It is almost pointless to talk about the specifics of last night’s tilt against the worst team in the NHL, the Columbus Blue Jackets.  The bottom line is that the Canadiens lately have been playing like they are disinterested and do not put any effort into what they are doing.  There are very few exceptions.  They have not been playing like a team battling to get into the playoffs.  Unacceptable and no one, not the player, coach or owner, seems to be too upset about the lackluster play.

This was to be the only meeting of the season between the two teams.  It was the first game back home for the Habs after a three game California road trip, which saw them earn 3 points out of a potential 6.  Now they say that the hardest game is the first one back home after a road trip.  I don’t know why, but Montreal went a long way last night towards confirming that assertion.

The game was winger Max Pacioretty’s first game back after a three game suspension due to a hit on the Penguins’ Kris Letang.  It was also rookie Louis Leblanc’s first home game in a Montreal Canadiens’ uniform.  The hometown (Pointe Claire) boy, who must have had to drop a large amount on tickets, must have had butterflies in his stomach.  In an odd and I go as far as saying unclassy move Jacques Martin did not insert Leblanc on the starting line.  To me that is another demonstration of how the game has passed this dinosaur.  He could have put Leblanc on to start the game in the hopes that his energy due to the situation would be contagious to the whole team and get the fans going early.  He didn’t and it was Columbus who came out the more energized team.

Despite the fact that Columbus was in Montreal “enjoying” what the city has to offer for 3 days they seemed none worse for the wear.  Over the first 10 minutes of the game Columbus outshot Montreal 7-1 and seemed first on every loose puck.  The flat play by Montreal, which lasted pretty much all game, resulted in Columbus taking a 1-0 lead a mere 2:03 into the game.  Carey Price gave up a big juicy rebound off an Aaron Johnson shot and Vinny Prospal jumped on it first despite the fact that there were 4 Habs players in the vicinity.  They were all just standing and not marking him.  Prospal wristed a shot into the open side of the net.

The starting goaltender, as has been the case lately since Columbus has started playing better, was someone many players on the Habs were very familiar with.  Curtis Sanford was formerly property of the Canadiens and played the last two seasons for the Hamilton Bulldogs.  He signed with Columbus in the off season as a free agent.  Sanford is having a good season so far and had a 2.10 G.A.A. going into the game.  During the game he was solid, but as a smaller goalie he sometimes seemed to be searching for the puck when there were people in front of his net.  Montreal did not take advantage of that though.

Another familiar face in the blue uniform of the visitors, James Wisniewski played for the Montreal Canadiens for a large part of last season.  Not willing to pay the free agent what he was asking Montreal traded his rights to Columbus for a seventh round draft choice in 2012.  Wisniewski ended up signing a massive  6 year $33 million contract.  Last night on both Montreal goals it looked like he thought he was still wearing a Montreal uniform.  Late in the 1^st period Wisniewski turned over the puck to Michael Cammalleri, who found a streaking Andrei Kostitsyn behind the Blue Jackets defence.  Kostitsyn is a pure goal scorer and doesn’t often make mistakes when given this sort of space and time.  He wristed a shot past Sanford on the blocker side with a mere 2 seconds left in the 1^st period that notched the game all up at 1-1.  Kostitsyn has been on a hot streak lately with 5 goals in his last 7 games.  He is not a player you can point your finger at over the last couple of weeks.  He has looked engaged and has some jump in his legs.

Now usually a goal in the last minute (nevermind the last 2 seconds)  of a period provides a big boost to a team.  Not so on this night with the Canadiens as they only mustered 4 shots in the 2^nd period.  Flatter than a pancake were the home side.  Four shots total!  And this was despite the fact that they had over 4 minutes in power play time in the period.  As a result the natives (fans) started getting restless and some booing began.

Things went from dull to worse when Nikita Nikitin found Habs’ killer R.J. Umberger with a precise cross ice pass as he was in full flight down the left wing.  Umberger blew past Yannick Weber, who has not been playing his best hockey lately, and fooled Price with a shot that never left the ice.  2-1 Columbus at 11:14 of the 2^nd period.

