The Montreal Canadiens ended a depressing week with their third consecutive defeat, this time by the hands of Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-1, at PPG Paints Area.
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Earlier on Thursday, the Canadiens had been blown out by the Seattle Kraken (8-2) and defeated by the Washington Capitals (6-3).
As Montreal strikes into the basement of the Atlantic Division with 9 factors, let’s focus on some takeaways from one other Saturday night time defeat.
All About Streaks
All eyes had been on Cole Caufield for the previous two days, as he is one of many high three purpose scorers within the NHL this season. He arrived in Pittsburgh on a four-game purpose streak however did not discover his title on the scoresheet, as an alternative ending the night time at minus-1.
In the meantime, Christian Dvorak, who scored the guests’ solely purpose on the night time, snapped a 16-game goalless streak that dated again to Apr. 9, 2024. He was an unlikely hero on Saturday, however Montreal getting factors from somebody moreover Caufield and Nick Suzuki is a optimistic factor for a group caught of their second three-game shedding streak in 2024-25.
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Conversely, the Canadiens simply caught the Penguins, who’re on the rebound, led by Sidney Crosby, who tallied two objectives for the second consecutive contest.
Montembeault Bounces Again From Earlier Outing
Heading into the brand new season, Sam Montembeault was within the dialog about being on Group Canada on the upcoming 4 Nations Face-off match in February. After a 48-save shutout on Opening Evening, he was a shoo-in for the starter position.
Canadiens personal the NHL’s worst save proportion (.852) & GAA (4.56) since Sam Montembeault’s season-opening shutout
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) November 1, 2024
Then, Montembeault went on a three-game shedding streak, giving up 12 objectives and producing a .829 SV%. He was spectacular in a latest win towards St. Louis (Oct. 26) earlier than getting pulled for the second time this season towards the Kraken on Tuesday.
After sitting out towards Washington, Montembeault was fairly strong on Saturday, holding the fort for the Canadiens, who outshot the Penguins 26-24 and blocked extra pictures 24-19. He completed the night with a .913 SV%, which is barely the fourth time he is compiled an SV% over .900 this season.
Gripping Their Sticks Too Tight
When a group constantly finds itself on the shedding finish of a recreation, some gamers attempt to compensate for it and do an excessive amount of. Regardless of their greatest efforts, nobody within the Canadiens lineup, together with Lane Hutson, proved to be a distinction marker in Pittsburgh.
All however three gamers, Emil Heineman, Jake Evans, and Mike Matheson, registered a shot on purpose. Furthermore, some Canadiens gamers, together with Arber Xhekaj and Josh Anderson, had an edge of their recreation.
Realistically, Montreal missed out on a chance to defeat a struggling opponent and show that being one of many youngest lineups within the league can outplay and outhustle the league’s oldest group.
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But, puck luck wasn’t on their facet, and so they flew house (finally, since aircraft points stored them in Pittsburgh in a single day) going winless on their two-game streak via the Metropolitan Division. It ought to return to fundamentals once they return to the ice on Tuesday.
Canadiens & Penguins Trivia Solutions
How did you rating in our Game Day Trivia quiz? Listed here are the solutions.
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Man 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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Man Lafleur
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