The Canadiens started their three-game California road trip with a 3-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday at the Honda Center.
The Habs squandered a 2-0 first period lead to extend their current losing streak to five games.
Sam Montembeault stopped 19 of 22 shots in the loss. Alex Killorn led the Ducks on offence with the game-winning goal along with an assist.
Montreal played a nearly flawless first period on the road. With Brendan Gallagher in the box, the Canadiens opened scoring on the penalty kill. Jake Evans set up Joel Armia for his ninth goal of the campaign. The PK entered the game a perfect 5-for-5 in their last three games.
Then it was time for the second power-play unit to make their mark. Mike Matheson had the initial shot and Christian Dvorak was Johnny on the spot in front to cash in the loose puck to extend Montreal’s lead to 2-0.
Anaheim needed to do something to wake up the troops, so Ross Johnston dropped the gloves with Arber Xhekaj for a spirited tilt. Montreal had a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes and outshot the Ducks 10-5 in the process.
The Canadiens went on autopilot in the second period. The Ducks made them pay by tying up the game with two goals in 40 seconds. Mason McTavish scored the first at 13:37, followed by Frank Vatrano with the equalizer.
Despite getting outshot 11-6 in the second period, the Canadiens were still tied and had a chance to reverse momentum in the third period. Instead, they once again came out flat. Anaheim took their first lead of the night at 11:11 of the third period when Alex Killorn caught all the Habs backing up on the play. His shot went post and in to make it 3-2 Ducks.
With the game on the line, sniper Patrik Laine was glued to the bench. He only played one shift in the third period and 10:33 overall. Kirby Dach also didn’t see the ice in the final nine minutes.
Instead, Dvorak and Armia got chances to add to their goal totals with the goalie pulled, and both players deserved the opportunity. The role players kept plugging away while the top-6 forwards went into hibernation. Not all that dissimilar to Josh Anderson being the one shining star against the Wild on Thursday.
It’s an incredibly tight race for two wild card spots in the Eastern Conference, and a five-game losing streak could be enough to dash their playoff hopes. The Habs now sit five points behind Tampa Bay for the final wild card position.
The Habs started the road trip with five games left on the schedule before the 4 Nations Face-Off break, and Liveblog commenters identified the Ducks game as a must-win. The bar has been raised since the December-January winning streak, and Sunday’s effort simply won’t cut it for a team looking to reach the next level in their rebuild.
3. “We had a nice run that got us all shook up. But let’s be honest with each other folks. This is not a playoff team. Things are getting better but we’re still a ways off before hoping to play any playoff hockey.” — Marc Taillefer
2. “They haven’t yet realized that they are not good enough where they don’t need to play 60 minutes … hard.” — Derek Stevens
1. “Time for MSL to reshuffle the lines for the next game.” — Bob Taylor