Habs 8-Game Winning Streak Ends After Devils Shut Them Out

One of the biggest problems with the Habs is that they attempted to force plays to the same player for most of the night. With Cole Caufield being just a single goal away from 50 goals, both the top line and the setup on the power play spent a lot of the night trying to force the puck to him rather than take shots of their own. As a result, it made the game much easier for the Devils’ defence and their netminder Jacob Markstrom, as much of the game was making sure that Caufield couldn’t capitalize on his chances. The truth is that if Caufield is to get that elusive 50th goal, the Canadiens will need it to come naturally, where the sniper capitalizes on a chance that isn’t forced.

Caufield was very frustrated on Sunday as he missed a few really good chances during the 3rd period. He will need to loosen up for that 50th goal, as multiple chances were fanned on as a result of gripping his stick too much. There are still 5 games left for Caufield to get his goal, and with how often he gets his chances to score in general, he will have plenty more opportunities to get his 50th goal, but at the same time, he can’t grip his stick as tight as he did on Sunday to get it.

Even though the players in front of him struggled, Fowler didn’t have to face that many shots on the night. The Devils only took 19 shots on Fowler, in which he allowed 2 goals in what was an extremely low-scoring affair. Despite not facing a lot of shots, the Devils did take a good amount of high-danger chances thanks to their star players like Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes being all over the ice all night long. Luckily, Fowler was able to still have a solid performance to keep the Habs in the game, unlike in many previous games; they just couldn’t find their legs at any point in the game. They finished the night with 18 shots on goal but only had 8 combined in the first two periods. It was just not the Habs’ night.

One thing that may have played a factor in their flat performance is that they had previously clinched a playoff spot earlier in the day, so there was a lot less pressure to get a win. With that being said, it’s possible that by all of a sudden having no pressure took the adrenaline away from the Habs for the night, causing them to have come out flat.

Habs forward Joe Veleno had an opportunity to open the scoring on a partial breakaway at the end of a penalty kill; however, he was stopped on what was likely the team’s best scoring chance on Markstrom. Following that missed chance, the Devils would go down the ice and open the scoring instead. Timo Meier and Jack Hughes would connect for the goal. Hughes shot the puck through Fowler’s legs in the crease, and Meier would clean it up by putting the loose puck into the empty cage to get the Devils on the board. That goal ended up being the turning point, as the Canadiens wouldn’t be able to create much for the next period and a half.

Despite the Habs’ offence looking flat during the first two periods, their defence wouldn’t allow too many opportunities to reach Fowler, and the game would stay 1-0 for the longest time until the very end of the 2nd period. With 1:48 left in the middle frame, Cody Glass would break into the zone and score a goal to make it a 2-0 game heading into the 3rd period. Glass would split the Habs’ defence as he entered the offensive zone before sliding the puck between Fowler’s legs and in. It was a great individual effort that hurt the Habs in the game. As seen on both Devils’ goals, the five-hole was an issue for the Habs goaltender on Saturday, which is something that he will need to watch out for in future games.

Despite finally finding some offence during the 3rd period, partially thanks to having three power plays, the Habs continued to not be able to beat Markstrom as they continuously tried getting Caufield open for a good opportunity but with the mix of chances not being there and him gripping his stick too tightly when he had them as well. The Habs also had a few good chances from their fourth line of Veleno, Phillip Danault, and Brendan Gallagher, but nothing came of that either.

The Devils would seal the deal with an empty net goal by Connor Brown after the Habs couldn’t get proper possession when they pulled their goalie, allowing Bratt and Hughes to find Brown, who skated up ice before putting it into the net to seal the deal.

Overall, it was an easy 18-save shutout for Markstrom as the Habs just never found their groove in their first game back at the Bell Centre on Sunday. Not to mention, it was the Habs’ 6th game in 10 days with a lot of travel in between, and they were exhausted. After an 8-game winning streak, they were allowed a stinker of a game, even more so with having clinched a playoff spot earlier in the day. With the loss, they have fallen back to 3rd behind the Buffalo Sabres, who hold the regulation wins tie-breaker. Nonetheless, it will still be a hard-fought battle between the Habs, Sabres, and Tampa Bay Lightning down the stretch to see who takes the division, with the Lightning only being 2 points ahead with 5 games to go.

The Habs will look to bounce back from Sunday when they take on the injury-riddled Florida Panthers on Tuesday night, as the true hunt for home ice advantage in the playoffs begins.