Describing the differences between Games 1 and 2 of the Canadiens-Leafs series is fairly easy. The Habs did not show up and were subject to many penalties which were costly. In this context, the number of players in Montreal who had a good game can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Price was left alone the entire game, Ben Chiarot sacrificed himself many times and Kotkaniemi scored the only goal early in the game.
That's all we can find positive in this Thursday game. While Price got off to a thunderous start last Thursday, his team didn't allow him to do it a second time. It is still difficult to criticize him, despite his four goals against the Leafs. In attack, there is no player who has tried anything concrete to register the score, apart from Jesperi Kotkaniemi.
The number 15 gave a big penalty after scoring the Glorieux's only goal, but was still the Canadiens' best cross during the game. He is first of all the only one in the face-off circle to have finished with an efficiency greater than 50%. He is also the only striker to have been named in good circumstances by Félix Séguin.
While the Finn was sidelined earlier this week, he was able to prove he had his place. However, the other centers did not show up and the entire game turned out to be a failure for Montreal. Even Kotkaniemi was the subject of indiscipline, which caused the blue-white-red to sink into that awkward setback.
Knowing more and more the habits of Dominique Ducharme, we can expect many changes in training next Monday. Will Kotkaniemi be entitled to a better role than Danault and Suzuki, both invisible in the recent loss? The series is far from over, but it will take a change of focus on this performance to forget.
