{"id":20022,"date":"2017-12-11T13:26:10","date_gmt":"2017-12-11T18:26:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=20022"},"modified":"2017-12-11T13:26:10","modified_gmt":"2017-12-11T18:26:10","slug":"montreal-canadiens-news-december-living-mediocrity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2017\/12\/11\/montreal-canadiens-news-december-living-mediocrity\/","title":{"rendered":"Montreal Canadiens News and Notes December 11: Living with Mediocrity"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>After winning five games in a row and finding themselves\u00a0briefly in a playoff spot, the Habs have reverted to form and lost three games last week. In <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/canadiens\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Montreal Canadiens<\/a> news this week, it may be time to accept mediocrity in Montreal.<\/p>\n<h1>Montreal Canadiens News and Notes December 11: Living with Mediocrity<\/h1>\n<h2><strong>Scores and News<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3>Scores<\/h3>\n<p>The Canadiens lost 4-3 to the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/blues\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">St. Louis Blues<\/a>. <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/j\/juliecl01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Claude Julien<\/a><\/strong> benched the Canadiens leading scorer\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/g\/gallabr01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brendan Gallagher<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0for over eight minutes after the winger took a penalty and followed it up with a giveaway in the neutral zone that resulted in a goal. While the Habs were able to hang with one of the top teams in the league, this loss augered a weak week at the Bell Center.<\/p>\n<p>The followed this loss, with a\u00a03-2 loss in overtime to the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/flames\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Calgary Flames<\/a>. The Flames were missing\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/t\/tkachma01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Matthew Tkachuk<\/a><\/strong> and had a backup goalie in net. <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/monahse01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sean Monahan<\/a><\/strong>\u2018s scored his second goal of the game 1:14 into overtime. <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/r\/rittida01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">David Rittich<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0made 35 saves in the win on Thursday night.<\/p>\n<p>The 6-2 blowout on Saturday\u00a0night to the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/oilers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Edmonton Oilers<\/a> made it three losses in a row.\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/p\/priceca01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Carey Price<\/a><\/strong> didn\u2019t show up and the Montreal offence made Edmonton goaltender<strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/b\/brossla01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Laurent Brossoit<\/a><\/strong> look like an all-star.<\/p>\n<h3>Player News<\/h3>\n<p><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> may be close to returning to Montreal. His first stop will be Laval.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Canadiens assigned forward Nikita Scherbak to the AHL&#39;s Laval Rocket. Scherbak missed the last 21 games due to a knee injury suffered on October 26.<\/p>\n<p>READ -&gt; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/a5PG9cK4a2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/a5PG9cK4a2<\/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\/939915691616014336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">December 10, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The move suggests he has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.habseyesontheprize.com\/latest-news\/2017\/12\/10\/16758660\/nikita-scherbak-reassigned-to-the-laval-rocket-ahl-montreal-canadies-knee-injury-recovery\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">recovered from the knee surgery<\/a> he suffered at the end of October.<\/p>\n<p>The poor treatment of <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/g\/galchal01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Alex Galchenyuk<\/a><\/strong> by the Montreal Canadiens organization is leading to criticism and concern from commentators. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sportsnet.ca\/hockey\/nhl\/time-canadiens-reconsider-deal-alex-galchenyuk\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Eric Engels notes that:<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;&#8230;the player has spent stretches on the fourth line and had his ice time reduced to less than 14 minutes per game in 14 of the 59 games Julien\u2019s coached since taking over for Michel Therrien last February, you start to understand why some media members\u2014including\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/montrealgazette.com\/sports\/hockey\/nhl\/hockey-inside-out\/stu-cowan-its-time-for-the-canadiens-to-trade-alex-galchenyuk\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/recrutes.ca\/mcleans-pub-call-wilde-use-trade\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brian Wilde of Recrutes.ca<\/a>\u00a0just this past week\u2014and a fair portion of the fans have suggested it\u2019s time for the Canadiens to trade him.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>While<strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/metevi01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Victor Mete<\/a><\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/montrealgazette.com\/sports\/hockey\/nhl\/hockey-inside-out\/stu-cowan-canadiens-victor-mete-keeps-proving-he-can-play-in-the-nhl\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0has had a largely positive experience as a 19-year-old rookie,<\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/h\/hickepa01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pat Hickey<\/a> says it is time to <a href=\"http:\/\/montrealgazette.com\/sports\/hockey\/nhl\/hockey-inside-out\/pat-hickey-only-the-most-optimistic-think-habs-have-a-chance-this-season\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">send him off to the world juniors<\/a> and re-evaluate his position when the tournament ends on Jan. 6. He has played 27 games, earned four assists and his plus-minus rating is the best among the Canadiens\u2019 defencemen at plus-5. Hickey states:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;After starting the season as <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/w\/webersh01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Shea Weber<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s partner on the No. 1 defence pairing, he has been a healthy scratch for the past two games.