About Last Night: Habs Bargain Bin Performance on Black Friday

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Tage Thompson scored two goals for the Buffalo Sabers in a 4-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens at the KeyBank Center on Black Friday. The Sabers entered the contest on a four-game streak, but outscored the Habs from start to finish, shooting 39-26. Samuel Montembeault made 35 saves in the loss, while former Hab Dustin Tokarski got the win for Buffalo. The Habs lost their second straight game to fall to 5-15-2, with a 1-9-1 road record.

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The lanky forward started scoring at 4:08 in the first. Victor Olofsson shoved a one-handed pass to Jeff Skinner, who found Thompson running through the slot into the net. At full throttle, his shot beat Montembeault to the first 1-0 lead.

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Before the first period ended, the Habs drew 1-1 on a turnover of their own. Skinner coughed the puck into the slot at Josh Anderson, who quickly turned and fired past Tokarski for the tie without help.

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The Sabers outscored the Habs 14-2 in the second period. After stealing the puck in defensive zone, the Sabers raced across the ice 3v2. Cody Eakin and Vinnie Hinostroza executed the creative trade, with Eakin finishing with just one time to give Buffalo a 2-1 lead.

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The Canadiens were given a golden opportunity to tie the game when Brett Murray went into the box for a high-stick major double for the game’s first penalty. Not only did the league’s 28th best power play not score with a four-minute lead, it also conceded a short goal to Kyle Okposo. Four Canadiens watched as Okposo saved his own rebound. The shorty gave Buffalo a 3-1 lead in the third period.

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In the third, Thompson scored from a fairly similar spot in the slot for his second of the night to give his team a 4-1 lead, which was how the game ended. Skinner and Olofsson also got their second assistants. All three members of the Artturi Lehkonen-Jake Evans-Brendan Gallagher line were -3.

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Even the Toronto sports media has found out about Montreal’s struggles:

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During the second intermission, Liveblog commentators were asked, if they were in charge of the Canadiens tomorrow, what would their first move be? Here are some answers:

“Sit down with the team and take a closer look at last year’s race to the finals: the hustle, the heart, the simple plays, the team play, the team defense, the joy, the pride.”

“Call Anaheim for permission to speak to Joel Bouchard, to become the next head coach.”

“DD has to go, start there. This team has abandoned it, it has lost space, choose them, the same result. “

“At this point. Play the boys. Swap the style for a simpler one. Let the season run its course and expect a top draft pick. Work to replace Weber, MB and see if DD has a job under the new management. It’s not going anywhere this season. Wear it. See who’s moving out of season and before the trade deadline. “

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“Clean house. Bergy, Ducharme, Timmins, the water boy… everyone. A letter to the fans in the style of the New York Rangers and a total rebuild. This team is a disaster right now.”

“Dress them in their blue uniforms … it might as well be blue while you put on the blues.”

“Abolish the requirement to speak French for GMs and coaches”.

“Submit my resignation.”

As you can see, Habs fans are thinking about the next steps. The Royal Habs will have to get rid of Friday night’s loss and prepare for Saturday’s next game against the Penguins. There are no days off. The Liveblog commenters were ruthless and quite funny last night, so here are more of them:

3. “The Canadiens should be sponsored by Pillsbury, because they are handing out free turnovers.” -Ryan Katz

2. “Now you can see the highlights of the regular games on the comedy channel.” -Gary Wolitski

1. “Tomorrow is the day of change. I’ve been saying it for 3 years, but I can feel it. Red Fisher said in his book, “When the local news storm demanded change, change would happen” … today feels like one of those days … “-Arthur Chilli