If the Montreal Canadiens stopped playing too soon in the last game, they started playing too late tonight. For over 10 minutes, the Seattle Kraken ruled the ice and carved itself a 4-0 lead before head coach Martin St-Louis finally decided to call a time-out to ask his men what was up.
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The sole positive of the first frame for the Tricolore was when Cole Caufield scored his ninth goal of the season, joining the New Jersey Devils center Nico Hischier as the top scorer in the league.
The tally was also the 90th of Caufield’s career, a milestone he reached in 215 games, one game faster than 80s fans favorite Mats Naslund, who had done it in 216 games. Only six players got there faster than the snipper: Maurice Richard did it in 115 games, Howie Morentz in 130 duels, Aurele Joliat in 153, Jean Beliveau in 172, Stephane Richer in 195, and Bernie Geoffrion in 206 matches.
Owning 89 goals across his first 214 career NHL games, Cole Caufield with a tally tonight vs SEA would get to 90 faster than all but 6 players on this @CanadiensMTL franchise list (Note: Excluding those with pre-NHL major professional hockey experience in the NHA between 1909-17) pic.twitter.com/dDpUqsB99b
— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) October 29, 2024
By the end of the first 20 minutes, the Canadiens were leading 15-9 shots-wise, but it’s the goals that count, and on that front, the Kraken was the captain of the ship with a 4-1 lead. It would be easy to lay the blame at Samuel Montembeault’s door, and he had his part of the responsibilities, but there were a lot of other culprits on the ice.
St-Louis was visibly of the same view, keeping his goaltender in net to start the second frame, but when he let in a fifth goal on 10 shots, the coach called time on his night. Down 5-1 with 38 minutes to go, the Canadiens had time to come back, but they just didn’t. Brandon Montour scored the visitors’ fifth goal and scored a sixth seven minutes later to put Seattle ahead 6-1.
Once again tonight, Jake Evans was one of the team’s rare sparkplugs. He tried to wake up his teammates in any possible way, battling up and down the ice and even dropping his gloves. The center was infuriated by the team’s effort last Tuesday against the New York Rangers, and he looked just as affected tonight.
It was one of those nights when nothing went right for the locals. Even the penalty kill, which was third in the league prior to this game, let in two goals, and the power play couldn’t capitalize on three opportunities.
After 40 minutes, the Kraken had 11 scoring chances, which came as a direct result of the Canadiens’ giveaways—not a recipe for a win at all. Xhekaj served a big hit on Matthew Beniers with less than seven minutes left in the game, and Kraken captain Jordan Eberle took exception, charging on the Canadiens’ rugged defenseman. With the game all but over, however, there was no fight, and both players received unsportsmanlike conduct minors.
Montour scored his third of the evening to complete his first career hat trick, and Eeli Tolvanen got in on the action a minute later to make it 8-1 for the visitors. Josh Anderson scored on a breakaway to make it 8-2, but it was too much, too little, too late by then.
On a night when Halloween was celebrated at the Bell Centre, the Canadiens offered a terrifying effort. There was no two-way about it. Even though Montreal managed to put 30 shots on the Kraken’s net, the hole they had dug for themselves was just too deep. As for the Seattle outfit, that was a great start to a lengthy road trip.
The big concern is how to teach a team to be ready for puck drop. These are professional athletes who have played the game for as long as they can remember; they know when the game starts. How many goals have they given in the first frame through the first 10 games? 17, the worst record in the league.
Nick Suzuki’s point streak ended at seven games, and both Canadiens’ goaltenders have had better nights. Montembeault finished the night with a .500 save percentage, while Cayden Primeau, who entered the game early in the second frame, surrendered three goals on 13 shots for a .769 SP.
Related: Canadiens: Can Montembeault Crack Canada’s Roster?
It was the second time in four games that the Canadiens allowed seven or more goals and the fourth time in 10 games that they conceded at least six on the year. That’s never going to get you very far in the NHL, and it certainly won’t help the team be in the mix.
If you want to end your night on a positive note, Canadiens fans, I suggest you head over to this countdown of the best Marc-Andre Fleury Pittsburgh moments. There’s a prank video in there that will give you your smile back. Just like Fleury tonight, the Habs will be in Pittsburgh on Saturday night, but not before making a stop in Washington on Thursday night.
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