The youthful, rebuilding Canadiens have impressed me most this season with their competitiveness.
It was on show once more at the Bell Centre on Thursday night during a 2-1 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins. In terms of goal differential, Boston (39-14-5) leads the Canadiens (25-30-11) by 32 points, and the Bruins have a plus-40 goal differential compared to Montreal’s minus-47. Despite the fact that the Canadiens will miss the playoffs for the third consecutive year, the players never give up.
There is a lack of offensive talent in the team.
After the game, Bruins coach Jim Montgomery praised the Canadiens’ performance, mentioning that Montreal is playing solid hockey at the moment despite his team not performing at their best. The Canadiens have played 58 percent of their games this season that were decided by one goal, having a 16-11-11 record in those close games. However, if their forwards were able to score more goals, their record would be better.
The Canadiens have six forwards who have scored in double digits, while the Bruins have nine forwards reaching that mark. To make their rebuild successful, GM Kent Hughes will need to find more forwards who can score consistently, as some of their current forwards are struggling to find the back of the net. The team’s offense is currently ranked 27th in the NHL, with a significant portion of their goals coming from defencemen.
