.6 per cent success rate.
Goalie Sam Montembeault made 30 saves and got his save percentage above .900 (at .901) and his goals-against average below 3 (at 2.99) while improving his record to 7-10-2.
The Canadiens improved their overall record to 9-13-3, but they were still sitting in last place in the Atlantic Division, one point behind the Ottawa Senators. However, the Canadiens are now 6-5-2 at the Bell Centre.
The Canadiens had a losing record at home in each of the last three seasons, posting a 44-67-12 record during that span.
It certainly looks like the Canadiens will miss the post-season for the fourth straight year and if they ever want to get back “in the mix” for a playoff spot — which was management’s goal at the start of this season — they have to play much better at home.
This is the Canadiens’ 28th full season playing at the Bell Centre, which was called the Molson Centre when it first opened in 1996. Only six times — including the last three seasons — have they had a below .500 record at home. The other seasons were 2019-20, 2000-01 and 1997-98.
“We all love playing here and so do other teams,” captain Nick Suzuki said after scoring the overtime goal against the Islanders. “We have to bring it every single night at home. They’re (the opposition) amped up to play here. I think in my few years here we haven’t really played well at home — especially record wise, but I feel like we’ve been playing better at home.”
Tuesday’s game was the first of five straight at home for the Canadiens. Six of their next eight games — starting Thursday against the Nashville Predators (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS) — are at the Bell Centre before the three-day Christmas break. That will be followed by six straight road games as Cirque du Soleil takes over the Bell Centre for its OVO show from Dec. 27-Jan. 5.
“We know where we stand and we got to catch up in the win column and I think being at home, being hard to play at home, I think it should help us,” St. Louis said. “But once the puck drops there’s a game to be played and that’s what we’re going to focus on.”
Defenceman Mike Matheson also knows the importance of this home stand if the Canadiens want to have any hope of getting in the mix for a playoff spot.
“You got to be able to bank wins at home because it’s hard to win on the road,” he said. “Especially since we have some travel throughout the rest of the season that’s tough. We play at home and then we play in Nashville the next night (April 5-6). Those are tough things to get results with, so you definitely have to bank as much as you can when you’re at home.”
St. Louis noted that home-ice advantage for the Canadiens might not be as big as it is for other teams in the NHL since the opposition also gets fired up to play in the atmosphere at the Bell Centre.
“The visitors, they come in and they’re excited to come and play here,” St. Louis said. “It doesn’t feel as a road game as much for the opponents because they get excited. From my own experience (as a player) I never felt I was on the road coming here playing. I was excited. The whole team was excited. So we’re battling that, too.
“It’s a testament to the fans we have and the building we play in,” St. Louis added. “It’s an unbelievable building and the opponents come in knowing that, feeling that. So it doesn’t make the home-ice advantage as easy as we would like.”
It might not be easy, but the Canadiens need to win a lot more home games.