Jonathan Drouin was a late scratch due to an illness not related to COVID. Brendan Gallagher walked out in second period and is struggling with a lower body injury from day to day.
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The Montreal Canadiens ended a hectic 2021 with a 4-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Thursday. Metropolitan Division leader Canes did all his damage on special teams, scoring three times on the power play and adding another bit.
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Already scraping the bottom of the lineup’s barrel, injury and the COVID-depleted Habs pulled Jonathan Drouin out of the lineup due to a “non-COVID-related illness.” During the second period, Brendan Gallagher left the game and is day-to-day with a lower body injury. Forward Brandon Baddock made his NHL debut and wore No. 81 for the Habs. Even the two most recent summons, Louie Belpedio and Gianni Fairbrother, couldn’t avoid the COVID list. So goes the Montreal season.
Meanwhile, power hurricanes brought Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and Jordan Staal back from the COVID protocol.
Nino Niederreiter started scoring at 10:46 of the first period in the power play. Jacob Slavin’s point shot made it through, and Niederreiter was there to set off the rebound.
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With Brady Skjei in the area, Carolina jumped to a 2-0 lead. Aho and Teravainen raced two-on-one, with the former giving the latter a clean one-time pass that beat Samuel Montembeault.
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In the second, the Habs held out for as long as they could, but the talented Canes gradually began to gain momentum. Before the period ended, the Hurricanes scored another power play goal to enter the locker room up 3-0 in the 40th minute. Teravainen scored his second of the night, completing a pair of precise passes with Aho and Martin Necas. Montembeault slipped early to stop the Finnish striker, but Teravainen did not miss the second time with a short side-kick.
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The Hurricanes finally finished the Habs at 10:52 in the third period with Michael Pezzetta in the area. Rookie forward Seth Jarvis was the latest beneficiary of Carolina’s smooth passing game, and he wasn’t wrong with a top player.
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With Gallagher out, the lineup the Habs sent in in the third period cost less than $ 20 million in cap space. That said, what was left of the Montreal Canadiens kept the Canes scoreless happy at five on five. The effort was there and Liveblog commenters found individual performances to appreciate. Lukas Vejdemo went to the net and scored chances. Ryan Poehling worked hard on the power play. The commenters liked Rafael Harvey-Pinard and Jesse Ylönen, but as one commenter put it, “the bar is pretty low.”
Thanks to everyone who followed the Liveblog during what turned out to be an interesting 2021, full of ups and downs. We continue until 2022.
3. “‘Last Game of 2021’ Not exactly New Years Eve 1975 …” -Ballen Munson
2. “Activate the detonators and let’s blow up this team …” -Jeff Elikins
1. “Today I had lunch with a friend who is a staunch Leaf fan. When the conversation finally got to the Habs, he asked me why I was so defensive when I knew they were playing so badly. I told him I was on the defensive because he’s not a fan of the Habs. Only Habs fans can shit on the entire team, coaches, and players with other Habs fans, like we do on this blog. He just didn’t get it. “-Bob Taylor
Reference-montrealgazette.com