\u00a0Mete is averaging a shade under 15 minutes, but on half-a-dozen occasions, his ice time has slipped below 10 minutes, which isn\u2019t good for his development or his confidence.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Commentary<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong><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><\/strong>&#8216;s job seems safe for now.\u00a0Montreal Canadiens owner <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/montreal\/montreal-canadiens-habs-molson-gives-bergevin-support-1.4440728\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Geoff Molson told reporters last week<\/a> in Florida that his general manager has his full confidence. It is hard to see why.<\/p>\n<h3>5 Key Problems<\/h3>\n<p>After\u00a0five years under Bergevin, Francois Lauzon <a href=\"http:\/\/montrealgazette.com\/sports\/hockey\/nhl\/hockey-inside-out\/from-a-week-of-triumph-to-a-week-of-despair-the-canadiens-stumble-again\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sums up the Canadiens challenges<\/a> in five key points. they include:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\">They still haven\u2019t found a big No. 1 line center;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\">They\u2019re still way too small as a team physically;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\">When <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> doesn\u2019t score who else does? (Thank you, <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/g\/gallabr01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brendan Gallagher<\/a><\/strong>, for having a great year, will you keep it up?);<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\">The defense seems to have been gutted (Where are you <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/markoan01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Andrei Markov<\/a><\/strong>, and Tampa Bay Lightning\u2019s <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/s\/sergami01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mikhail Sergachev<\/a><\/strong>?);<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong><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><\/strong> is a great player, but probably should not be playing center (How are those faceoffs going?).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3>The Audacity of Optimism<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/h\/hickepa01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pat Hickey<\/a> suggests if you are still optimistic about the Montreal Canadiens, you are among a just a select few at this point in the season. The Canadiens are 1-2-1 in the current homestand and they are fading out of the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference. They are only two points behind the Boston Bruins in the fight for third place in the Atlantic Division, but Boston has four games in hand.\u00a0The only bright\u00a0spot has been the line from Laval. <a href=\"http:\/\/montrealgazette.com\/sports\/hockey\/nhl\/hockey-inside-out\/pat-hickey-only-the-most-optimistic-think-habs-have-a-chance-this-season\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pat Hickey states<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The only player on pace to reach 50 points this season is fourth-liner\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/c\/carrda01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Daniel Carr<\/a><\/strong>, who has seven points in the five games since he was recalled from Laval. There are players who should be embarrassed that Carr, <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/d\/deslani01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nicolas Deslauriers<\/a>,<\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/f\/froesby01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Byron Froese<\/a><\/strong> have set the standard for hard work on this team.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>Learning to Live with Mediocrity<\/h3>\n<p>It may be time for fans to start to learn to live with <a href=\"https:\/\/thehockeywriters.com\/montreal-canadiens-mediocrity\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">mediocrity in Montreal<\/a>. There are some silver linings. Cheaper tickets and shorter lines for the bathroom are one thing. Ridiculous profits for the Montreal Canadiens help ensure this mediocrity is likely to continue. As <a href=\"http:\/\/montrealgazette.com\/sports\/hockey\/nhl\/hockey-inside-out\/what-the-puck-second-rate-canadiens-generating-first-rate-profits\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brendan Kelley points out<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If you\u2019re a fan, these stellar revenue and profit numbers should not be warming your heart. That\u2019s because your Montreal Canadiens are making bigger and bigger bucks even though the product on the ice is more mediocre than ever. Where\u2019s the motivation to improve the club if you\u2019re making a profit of nearly US$100 million?&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Game Previews<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Just two games this week. On Thursday, the Canadiens face the high flying <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/devils\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">New Jersey Devils<\/a> at home at the Bell center. Game time is 7:30 PM EST.<\/p>\n<p>The Habs start an extended road trip on Saturday against the struggling <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/senators\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ottawa Senators<\/a>. Game time is 7:00 PM EST.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"m417RLtERktbAfMgG3PH0g\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/889123836\" 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:'m417RLtERktbAfMgG3PH0g',sig:'4docobSGf8KWSvBL5sIGL6idW2sWMgBtMprI4pcb3C0=',w:'594px',h:'395px',items:'889123836',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<div class=\"grammarly-disable-indicator\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After winning five games in a row and finding themselves\u00a0briefly in a playoff spot, the Habs have reverted to form and lost three games last week. In Montreal Canadiens news this week, it may be time to accept mediocrity in Montreal. Montreal Canadiens News and Notes December 11: Living with Mediocrity Scores and News Scores [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2253,"featured_media":20025,"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],"tags":[265,266,445,481],"class_list":["post-20022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-canadiens","tag-alex-galchenyuk","tag-brendan-gallagher","tag-nikita-scherbak","tag-victor-mete"],"modified_by":"Connor Lapalme","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20022","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=20022"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20022\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}