Canadiens’ inability to build momentum leaves them perpetually in mushy middle

OTTAWA — At various points this season, Montreal Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis has wondered whether this would be the night it finally happens, the night his team seizes an opportunity to build a little momentum this season.

Thursday night against the Ottawa Senators, a team that entered the game 30th in the NHL’s overall standings, was another one of those opportunities.

A little less than five minutes into the game, Jake Evans sent Mike Matheson in alone on a breakaway. He made a nice move, but Joonas Korpisalo stayed with him and made the save, leaving a rebound there for Brendan Gallagher to cash into a wide-open net.

Gallagher shot wide.

A few minutes later, Brady Tkachuk drilled Matheson into the boards behind the Canadiens net. The hit was maybe a little high, and Matheson took exception to it, delivering a little cross-check to Tkachuk behind the play before heading off the ice. The Canadiens moved the puck up ice and Sean Monahan rang a shot off the post to Korpisalo’s right with the puck popping into the slot, where Juraj Slafkovský was waiting for it with a wide-open net in front of him.

The puck bounced over Slafkovský’s stick, quickly made its way to Tkachuk at the Canadiens’ blue line, and he beat Cayden Primeau with a very stoppable shot. At that point, the Canadiens were up 2-0 on open nets but down 1-0 on the scoreboard.

It was an early sign that this night would not be that night.

Brady picks his spot in transition 🚨#GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/vLTCaxXZcY

— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) January 19, 2024

The Canadiens ultimately lost 6-2 to the Senators, the sixth time this season they had a chance to string together a third win in a row, and the sixth time this season they failed to do so. Their longest losing streak this season was four games, and they’ve had a couple of three-gamers, but by and large, the Canadiens operate in spurts of two. They have never been more than three games above .500 or two games below .500 all season, consistently operating in the depths of the mushy middle.

The Canadiens’ six losses after their six two-game win “streaks” have no common elements to them. One of their best games of the season was a 3-2 shootout loss in Las Vegas on Oct. 30 coming off two straight wins, and one of their worst was a 4-0 loss in Los Angeles on Nov. 25 coming off two straight wins. They lost in overtime in Minnesota on Dec. 21 but lost 5-2 to New Jersey and Vancouver on Oct. 24 and Nov. 12.

And thus, 45 games into the season, the Canadiens are still looking for their first three-game win streak. Only the San Jose Sharks, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets and Buffalo Sabres can say the same.

“We’re a young group. It’s hard to win in this league,” St. Louis said. “I think that’s the next step for us. Sometimes I feel like, is it tonight we’re taking the next step? We’ve gotten close, we haven’t done that yet, but we’re going to keep pushing for that.”

The Senators are a perfect example of how hard it is to win in this league, and how hard it is to learn how to win consistently. Ottawa has loads of young talent, probably more than the Canadiens, and seemed to be far ahead in their rebuild than the Canadiens are in theirs. But the transition from rebuilding team that is accustomed to losing to playoff team that is accustomed to winning is not necessarily easy. There is no magic switch you can flip. The Sabres are very much in the same boat.

The Canadiens are not at the stage where they have external expectations like the Senators and Sabres do, but they have internal expectations to meet, and they’re not doing that right now because they can’t string together some wins.

“In this league, you need to go on win streaks to gain ground or get away from teams, and we haven’t been able to figure out a way to do that. There’s no recipe for it, you just kind of get hot and get it rolling,” Nick Suzuki said. “We really haven’t had a win streak or a long losing streak. We’ve obviously been around .500 a lot. It’s definitely something we talk about.”

The Canadiens’ stated goal is to be playing meaningful games in March, to be at least within shouting distance of the playoff race at that point, to have something to play for. That is not something that is likely to happen if they continue yo-yoing their way through the season.

“Winning three in a row is a great stretch to get on and is something that we do need to do if we’re going to keep climbing up and getting to where we want to be,” Matheson said. “You definitely can’t win one, lose one all the way through the year and expect to be where you want to be.”

Even though the Canadiens aspire to greater things, the reality is they have a very minimal chance of attaining their goal of playing meaningful games in March. But their more modest goal this season is to see a progression in their team play. Developing a certain killer instinct, an ability to seize momentum, would be an important progression for them to make.

(Photo of Senators celebrating Vladimir Tarasenko’s goal: Chris Tanouye / Freestyle Photography / Getty Images)