Montreal Canadiens Are In No Rush Lately

The inconsistent perils of the Montreal Canadiens…

Lately, Montreal comes up with an effort where they create more chances then fall backward the next game. This near-recurring pattern is why they cannot string together a hot stretch like most playoff teams. It is also why the Canadiens have lost seven of their last ten.

If they do not figure this out soon, Montreal is in serious trouble yet again. And this time, they may not be able to climb out of it.

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Finally, there is this from the Montreal Canadiens’ Special Teams

Again, there is ugly and then there is uglier. The BOWMAN five-game rolling average gages special teams play and during this season, Montreal has had one positive five-game stretch. That is right. ONE!

according to the fancy BOWMAN game log, the #GoHabsGo have only had one 5-game segment when the special teams was in positive. pic.twitter.com/cQACTOFTmT

— Jason Paul 🥥 (@WaveIntel) April 24, 2021

Thanks to Jason Paul once again as it has been an evergreen-like debated topic in Montreal. The numbers listed above do not lie. It is scary to think of how bad Montreal would be if their even-strength numbers were not good. Oh, they would be probably like a team similar to New Jersey at this point.

All the expected-goals for in the world will not help when special teams are this poor. They have been poor for years and little has really changed. Their special teams’ percentage has improved a bit but is still below 100% (96.6%). Simply, that is not good enough and in the playoffs, that typically means a quick elimination.

Even on the power play, there is not enough dynamics or movement. This is where the volume gets turned up to ten — Cole Caufield. His quick release and shot could change things along with that Brendan Gallagher net-front presence. This would open some things up at the very least. Instead, Montreal keeps playing this predictable game.

Safe is death. Remember that as Montreal continues to play with fire as far as their playoff spot. They need to speed things up. The questions are can they and will they? Stay tuned.