Canadiens vs Oilers

Sure, new coach Marty St. Louis has the Habs playing better over the last couple of weeks — they had won six of seven games with him behind the bench — but that ...

- Nick Suzukigave the Canadiens their third lead of the night (3-2) with a power play after he walked the puck down broadway and ripped a shot over Mike Smith on the glove-hand side. As we’ve seen his entire time with the Oilers so far, Kane was very good against the Canadiens and I especially like the way he seems to drag his linemates into the fight. At first, the Habs actually challenged the play for goalie interference but the goal was ultimately confirmed after a lengthy delay. But in the early going, it was the Habs that were playing with some jump and it allowed them to work their way into a handful of quality chances before our side had even registered a shot. Instead of fighting tooth and nail for every inch, the Oilers seemed content to sit and watch rather than trying to dictate the play. To be honest, this is the most annoyed I’ve been by a loss in a long time, and to make matters worse, I have zero confidence that the management in place has any ideas on how to fix it. I know it’s probably the polite play for the Oilers to make, but giving the opposition free chances like they were Derek Jeter gift bags wasn’t going to work. That work resulted in Ryan McLeod knotting the score up for a second time with a greasy goal that came on the back of some hard work and hustle by him and Hyman. When that goal went in, I thought the tides were finally turning in our favour. This morning in the GDB, I wrote about how this game against Montreal was a must-have for the Edmonton Oilers as the playoff race in the Pacific Division is as tight as it gets, and I’d rather not have to spend the rest of my weekend thinking about how they blew it against a bottom-feeding team. But just as we saw in the opening frame, Montreal was once again ready to play and they hit the ice with all kinds of energy and hustle, which gave the Oilers fits as they struggled to handle the pressure. Yet, even though the boys were playing better they still couldn’t get more than the one goal past Montembeault and that gave the Habs a window to restore their lead, which is exactly what they did in the final minute leading into the intermission. Sure, new coach Marty St. Louis has the Habs playing better over the last couple of weeks — they had won six of seven games with him behind the bench — but that shouldn’t be enough to deter a team that’s fighting for their playoff lives.