The Montreal Canadiens had just had three more convincing outings against quality teams, but once again, he suffered against an opponent who on paper could seem more within his reach Thursday night against the Ottawa Senators.
Before this loss against the Senators by a score of 6 to 2, the Habs had signed victories of 3-2 against the New Jersey Devils and 4 to 3 against the Colorado Avalanche. He also lost without having to blush in overtime (2-1) against the Edmonton Oilers.
However, if we go back to January 4, Martin St-Louis’ men lost to the Buffalo Sabres, the San Jose Sharks and this evening the Senators, all teams posting fewer points in the standings than the Bleu- White Red.
It is obviously impossible to pinpoint a single reason to explain such results. As a first hypothesis put forward, there was in particular Nick Suzuki who noted the rivalry between the Montrealers and the Ontario troop.
“We know where they are in the standings, but we know they always play well against us. We were ready, but we just weren’t able to execute,” said the captain.
“It’s a good rivalry with them and it’s a shame to have had such a match. We were a little flat today. We are going to want to bounce back against the Bruins,” stressed Pezzetta.
There is also the busy schedule since CH was already playing a third match this week, its second in less than 24 hours after its stop in New Jersey on Wednesday.
“The schedule has not been easy. In this type of match, you have to think a little more, trust yourself, but it is certain that falling behind quickly is difficult. It’s not easy to play two games in as many nights, but the League doesn’t care,” said Cole Caufield, who scored in a fourth straight game in this clash.
“It’s definitely very difficult. You arrive late at night and you know they didn’t play yesterday. At the same time, that’s how the league is and that’s not going to change,” underlined Mike Matheson.
No matter what is said, the players do not question the team’s preparation or the possibility of taking an opponent lightly.
“It’s not like we went in tonight thinking it was going to be easy. We knew they were playing hard, it had been over a day since they had played, so they were going to come out strong. We talked about it a lot before the game, so it’s not like we went into tonight thinking it was going to be a walk in the park,” Matheson reported.
“When you play against good teams, you show up. We have to find a way to string together these performances every evening. We are close to turning the corner, but to go from a good team to a very good team and even a team in the playoffs, you have to be able to move on and take advantage of these opportunities,” said Pezzetta.
“We’ve played three good games in a row, but tonight wasn’t the case. We’re going to have to find our game again. We’re going to Boston, it’s not easy to play there, so we’ll have to be at our best,” said Suzuki.
As the captain mentions, it’s a good test this time that awaits the Canadiens on Saturday with a clash against the leaders of the Atlantic division, the Bruins.
