Rare have been the losses this season that have reminded fans of last season. However, Sunday’s effort in Florida, a 6-3 loss, was a game that looked like 2017-18 and reminded us how much better this season has been.
Despite playing an excellent first 40 minutes on the road, the Habs lost their focus in the third and the NHL-best Lightning took advantage of this by scoring three to win 3-0 on Saturday night.
It wasn’t a terrible effort by the Habs, but the Predators were more determined in the first and third period and that effort ended up on the scoreboard as they beat the Habs 3-1 in Nashville on Thursday night.
The struggling Anaheim Ducks were in town on Tuesday night and the Habs took advantage by using their speed to skate away with a 4-1 victory.
For 40 minutes, Sunday’s game against Edmonton looked like a replay of Saturday against New Jersey. The Habs were the better team yet trailed after two periods. However, a late goal in the third sent it to overtime where Jonathan Drouin potted the winner.
Montreal’s first game after the All-Star break and bye week was against the cellar-dwelling Devils. However, a tough one for Antti Niemi and some poor decisions to get too cute in the offensive zone proved costly as the Habs fell 3-2 in overtime.
Facing the big, physical, and Metropolitan Division-leading Blue Jackets, the Habs turned in an exemplary defensive effort as the game bordered on boring at times but they did enough to get the 4-1 victory.
On a night where the Habs looked tired for much of the first and third periods, Antti Niemi stole the show with a 52 save performance to give Montreal the 5-1 win over Florida.
Two fast teams, two physical teams, awesome saves, great defending, creative plays, good scoring chances, and tons of drama. Monday’s game had it all and the Habs came through with a 3-2 overtime win in Boston.
Montreal’s frustration over their offensive struggles boiled over as the team took needless risks and also faltered defensively. The end result was a 4-1 win for St. Louis on Thursday night.