Optimists will say that with 69 games to play, all hopes remain for the Canadiens.
But after seeing the way the Habs collapsed against the Golden Knights in Vegas last night, I rather see the rest of things with a dim view.
I tend to think of carrots as cooked.
Yes, already, after only 13 meetings.
So much the better if I’m wrong, but my barometer isn’t telling me better days.
From best to worst
We saw the two faces of this team in this loss against the Golden Knights.
In the first period, the Canadian played as he had done in his three victories against the Detroit Red Wings (twice) and the San Jose Sharks.
Dominique Ducharme’s troupe was dominant.
Everything was working wonderfully.
The Golden Knights being deprived of Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty and William Carrier, we thought that the Habs had only to stay the course.
But it only lasted 20 minutes.
When the Golden Knights replied with three goals in the second period, you could tell the Canadian was in big trouble.
A defeat, period
After the game, Nick Suzuki and Dominique Ducharme spoke of bad luck, lucky rebounds of the puck in favor of the visitors.
The Golden Knights have been opportunistic, it’s true.
It can happen to any team on any given night, except the Canadiens, it seems.
The reality is that the Habs only have three wins against 10 losses.
I will be grateful if you remember the last time this happened in its history.
Otherwise, it’s been a while.
Frustration mounts
Once again, Dominique Ducharme remained calm in front of the journalists at the end of the evening.
As he said after his family’s setback against the Islanders last Thursday, he does not want to be angry that will run on YouTube for 20 years.
Which is not the case for Jeff Petry.
The veteran defenseman displayed his displeasure with his teammates on the bench after a Golden Knights goal.
The television also showed him smashing his stick after coming out of a training session the day before.
It’s never a good sign when a player starts pointing fingers at his fellow players.
It can turn into a blaze.
What will Price be able to do?
Tomorrow, Carey Price will reappear in the background, but his return to the game is not expected for two or three weeks.
He’ll need to be at his peak and perform like he did in the playoffs last season to rekindle his playoff hopes, and more.
It is the whole team that must get its act together, and immediately!
Not when Price will be able to catch his net, because he is likely to be too late.