{"id":18085,"date":"2017-10-23T07:00:26","date_gmt":"2017-10-23T11:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=18085"},"modified":"2019-11-08T11:11:26","modified_gmt":"2019-11-08T16:11:26","slug":"montreal-canadiens-news-notes-oct-23-winless-west","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2017\/10\/23\/montreal-canadiens-news-notes-oct-23-winless-west\/","title":{"rendered":"Montreal Canadiens News and Notes October 23: Winless out West"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Montreal Canadiens News and Notes: Winless out West<\/h2>\n<h2>News<\/h2>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/canadiens\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Montreal Canadiens<\/a> dropped to 1-6-1 on the season this week. After losing all three games on their early west coast trip. The Habs fell to the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/sharks\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">San\u00a0Jose\u00a0Sharks<\/a>, 5-2, making it 18 years in a row without a win. The next night they faced the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/kings\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Los Angeles Kings<\/a>. While they played well in the first two periods, it all fell apart in the third. The final score was 5-1. Friday, the Habs headed an hour south to face the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/ducks\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Anaheim Ducks<\/a>. After a poor first period, the habs found their legs in the second. Once again, the pressure in the third period proved too much. The Ducks scored three goals and won the game 6-2.<\/p>\n<p>A bright spot this week was <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/b\/byronpa01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Paul Byron<\/a><\/strong> who scored in LA and again in Anaheim. This goal involved a rebound and a diving shot. Habs fans will take it.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Nluox0KMqfE<\/p>\n<p>In other news, the long wait to see the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/canadiens\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Montreal Canadiens<\/a>\u00a0full defensive line up just got a bit longer.\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/s\/schleda01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">David Schlemko<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>will be\u00a0sidelined for another three to four weeks after he <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/2017\/10\/18\/david-schlemko-undergo-hand-surgery\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">underwent hand surgery <\/a>in New York to remove a bone fragment.<\/p>\n<p>The injury news continued this week. As friend of the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/2017\/10\/17\/last-word-on-habs-podcast-episode-3-a-winless-week-for-the-montreal-canadiens\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">LWOH Pod<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/awinninghabit.com\/2017\/10\/22\/montreal-canadiens-hemsky-lineup-injury\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Omar White<\/a>\u00a0reports,\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/h\/hemskal01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ales Hemsky<\/a><\/strong> is out with an upper-body injury after taking a couple of hits in the first period of Friday&#8217;s game, against the Ducks. Hemsky signed a one-year, $1-million contract with the Canadiens this summer, and entered Friday with no points in six contests.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-page-title\">The Montreal Canadiens have recalled <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/s\/scherni01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nikita Scherbak<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/mccarmi01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Michael McCarron<\/a><\/strong> from the AHL.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Nikita Scherbak and Michael McCarron called up from Laval.<\/p>\n<p>DETAILS -&gt; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wX1JxlbGDh\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/wX1JxlbGDh<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/GoHabsGo?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#GoHabsGo<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Canadiens Montr\u00e9al (@CanadiensMTL) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CanadiensMTL\/status\/922207663101968384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 22, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p id=\"Q6cges\">Scherbak has been one of the top producers in the AHL, with one goal and eight assists in six games. McCarron has added four points in that time. Both may be in the Canadiens\u2019 lineup this week.<\/p>\n<h2>Commentary<\/h2>\n<p>A string of articles this week focused on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/b\/bergema01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marc Bergevin<\/a>. Marc Garriott in the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ottawasun.com\/2017\/10\/22\/finger-being-pointed-at-canadiens-gm\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ottawa Sun<\/a>\u00a0concludes:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The finger is being pointed at Bergevin because the hiring of Julien was supposed to be the solution. The decision to get centre <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/d\/drouijo01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jonathan Drouin<\/a> from the Tampa Bay Lightning was a good step, however, at this point, Bergevin has to find a way to throw his club a life preserver.