A day after Montreal’s game against the Edmonton Oilers was postponed due to two Habs players landing on the COVID-Protocol Related Absences list, the NHL announced that Montreal games will be postponed through at least March 29th.
Some lineup tweaks proved to be just what the Habs needed as the offence came back to life on Wednesday night in a 5-1 victory over Vancouver to pick up three of four points in the two-game set.
The Habs struck early but were unable to pick an elusive second goal against Thatcher Demko and the Canucks on Monday. Vancouver managed to tie it late and won in the shootout, kicking off Montreal’s road trip on a losing note.
It was far from a perfect game from the Habs but their power play came to life on Tuesday night, scoring twice in three opportunities to lead them to a 3-1 victory over Ottawa.
The Habs looked to begin the Dominique Ducharme era on a winning note but despite holding a pair of two-goal leads, they struggled in the second half of the game, ultimately falling 6-3 to Winnipeg on Thursday night.
Marc Bergevin and Dominique Ducharme spoke to the media on Wednesday afternoon to address the coaching change that promoted Ducharme to head coach for the rest of the season.
The Habs have decided to make a change behind the bench, relieving Claude Julien and Kirk Muller of their coaching duties. Dominque Ducharme is the new interim head coach while Alex Burrows has been added to the coaching staff after serving as an assistant in Laval.
The Habs weren’t quite able to get back on track on Tuesday night in Ottawa as they fell 5-4 in a shootout. However, the loss came with some controversy as Montreal had a goal called back in the dying seconds of regulation that would have given them the win.
The Habs went into Ottawa looking to get back in the win column on Sunday night. However, while they were able to get the game into overtime, a very sloppy few minutes at three-on-three proved costly as they fell 3-2.
The Habs were looking to make it two straight Saturday night victories over the Maple Leafs but Toronto’s top line continued its hot streak as the visitors walked away with a 5-3 victory.