The Montreal Canadiens lost 3-2 to the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night at the Bell Centre, blowing a 2-1 lead late in the third period before giving up the overtime winner just seven seconds into the extra period.
Tuesday’s loss was Montreal’s fourth straight defeat and the second time this year the club has compiled a four-game winless streak. In their last ten games, the Canadiens are 2-6-2 and now find themselves in the basement of the Atlantic Division.
Let’s discuss some takeaways from their latest setback.
The Canadiens Couldn’t Beat a Sharper Goalie
The Canadiens continue to struggle to keep the puck out of their net, ranking 29th in the league in goals against with 52. On Tuesday, netminder Sam Montembeault only gave up three, which is lower than the team average of 3.71, but he wasn’t even a star on the night despite making 33 saves on 36 saves and finishing the night with a .917 SV%.
A younger and more elite goalie, Dustin Wolf, outperformed him. Yes, he got beat three times, but one of those lamplighters got called back. Wolf finished the night with 21 saves and a .913 SV% in the win.
Even though the Flames hit a losing streak before their Tuesday night game, Wolf has been one of the surprises early in the season. He’s a former AHL Goalie of the Year winner and is the leading example of patience when developing goalies, something Montreal lacks in 2024-25.
The Game Turned on Video Review
Montreal was up 2-1, and then Brendan Gallagher scored his second goal, only for the goal to be called back when video replay showed Josh Anderson was offside.
Après révision vidéo, le but est refusé en raison d’un hors jeu
Following a coach’s challenge, it was determined that the goal was offside. No goal
CGY 1, MTL 2 https://t.co/kc4PPjNNZA
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) November 6, 2024
Within two minutes, Calgary tied the game and kept Montreal on their toes until the final buzzer. Then, with one lost faceoff and a beautifully placed shot, the Flames secured two points while extending the Canadiens losing streak another game.
Ultimately, one second, Montreal looked posed for a win, but within a few minutes, they lost the game, and everything turned on this one video replay. Although it was a momentary setback, the drive to finish off their opponent was lost, and in a short time, so was the game.
Calgary’s Youngsters Outperformed Montreal’s
The Canadiens are one of the youngest teams in the NHL, and among those youngsters are Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and Lane Hutson, to name a few. These names will lead the franchise through the decade’s end and hopefully usher in a new winning era.
Matt Coronato and Dustin Wolf, two youngsters who represent the future of the Flames organization, did the heavy lifting in the Calgary’s dramatic comeback win in Montreal.@EricFrancis has that and more in his Flames takeaways ⤵️ https://t.co/I7LMbhzYRW
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 6, 2024
Meanwhile, in Calgary, the Flames are rebuilding even though no one calls it a rebuild. On Tuesday, their young budding stars like Connor Zary and Matt Coronato, who are finally getting a shot in the NHL, were the stars and stole the show.
The only difference between the two clubs is that the Flames employ some star veterans, and the club gave the crease to a young goalie who is a future Vezina Trophy winner.
Montreal has game-breaking stars but doesn’t have the same supporting cast and lacks the strength in goal to compete for a full 60 minutes. Unfortunately, these teams don’t play more than twice a year, but Tuesday showed that if they can correctly develop their cores, we could get a 1980s Stanley Cup Final rematch someday.
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