Three Key Takeaways From Canadiens' Pre-Season Finale Loss to Senators

On Saturday night, Montreal Canadiens lost 4-2 against Ottawa Senators to end preseason play 2-4 and add Hall-of-Famer Derek Roy as an anecdotal example – someone with 317 power play points! His presence should bring life and excitement into their special teams play. Unfortunately though, none was forthcoming to do just that! However, after 18 periods of hockey playback for Montreal Canadiens fans to observe, their power play stands as one of its least impressive aspects. At least on Saturday night, Deschamps didn’t end up getting kicked out despite going so far to attempt a cross-check. Jan 13 2024 Montreal Quebec Canada NHL linesman Jonathan Deschamps (84) confronts Montreal Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj (72). Xhekaj had taken an extensive cross-check. This event occurred during the third period at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn ImagesWhen Xhekaj keeps his mind focused, he can do more than cause havoc: he can also contribute offensively and score goals! In just 12 minutes after coming onto the field for Montreal Canadiens practice on Saturday night he scored their second preseason goal and recorded his own first pre-season scorer’s goal – his debut goal of this pre-season period! Last season in just 44 games he scored three goals and 10 points while leading his team in penalty minutes. Playing with an edge, he isn’t counted upon to score goals or direct power plays. Mandatory Credit: James Carey Lauder-Imagn ImagesDuring last season, Carey Lauder had save percentages below.900 on 11 occasions that led to losses; two were overtime games. Although Montembeault only gave up five goals during pre-season action, he recorded 37 saves out of 42 shots to produce a save percentage of.8880.The Canadiens opened with two back-to-back shutouts before falling apart against Toronto Maple Leafs with two one-goal losses before implosion against Senators with eight goals scored against and only scoring five for themselves (Related Article: 7 Fascinating Statistics About Canadiens’ Montembeault) Once Montreal got on the board, their netminder soon after surrendered two additional goals that depleted any hope from their lineup. Being under contract for two more seasons means when Montreal returns as contender, Montembeault must perform at his peak or risk never getting there at all. Recently though they encountered one such goalie as Linus Ullmark who can quickly turn a game. However, heading into 2024-25, Montreal lacks consistency between their goalies as evidenced by recent performances against Ottawa Senators this week. They will open their 2024-25 campaign at home against Toronto Maple Leafs Wednesday evening; be sure to bookmark THN’s Montreal Canadiens site for all the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and analysis!