The Montreal Canadiens had high hopes heading into their weekend games at the Bell Centre, but things didn’t go as planned. Facing off against the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks, they stumbled with back-to-back regulation losses. While these defeats haven’t drastically impacted their standings yet, the Canadiens are in search of solutions as they prepare to face two divisional rivals this week.
A key area needing attention is their defense around the slot, particularly highlighted in the game against Anaheim. The Canadiens allowed three even-strength goals from the slot, at or below the hash marks.
This issue is compounded by their struggles to effectively exit their defensive zone, a problem that’s been noticeable since the Olympic break. These challenges often leave them scrambling to reorganize, and many of the slot chances they concede could be avoided with more purposeful zone exits.
Improving their overall defensive quality is essential, but simply getting out of their zone more efficiently could have significantly altered the outcome against the Ducks.
Juraj Slafkovsky took matters into his own hands during one such shift, charging up the middle and setting up a goal for Nick Suzuki. The Canadiens excel in transitional play, but their inability to exit the zone smoothly limits this strength.
They expend so much energy trying to clear their zone that it hampers their ability to launch speedy attacks, resulting in more quality chances allowed and fewer created. The defensive lapses are particularly concerning, as they’re running out of ways to mitigate these issues.
Goaltending has been a hot topic this season, with Samuel Montembeault finding himself sidelined due to the ongoing struggles. However, even the greatest goaltender would face challenges with the current defensive setup. The Canadiens have exhausted their options in net; now, the focus must shift to better slot defense, whether that means improving first-attempt zone exits or rethinking defensive assignments.
If the Canadiens can’t tighten up defensively, they risk complicating their stretch run, especially with teams both ahead and behind them in the standings eager to capitalize. As they gear up to host the Boston Bruins in a critical Atlantic Division matchup, the need for defensive resilience has never been clearer.
Stay tuned for more insights with the full Bottom Six Minutes podcast, available wherever you listen to your favorite shows. We’ll be back on Tuesday with coverage of the Canadiens' next big game.