Jan 21 Habs' last two Losses Before the All-star Break Perhaps a Good Thing

My prediction at the beginning of this week which saw Montreal playing only 2 games before the All-star break was .500. I had said that theoretically, Montreal should win against the 29th place Atlanta Thrashers and would probably lose to the tenacious New Jersey Devils. Well, at least one of us went for .500 this week. The key issue after these two consecutive losses however should not be seen as a doom and gloom type situation. Perhaps this is just what everyone, players, fans, coaches and Bob Gainey needed to fully appreciate the Habs' current situation and accept that a change is imminent. 

Let's get one thing straight, The Montreal Canadiens should NOT have lost to the Atlanta Thrashers last Tuesday night. As is usually the case, they took a team below them in the standings much too lightly and found themselves in a 3 goal hole after a little more than a period was played. Sure they made a game of it with goals by Pacioretty and Bégin, with Bégin's skate deflected goal being of the fortunate nature, but in the 3rd, it was all Kari Lehtonen who faced and stopped 18 shots in the 3rd period alone. This was a case of too little too late for the Habs, a phrase used to describe more than one of their losses this year. And yes, Halak should have stopped 2 of those goals, but it's not as if he had a strong supporting cast either.

The problem, however, was that the very next night, one would think that the Canadiens, fresh off a loss that shouldn't have happened, would have been primed for a battle against a team that could very well meet them in the 1st round of the playoffs and who had already beat them twice this year. This wasn't the case. In the old days, before I would have an outlet to comment on Habs games, I would have turned the game off, knowing that the way they were playing, there was no way they would win this game. But I watched the painful event in its entirety and accepted the 5-2 loss for what it was. The Devils played with passion, the Habs did not, the Devils were aggressive, the Habs were not, the Devils scored 5 goals, I'm not sure the Habs have been able to do that ever...(too lazy to do the fact checking, but you get my point). They didn't hit, they didn't fore-check and they basically let the Devils, now sitting atop the Atlantic division, have their way with them.

Let's face it, last night's scorers for Montreal were Josh Gorges and Matt D'agostini. Add to that Bégin and Pacioretty's goals the night before and one has to ask oneself, are these the players that we are counting on to win the Stanley Cup? Don't get me wrong, secondary scoring is always very important on a team if it is just that: secondary. Take the 5-4 shootout win against Ottawa, Kovalev and Andrei Kostitsyn scored and got secondary scoring from Tom Kostopoulos and Matt D'agostini, but when your big guns don't show up and all that's left is your 3rd and 4th lines, well, maybe it's time to tinker with the team a little. Another example to prove my point: While I'm very happy for Maxime Lapierre and take absolutely nothing away from him and his effort in the month of December, can the Montreal fans really be ecstatic that their 3/4th liner won the Molson Cup for the month?

Now, the reason why I said these losses are perhaps a good thing is because maybe, during this time of reflection going into the all-star break, the players who need to step it up, will. They know who they are... Maybe Saku Koivu's return and subsequent rest will have shaken the cobwebs out of his system. Maybe Carbonneau will be speaking to Bob and saying 2Yeah we'll make the playoffs with this team, but I can't promise you much more than that unless some changes are made. And maybe Bob has already acknowledged this very obvious point and had already started speaking to other GM's regarding this. Maybe that's how the whole Vinny Lecavalier thing spiralled out of control. You know what they say, where there is smoke, there's fire.

Who knows, but one thing is certain, these last two losses should convince all those fans that cry bloody murder every time the Habs string together 2 consecutive wins and scream that we absolutely can not make a trade under any circumstances because it would ruin team chemistry. This, in my opinion, is the lamest excuse for a non trade that I have ever heard. You know what builds chemistry? Winning. 

If a Lecavalier-like trade is imminent, the Habs WILL lose at least 2 starters if not 3, a developed minor leaguer if not 2 and perhaps a couple of draft choices. In return, they get a bona-fide game breaker who has won a Stanley Cup and knows about the pressure in Montreal. Now, I'm not hopping on the "Lecavalier is coming to Montreal" bandwagon, but I'm just saying, there should absolutely not be any "Fire Bob Gainey" petitions if this actually does happen. He has always and will always react in order to do what is best for the team, not certain individuals on the team. If it means the Habs lose 3 existing "contributors" to the team and that I will perhaps not see PK Suban in a Habs Jersey, I might not initially like it, but perhaps a run to the Stanley Cup final would take away the sting, especially if the player we got back actually stays in Montreal for the next few years.

I said it before, and I'll say it again, The Montreal Canadiens are presently in 4th place in the Eastern division, something the majority of fans would have sold their souls for circa the late 90's and are a top tier team. They will finish the year with a winning record and will make the playoffs. They are also a tad better at this point of the year than they were last season at the same time and as you know finished 1st in the east. The only problem I see is that barring a sudden surge in offence, a meaner and more robust defence and a strong, steady netminder going forward, I can't see how the Canadiens will go much farther than the 1st round of the playoffs. Something has to change. Everyone involved has 5 days to think about it.

Enjoy the All-star weekend.

Tags: Alex Kovalev \ Allstar game \ Carey price \ habs \ Max Pacioretty \ Montreal Canadiens \ NHL \ PK Suban \ Vincent Lecavlier