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Stu Cowan <a href=\"http:\/\/montrealgazette.com\/sports\/hockey\/nhl\/hockey-inside-out\/stu-cowan-time-for-canadiens-gm-marc-bergevin-to-look-in-the-mirror\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">in the Gazette<\/a> has some tough words for Bergevin as well.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Six years into his five-year plan, this is Bergevin\u2019s team from top to bottom because he has had more than enough time to keep the players he wanted and get rid of the ones he didn\u2019t \u2014 and he has already fired one coach. Right now, this is a broken team.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Marc Dumont also writing\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/montrealgazette.com\/sports\/hockey\/nhl\/hockey-inside-out\/analyze-this-habs-lack-of-puck-moving-rearguards-stifling-pacioretty\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">in the Gazette<\/a> observed that the Habs are missing a puck-moving defenseman who can transition from defense to offense and get the puck to the forwards quickly. He points out, two-thirds of Pacioretty\u2019s goals over the last three years came from an offensively minded defenseman\u00a0who set him up on a rush with a quick outlet pass. The only problem? None of these players play for the Habs anymore. He concludes:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Pacioretty needs to help the Canadiens win and the team needs to give him the right tools in which to help them win. You won\u2019t get one without the other.\u00a0You\u2019re up, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/b\/bergema01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marc Bergevin<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Speaking of Captain Max, a debate of sorts broke out in the pages of LWOH concerning his responsibility. LWOH&#8217;s own Connor Lapalme first\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/2017\/10\/20\/montreal-canadiens-need-max-pacioretty\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">laid out his case<\/a>\u00a0against\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/p\/pacioma01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Max Pacioretty<\/a><\/strong>. In sum, he argues that Habs need their captain to take charge, find his game, and score. Johannes Wheeldon offered a defense of Pacioretty suggesting that <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/2017\/10\/20\/in-defense-of-montreal-canadiens-captain-max-pacioretty\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">placing the responsibility <\/a>on Pacioretty\u2019s shoulders obscures deeper problems including the general manager\u2019s failed off-season, the current makeup of the team, and the approach of the coach.<\/p>\n<h2>Predictions and Previews<\/h2>\n<p>In <em>The Athletic (<\/em>subscription only), the Montreal Canadiens now have just a one in three chance to make the playoffs, a drop of 30% in the last two weeks. Losing all your games will do that of course. The Habs are predicted to win less than 40 games, amassing just 89 points. Quelle horreur.\u00a0<em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The Montreal Canadiens are at home this week after a series of poor performances out west. First\u00a0up is\u00a0the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/panthers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Florida Panthers<\/a> on Tuesday, October 24. The Panthers have a 3-4 record but are without <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/l\/luongro01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Roberto Luongo<\/a><\/strong>. Game time is 7:30 pm (EST).<\/p>\n<p>Next, the Canadiens face the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/kings\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Los Angeles Kings<\/a> on Thursday, October 26. The Kings beat up on the Habs last week, so here is hoping they can return the favor at home. Game time is 7:30 pm (EST).<\/p>\n<p>Finally, the Habs face the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/rangers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">New York Rangers<\/a> on Saturday. The Rangers had been struggling of late but managed a convincing win against the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/nhl-teams\/predators\/\" target=\"_self\">Nashville Predators<\/a> this weekend.\u00a0Game time is 7:00 pm (EST).<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"7C_TCdAEQlpCLJ7hu6zL6w\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/863240898\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'7C_TCdAEQlpCLJ7hu6zL6w',sig:'2hZ5yR6ZBtEaPs_7y1ZBjGApr6hs0p-RKsXfHazeXrU=',w:'594px',h:'451px',items:'863240898',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Montreal Canadiens News and Notes: Winless out West News The Montreal Canadiens dropped to 1-6-1 on the season this week. After losing all three games on their early west coast trip. The Habs fell to the San\u00a0Jose\u00a0Sharks, 5-2, making it 18 years in a row without a win. The next night they faced the\u00a0Los Angeles [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2253,"featured_media":18088,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,4524],"tags":[264,353,445,882],"class_list":["post-18085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-canadiens","category-nhl-predictions","tag-marc-bergevin","tag-max-pacioretty","tag-nikita-scherbak","tag-paul-byron"],"modified_by":"Johannes Wheeldon, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2253"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18085"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18085\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}