3 Takeaways from Canadiens' 4-2 loss to Capitals – Hockey Writers – Montreal Canadiens

Heading into Saturday's (December 7) game against the Washington Capitals, the Montreal Canadiens were riding high. They had started their five-game home streak with two wins and finally got Patrik Laine back in the lineup. But the Capitals, 4-2 winners, proved to be too strong to tame the beast, even without Alexander Ovechkin (injured). What went well and what went wrong? Let's discuss some of the things you can take.

Good Start, Decent Middle, Bad Finish

Judging by the final score of 4-2 and the total shots on target for Washington 35-24, one could argue that this was a predictably easy game for the visitors. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Montreal came out of the first half with a 2-0 advantage, putting the Capitals on guard. Some of this may have had to do with the visitors playing 24 hours earlier against a tough Toronto Maple Leafs team, but so be it. As of Sunday (December 8), head coach Spencer Carbery's squad is the highest scoring club in the NHL (4.04 goals per contest), so a 2-0 lead was a bad sign.

In addition, the Canadiens continued to make their head coach, Martin St. Louis, looked smart by choosing a combination of Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and Alex Newhook as the top line. The latter opened the scoring and Caufield doubled the advantage, each time capping off some impressive play by the hosts. Clearly, they had the wind in their sails.

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Alas, the truth is that Montreal is not as good as Washington. Not in most math categories, or in eye exams. This was one of those games where the lesser side pounced on the stronger side early and did some damage, but when it came time to make the hill too steep to climb back, they couldn't do it. The chances were there (more on that later), however it was the Capitals who grew in confidence in the final 40 minutes.

To add insult to injury, or injury to insult in this case, the player who took over was forward Tom Wilson. The 12-year veteran left the game in the first half after taking a puck to the left cheek after a shot. He came back looking worse for wear but he scored a goal in the third period that turned a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead and the Capitals never stopped.

Was this disappointing? Obviously. Montreal had the Capitals where they wanted them, but they made the same mistakes that have plagued them recently, like coughing up goals early or late in periods – Pierre-Luc Dubois got Washington on the board 33 seconds into the middle frame, thus turning it around. the complexity of the competition.

Canadiens Breakaway Breakdowns

Oh, but it could have been a different result, as the visitors scored three goals in the crucial final period to take a 4-2 advantage.

Montreal had not one, not two, but three turnovers on Logan Thompson over the final 20 minutes of play. Kudos to the Washington crease defender; he did not allow anyone to pass him.

The first was not even two minutes into the stanza. Defenseman Jayden Struble showed moxie by knocking the puck off Dylan Strome's stick as the latter skated into the Montreal green lane. Seeing his chance, Struble ran past Strome on the left sideboard with a clear path to the net, but Thompson stood tall.

Three minutes later, Christian Dvorak fed Josh Anderson with a pass in the neutral zone that sent his teammate alone against the keeper, but his shot was unable to clear him.

In the end, the score was tied at 2-2, Nick Suzuki is sent off at Caufield races. This was a comfortable individual for the talisman of the Canadiens, who had time to click the puck and try a backhander with the bush with Thompson's pads, five holes. It was rejected.

If all three of them come in, or two, or just one, who knows how the power of the third season will emerge? All three came at times when the Habs would have doubled their lead from one goal to two or brought it back when the goals were tied. When the final horn sounded to end the game, Struble, Anderson, and Suzuki probably each thought: “That was on me.”

Alex Newhook's night

The final score sheet, or MoneyPuck's more in-depth data, doesn't suggest that the oft-criticized Newhook had a spectacular night. Only one shot on target, Corsi's percentage is 40.5%, the average player's expected goals (ixG) is 0.136, etc.

That said, his first term was very difficult. No one will suggest that he is as good as his first team-mates Suzuki and Caufield, but he seems to be on par with them. He was in the middle of the action that led to his goal at 11:09 and was in good position to distract the Washington goalie from Caufield's marker at 16:00.

The question becomes: is that a product of playing with the top two players on the roster, or is it because Newhook has genuinely better chemistry with them, and needs to stay on the top line? It would be good to look at the data as the next few games go on, assuming that St. Louis keeps its top two formation the same, with Kirby Dach, Laine, and Juraj Slafkovsky doing the second three duties.

It was a good effort by the Canadians. In fact, except for last Sunday's (Dec. 1) 6-3 loss to the Boston Bruins, the rest of the week has been pretty good, including the loss on Nov. 30 by the New York Rangers. We have written the following before this season, but it is not the end of the world if the team loses some games. Don't beat them 8-2 or 5-0. Show the fans something that suggests the club is heading in the right direction, even if it doesn't always pick up two points.

Montreal has two full days to prepare for the Anaheim Ducks, who arrive at the Bell Center on Tuesday evening (Dec. 10). By playing the way they are, the Canadiens can get back on track.