Martin St-Louis didn’t come out swinging after the Canadiens’ 6-4 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. Instead, he gave the visitors their due and put the spotlight where he felt it belonged: Montreal’s own mistakes.
That approach has already stirred debate among fans, especially with the Canadiens now sitting at 1-1-1 and still searching for their first home win after going 0-1-0 in front of their crowd. Montreal has also given up 14 goals in three games, a pace of 4.7 per game that makes the defensive issues hard to ignore.
St-Louis was direct about the two areas that hurt his team most. In his postgame press conference, he pointed to turnovers and battles, and said his group simply wasn’t good enough in those spots.
"It's a very good team, and credit to the other side. You can't make turnovers against them, and you have to win battles. I would tell you that we weren't that good in those departments."
The Canadiens’ offense did enough to keep things lively, but the problem was everything around it. Montreal is scoring 4.0 goals per game, which is not the issue here. The trouble is that the goals are being offset by breakdowns that leave the back end and the goaltending exposed.
Jakub Dobes saw 33 shots in the loss, while Brandon Bussi faced only 20 at the other end. Dobes carries an .857 save percentage this season, but no goalie can clean up repeated giveaways and loose defensive play on his own. St-Louis made it clear that the help in front of him has to be better.
Carolina took advantage. Taylor Hall scored twice, including the winner, and Sebastian Aho finished with three points as the Hurricanes’ top players made Montreal pay for every lapse.
Montreal did get offense from several places. Zachary Bolduc scored twice, including a power-play goal, and now has three goals in three games. Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky also found the net, giving the Canadiens four goals on the night.
Still, the defensive side of the ledger told the more troubling story. Lane Hutson logged more than 29 minutes, the highest total on the team.
Michael Matheson finished at -2 and is now at -3 through three games. Jake Evans and Florian Xhekaj were both minus-3, the worst marks on the roster in this game.
The schedule doesn’t leave much room to dwell on it. The Nashville Predators come to town tomorrow night at 7 p.m., and the Detroit Red Wings follow on Saturday. Two home games, two chances for Montreal to tighten things up in front of its fans.
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A fresh round of trade chatter has put Montreal back in the mix for a name that would instantly change the conversation around the Canadiens. Dylan Larkin is being discussed as a potential fit, and the appeal is obvious for a team still looking to keep building around Nick Suzuki while adding more speed and edge down the middle. Nothing is close, but the fact Montreal is even being mentioned speaks to where the club stands in the market right now.
The larger picture is familiar for Canadiens fans: the team is trying to stay aggressive without forcing a move that does not match its timeline. Larkin is only one piece of a busy league landscape, with other notable situations still unresolved around the NHL, but Montreal remains the one that matters most here because of the fit and the cost. For now, it is the kind of rumor that keeps a fan base engaged, even if the real answer is still waiting somewhere farther down the line. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Fans Have Every Reason To Question This Connor Zary Decision
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Zarys recent production also invites the kind of comparison Montreal fans have been making all season, especially when looking at Kirby Dachs uneven stretch. Even with injuries thinning the roster and adding pressure on the depth chart, the Canadiens still let the chance go by, which makes the choice feel even more curious in the moment. Whether that turns out to be prudence or a miss is the part that will keep hanging over it. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Make A Desperate Lineup Shakeup After Back-To-Back Losses
After back-to-back losses and some obvious defensive strain, the Canadiens are making another round of adjustments for their game against Nashville. Adam Engstrom is stepping into the lineup, and Jacob Fowler is also dressed, giving Montreal a different look as it tries to steady things and stop the slide.
Jakub Dobes will back up Fowler in goal while Samuel Montembeault remains day-to-day, leaving the Canadiens to juggle a situation they would much rather have settled. Jayden Struble was scratched to create room for Engstrom, a sign that the club is still searching for answers as it looks to clean up its own end. [Read more 🡒]