New Canadiens Connection: Habs Wake-Up Call

On Saturday night, the Montreal Canadiens squeaked out a 1-0 shootout victory over the Detroit Red Wings, bottom dwellers of the Atlantic division. With Bell Centre fans chanting, “We want Larkin” early and often in this game, it’s fair to say that the start of this season hasn’t exactly gone as expected.

The Canadiens came into the year with some pretty lofty expectations, with numerous pundits mentioning Les Canadiens and the Stanley Cup in their preseason predictions. After all the talk about this team taking another step forward, maybe even becoming a legitimate contender, they are sitting with a pedestrian 2-2-1 record. Fans are watching a team that seems to be making the same mistakes over and over again, and originated last season.

There have been brief flashes of decent play or individual efforts, but on the whole, we’re seeing breakdowns, missed assignments, stretches where the Canadiens seem completely unable to control a game. And perhaps most discouraging, there have been questions about whether the systems they’re playing are actually working.

Now, it’s early. Nobody’s season is made or broken in a handful of games. There were a couple of changes against Nashville and Detroit that showed some promise. But at some point, one has to start asking whether these are just the kinds of lessons a young team needs to learn. Or, are we seeing deeper problems that need to be addressed – because this team can’t use the ‘well they’re just really young and still learning the ropes’ excuse for much longer, if at all.

This Week’s Show

Are the players recognizing their mistakes? Are the coaches finding ways to correct them? And if the current approach isn’t working, how long do you stick with it before considering a reset of systems? These are the questions we examine on this week’s Canadiens Connection podcast.

NEW PODCAST: Montreal Canadiens’ Early-Season Wake-Up Call | Canadiens Connection ep 421

We also discussed these important topics on this week’s episode of the podcast:

Canadiens GM Kent Hughes has traded a surplus defenseman. Is he finished?
Which Montreal player is poised to return to the lineup from the injury list?
Which Canadiens prospect is being termed ‘the next Bryce Pickford?’

CC Question of the Week: After a slow start, what do the Montreal Canadiens need most: a boost in morale or a change to their systems?

It is our ninth season, with a new episode of the podcast dropping every Saturday afternoon. Be sure to subscribe using your favorite podcast app. Or watch our episodes on YouTube.