The Montreal Canadiens failed to make up ground in the Eastern Conference playoff race, dropping a 5-2 decision to the Ottawa Senators on Friday night at the Canadian Tire Centre. The Senators built a 3-0 lead before the Canadiens could get on the board.
Christian Dvorak and captain Nick Suzuki scored for the Montreal Canadiens. Meanwhile, Shane Pinto scored twice for the Ottawa Senators with Dylan Cozens, Ridly Greig, and Drake Batherson getting the other tallies for the Senators.
So, let’s take a deeper look at the three least impressive players from the Montreal Canadiens loss to the Ottawa Senators on Friday night.
3 least impressive Montreal Canadiens players from loss to Ottawa Senators
#3 Juraj Slafkovsky
The Montreal Canadiens’ top-line forward Juraj Slafkovsky fell victim to the Ottawa Senators’ strong forechecking. While Slafkovsky registered an assist on the night, he was a defensive liability all game long. He ended the night a minus-2.
In particular, Slafkovsky’s poor defensive play less than 30 seconds into the game led to Shane Pinto’s first goal. Here’s a look:
Slafkovsky stood in front of his own net, failing to pick up Pinto who waltzed in and buried the puck past Samuel Montembuealt. The poor defensive play set the tone for the Canadiens as they failed to find any traction against the Sens’ relentless forechecking on Friday night.
#2 Jayden Struble
Montreal Canadiens third-pairing defenseman Jayden Struble had a rough outing against the Senators. While Struble finished the night a plus-1, his role in the Senators’ second goal left much to be desired.
Let’s take a closer look:
Dylan Cozens outmuscled Struble as he headed toward the net. Even as Struble knocked Cozens down, the Sens’ forward managed to redirect the puck into the back of the net. Struble was unable to tie Cozens’ stick or hamper his mobility enough to prevent the goal.
Struble played 13:56 over 20 shifts, the lowest total of all Montreal blue liners.
#3 Mike Matheson
Mike Matheson, the de facto top defenseman for the Montreal Canadiens, had an awful game. He ended the night a minus-3 in nearly 22 minutes of ice.
Unfortunately for Matheson, his defensive play was far below expectations. The Senators’ third goal of the game provides a solid example:
On this play, Matheson completely failed to pick up Ridly Greig at the side of the net. Greig managed to slide his stick under Matheson’s to tap the puck home to give Ottawa a 3-0 lead.
The expression on Matheson’s face said it all as the veteran blue liner understood he had been completely beaten by the Sens’ young forward.
The Canadiens will be back on the ice on Saturday night as they take on the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena, with Ivan Demidov making his much anticipated NHL debut.
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Edited by Nestor Quixtan
