Not only are the Montreal Canadiens officially facing elimination from the Stanley Cup Playoffs after their 4-0 shutout loss in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final to the Carolina Hurricanes, but they’re also seeing a concerning trend regarding an inability to get pucks on net.
Following their Game 1 victory in which they scored six goals, the most that Carolina had allowed so far in the playoffs, the Canadiens have dropped three straight games with worrying shot totals in each. In their Game 2 3-2 overtime loss, they managed just 12 shots on goal. In their Game 3 loss at home on Monday, which resulted in the same 3-2 overtime setback, they managed just 13 shots on goal, including zero in overtime.
And in Wednesday evening’s 4-0 setback, they managed just 18 total shots, while also not getting their first shot of the third period until well after the halfway point. In fact, Montreal’s sellout crowd of rowdy fans began jeering them, chanting “Shoot the puck!” and giving a sarcastic, Bronx cheer when Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen was finally forced to make a save with the score already out of hand.
And as part of their loss, the Canadiens managed to make unfortunate NHL history.
The Montreal Canadiens Made Unfortunate NHL History During Their 4-0 Loss To The Hurricanes
Following their Game 1 victory, the Canadiens have officially become the first team in NHL history to register 18 or less shots in three straight playoff games.
“They’re playing good hockey, they’re making it hard on us for sure, but we’ve got to find more answers,” Canadiens forward Alex Newhook said. “We’ve got to find more answers as individuals as well, hold ourselves to higher standards that we can be better than what we’ve been. We do that, regroup here and be hungry going into Game 5.”
According to Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis, his players aren’t creating enough space for themselves.
“We have the players with the most space with the puck and we don’t skate enough,” St. Louis said. “We pass it to a player with no space so you kind of play into their pressure.”
He continued.
“We’re not playing fast enough when we have the puck with our feet. We’re not playing fast enough off the puck so we can kind of bypass the pressure. And they’ve got really, really good sticks.”
The Canadiens Must Win Three Straight Games To Avoid Elimination
While it’s not impossible, the Canadiens face the daunting task of having to win three straight games against the defensively stingy Hurricanes.
In order to have a chance of doing so, St. Louis touted the importance of a strong mental fortitude.
“I mean, you’ve got to be mentally strong,” St. Louis said. “You’ve got to believe. You’ve got to believe that you can actually do it. To me, I don’t doubt that I believe we can do it. It wasn’t our best tonight, but we’ll put our best foot forward for Game 5. We’ll be ready to go. Hopefully we can execute better. And we’ve been better on the road.”
Canadiens Make Stunning NHL History In Shutout Loss To Hurricanes