Throughout the game the Habs were their own worst enemy as they committed turn over after turn over.  They could not do the simple things like get pucks deep behind the Blue Jackets’ defencemen.  For example, Price had to make a big save off Umberger late in the 2^nd period after PK Subban fumbled with the puck and eventually lost it sending in Umberger all alone and forcing his defensive partner Josh Gorges to take a penalty on the play.

After the 2^nd period the home side left the ice to the sound of their fans booing them.  You cannot really blame the fans as they have paid plenty for their tickets and the Canadiens’ players did not really seem to want to put in the required effort for a victory.  They were hesitant with the puck and as such did not possess it for very long.  The Canadiens could not gain control of the puck in the Blue Jackets’ end and as such exerted very little pressure on their opponents.

The 3^rd period continued on with the flat play.  The closest they came over the first 15 minutes was when Pacioretty deflected a Subban shot from the point which beat Sanford only to have the puck hit the post.

Towards the end of the game Wisniewski gifted another goal to the Canadiens.  Tomas Plekanec was along the right wing boards and in an act of desperation threw the puck out to the front of the Columbus net.  Fortune smiled on the Habs when the puck struck the skate of the aforementioned Wsniewski and found itself on the stick of an uncovered Brian Gionta, who directed the puck into the net.  With 1:21 left in a game they deserved to lose, the Habs had tied the game.

Overtime saw nothing of much happen.  We were onto the dreaded shootout.  Carey Price has not done well in shootouts this season.  He only let one shot get past him (by Rick Nash), but that was enough as Sanford stopped David Desharnais, Pacioretty and Gionta.

One of the few bright spots on an otherwise dreary Mechant Mardi was the play of defenceman Alexei Emelin.  After a slow start to the season, which saw him not dressed for the first 8 games of the season, Emelin seems to be slowly but surely acclimatizing himself to the North American style of play.  Last night out of the team’s total 21 hits, Emelin doled out 9 of them and several were of the crushing variety.  He, on different occasions, hammered Derek Dorsett and Antoine Vermette.  He is not shy to hit anyone and does so without incurring penalties.  It is the first time in a long time that there is a player on the Canadiens’ defensive corps that makes the opposing forwards worry as they are coming to the Habs’ blue line. Laying a player out with a hip check as they cross the blue line is becoming his signature.

The question going in was how would Montreal handle playing against the league’s last place team?  This was a loaded  question as this season Montreal tends to play down or up to their opponent’s level.  After the game the answer was clear.  They played down to the level of their opponents.  No energy.  No enthusiasm.  No support for the puck carrier.  No team play.  No one looked mad at the way they were playing.  They are playing like a team that looks like it is waiting for something to happen.

This was the beginning of an important period for Montreal as they are playing 5 out their next 6 games at home.  They cannot put out efforts or lack thereof like last night or some heads are guaranteed to roll.  The bad news is that Montreal has played better on the road than they have at home this season.  We shall see if that continues.

The Habs next game is Thursday night at the Bell Centre against the Vancouver Canucks.

Game Stats:

-On-Ice Officials:  Referees:  Dave Jackson and David Banfield

Linesmen:  Steve Barton and Andy McElman

-Goals:  1^st Period:

2:03:  Columbus – Vinny Prospal assisted by R.J. Umberger and Aaron Johnson

19:58:  Montreal – Andrei Kostitsyn assisted by Michael Cammalleri

2^nd Period:

11:14:  Columbus – RJ Umberger assisted by Sami Pahlsson and Nikita Nikitin

3^rd Period:

18:39:  Montreal – Brian Gionta assisted by Tomas Plekanec and Alexei Emelin

-Shots on Goal:  Montreal:  20

Columbus:  28

-3 Stars:  1)  Rick Nash – Columbus

2)  RJ Umberger – Columbus

3)  Andrei Kostitsyn – Montreal

-Attendance:  21,273

-Final Score:  Montreal:  2

Columbus:  3 (SO)