MONTREAL—Here’s a dose of perspective for Montreal Canadiens fans, in the midst of a stretch that’s been unkind to their team. A necessary one, given that the mostly-good results—and the mostly-impressive process—can easily blur what this season is really supposed to be about.
This is a young group learning what it takes to do everything that goes into winning on a regular basis in the NHL. A group that will constantly be reminded it needs the sum of its parts to make them stronger than what they’re expected to be—and not just for two-thirds of a given game.
How competitive the Canadiens have been to date, considering the depth of their talent in comparison to most of the other 15 teams currently clinging to a playoff position, is a sign that maybe they’re ahead of the curve. The Canadiens, who are the second-youngest team in the NHL, have learned to compete no matter what happens. It’s why they’ve scored three goals or more in 17 of 27 games this year and recorded at least 35 shots in 13 of them.
They’ve also learned to push back—with four wins under their belts when trailing after a period and three when trailing after two.
The team’s record is 12-10-5 and it could be better given how they’ve played.
But that doesn’t matter all that much. Not in comparison to the valuable experience the Canadiens are gaining right now.
The lessons, harsh as they may be to learn at times, are coming fast and furious.
On Sunday night, against one of the most seasoned teams in the NHL, the Canadiens were served up another important one, which is that they’re better-served to start the game on time. Especially against a San Jose team that was coming to town after two ugly losses to the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators.
The Canadiens knew they were going to be facing an angry group. They knew that the sixth-oldest team in the NHL would be prepared right off the hop. And yet they froze when the puck dropped.
"There was no advantage for anybody tonight. None whatsoever. So it should’ve been a fair situation for both teams," said Canadiens coach Claude Julien after it was decided 3-1 in favour of the visiting Sharks. "They came out much better than we did. They’ve got an experienced team, guys that have been to the playoffs, to the finals and all that stuff. We need to learn to do those kind of things. We need to be ready to play just like they were, and that’s part of the team I guess growing and becoming better."
It certainly is.
The Canadiens were scored on first in 10 of their games prior to this one, but a look at how they fell behind against the Sharks will reinforce the importance of playing hard from the first puck drop.
They were flat-footed out of the gate—with mobile Sharks defencemen Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns given the room to throw tape-to-tape stretch passes across the ice and create odd-man opportunities.
They were sloppy breaking out, too. The Canadiens had turned the puck over three times before Jeff Petry telegraphed a pass to the neutral zone for Michael Chaput.
Sharks defenceman Justin Braun picked it off, walked over the Montreal blue line and blasted a shot through goaltender Carey Price for his first goal of the season at the 2:53 mark of the first period.
And then the Canadiens compounded the issue less than six minutes later when defenceman Mike Reilly took a careless crosschecking penalty in the neutral zone. Chaput joined Reilly in the box 58 seconds later, taking a careless high-sticking penalty.
A five-on-three advantage for the likes of Karlsson, Burns, future Hall-of-Famer Joe Thornton and stars Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture is typically an unforgiving situation for the opposition to face. That rule proved true—with Burns wiring one off the post and in to put the Sharks up 2-0.
They had out-shot the Canadiens 10-1 in the first 11 minutes of the game.
"By the time we started playing the damage was already done," said Julien.
He was right. Petry scored 12:15 into the second period to cut the lead in half, but Pavelski answered with his 17th of the season just under four minutes later. And despite 22 shots recorded in the third—and enough chances generated to tie and even win the game—Martin Jones was up to Montreal’s challenge from San Jose’s net.
A sixth loss in seven games for the Canadiens. Frustrating results all around. Lessons served, crucial ones reinforced.
"As the games progress, we seem to be on top of teams," said the 30-year-old Petry. "I think we have to figure out how to have that desperate mindset coming into every game. Games like these make it that much clearer."
It’s all part of growing up in this league, and that’s what the Canadiens are trying to do right now. It’s a bonus if the results keep them in the playoff hunt.
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