It was only a matter of time, it’s now officially settled. For a third consecutive spring, there will be no playoffs in Montreal.
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An exclusion that Martin St-Louis and his team learned abruptly: a 7-4 loss at the hands of the Lightning, on the Bell Center ice rink.
This is the fifth time in seven years that Montrealers have been refused entry to the big spring ball. Never before seen in the rich history of the dealership.
- Listen to the interview with Luc Dupont, professor in the communications department of the University of Ottawa, on Alexandre Dubé’s microphone via QUB :
The situation would be even worse if the NHL had not admitted 24 teams into the 2020 playoff bubbles and if the Habs had not been part of the Canadian division, by far the weakest of the four sections of the 2021 season.
But OK. In fact, these are three consecutive exclusions that supporters of the Canadian must endure. Just like from 1999 to 2001. And just like more than a century ago, from 1920 to 1922.
Brought back to Earth
Much was made of the fact that the Canadian was capable of standing up to the best teams on the circuit. Just like we made a big fuss about the latest outings of Cayden Primeau, elected player of the month for the Habs.
Friday evening, as part of the Lightning’s visit, all these beautiful people were brought back to Earth. A brutal fall considering the final score.
Even though the Habs attempted a late comeback in the third period, we were far from the victories against the Panthers and the Avalanche or the close defeats against the Oilers, the Bruins and the Maple Leafs.
The St. Louis team scored the first goal, after which it was not really in the game.
Especially in the second period, when the visitors fired 20 shots on goal. Arriving in the city at two in the morning after a victory in Toronto, the Lightning players completed a streak of three games in four evenings.
However, they were the ones who seemed to have the most legs on the ice at the Bell Centre. It must be said that Montreal’s defense was quickly undermined.
Victim of a questionable check from Nikita Kucherov, Kaiden Guhle left the match in the fifth minute of play due to an upper body injury.
An American League goaltender
As a result, Arber Xhekaj, Jordan Harris and Jayden Struble saw a lot more action than normal. Too much even. Especially Harris with 23 mins 20 s. Not to mention that of the 16 minutes of punishment awarded to the Canadian, 14 were to defenders. Nothing to lighten the task of the sextet turned quintet.
In front of the net, Primeau realized that the Lightning were not the Ducks, the Blue Jackets or the Flyers, teams against whom he had won his last three home games.
The strike force of Kucherov and his friends is another story. Especially when things are a bit slow ahead and certain goals make you feel blue.
To add insult to injury, the Canadian was beaten by an American League goalie. 29-year-old Matt Tomkins had not appeared in an NHL game before this season. He now has two victories in four starts… both against the Habs.
Joel Armia thwarted him on two occasions. With its 15e and 16e goals of the campaign, the Finn equaled the personal mark he set in 2019-2020.
Moreover, he is having an interesting streak with five goals in his last five games.
♦ The Canadian can still obtain 84 points. However, the Capitals and Red Wings, who currently have 82 points, will face each other on April 9. Inevitably, one of the two teams will add two points to their record. Since both the Capitals and the Wings will have won more victories than the Habs, they will have priority in the tiebreaker.