The Montreal Canadiens ended a miserable week with their third consecutive defeat, this time at the hands of Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-1, at PPG Paints Arena.
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Earlier on Thursday, the Canadiens were blown out by the Seattle Kraken (8-2) and defeated by the Washington Capitals (6-3).
As Montreal moves into the basement of the Atlantic Division with nine points, let’s discuss some takeaways from another Saturday night defeat.
All About Streaks
All eyes were on Cole Caufield for the past two days, as he’s one of the top three goal scorers in the NHL this season. He arrived in Pittsburgh on a four-game goal streak but didn’t find his name on the scoresheet, instead finishing the night at minus-1.
Meanwhile, Christian Dvorak, who scored the visitors’ only goal on the night, snapped a 16-game goalless streak that dated back to Apr. 9, 2024. He was an unlikely hero on Saturday, but Montreal getting points from someone besides Caufield and Nick Suzuki is a positive thing for a team stuck in their second three-game losing streak in 2024-25.
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Conversely, the Canadiens just caught the Penguins, who are on the rebound, led by Sidney Crosby, who tallied two goals for the second consecutive contest.
Montembeault Bounces Back From Previous Outing
Heading into the new season, Sam Montembeault was in the conversation about being on Team Canada at the upcoming 4 Nations Face-off tournament in February. After a 48-save shutout on Opening Night, he was a shoo-in for the starter role.
Canadiens own the NHL’s worst save percentage (.852) & GAA (4.56) since Sam Montembeault’s season-opening shutout
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) November 1, 2024
Then, Montembeault went on a three-game losing streak, giving up 12 goals and producing a .829 SV%. He was impressive in a recent win against St. Louis (Oct. 26) before getting pulled for the second time this season against the Kraken on Tuesday.
After sitting out against Washington, Montembeault was pretty solid on Saturday, holding the fort for the Canadiens, who outshot the Penguins 26-24 and blocked more shots 24-19. He finished the evening with a .913 SV%, which is only the fourth time he’s compiled an SV% over .900 this season.
Gripping Their Sticks Too Tight
When a team continuously finds itself on the losing end of a game, some players try to compensate for it and do too much. Despite their best efforts, no one in the Canadiens lineup, including Lane Hutson, proved to be a difference marker in Pittsburgh.
All but three players, Emil Heineman, Jake Evans, and Mike Matheson, registered a shot on goal. Moreover, some Canadiens players, including Arber Xhekaj and Josh Anderson, had an edge in their game.
Realistically, Montreal missed out on an opportunity to defeat a struggling opponent and prove that being one of the youngest lineups in the league can outplay and outhustle the league’s oldest team.
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Yet, puck luck wasn’t on their side, and they flew home (eventually, since plane issues kept them in Pittsburgh overnight) going winless on their two-game streak through the Metropolitan Division. It should return to basics when they return to the ice on Tuesday.
Canadiens & Penguins Trivia Answers
How did you score in our Game Day Trivia quiz? Here are the answers.
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Guy Lafleur
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Yvan Cournoyer
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Patrick Roy, Ken Dryden
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Jonathan Drouin
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Jean Beliveau
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Mark Reechi
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Denis Herron
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Jose Theodore
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1997
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Guy Lafleur
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