In the Habs room: ‘We tried to do too much and it cost us’ against the Kraken

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What should have been a good night for Canadians ended in disaster on Tuesday.

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The Canadiens had every reason to be optimistic when they opened a four-game road trip against the Seattle Kraken at the Climate Pledge Arena.

They had momentum after defeating Detroit 6-1 on Saturday, had Captain Shea Weber on board as a cheerleader and faced an expansion team whose start to the season mirrored the Canadiens in the futility.

But Seattle was simply the better team, as they took advantage of mistakes and edged the Canadiens for a 5-1 victory.

“We shot ourselves in the foot several times, and they took advantage of it,” coach Dominique Ducharme said. “There were turnovers in dangerous areas, which led to attacks against us. We knew it, we knew it And they made us pay for it. The momentum changed in the second period and that made a difference.

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“We talked before the game about the fact that they don’t give easy entries into the zone,” Ducharme said. “We tried to do too much and it cost us the game. We have to manage the game better, including our work in the neutral zone. “

Each of the Kraken’s five goals was the result of a loss and / or an instance of the Kraken using their speed to defeat the Canadiens on the ice.

Defender Jeff Petry said he remembered two other one-sided losses early on.

“It was the same game that we played in Buffalo and at home against San Jose,” Petry said. “It just doesn’t work and it’s frustrating. They are a team that works hard and has a style of play focused on a fast counterattack. We were too slow to react in the neutral zone and were second in the puck battles. We are disconnected (from each other).

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“Everyone has good intentions, but it’s not always about working hard, it’s about working smart,” said Petry.

Josh Anderson said lack of execution is the main concern.

“The coaches put together a game plan for each night and it’s our job as players to go out there and execute it and we’re not doing it right now,” Anderson said. “Tonight, there were too many turnovers in the neutral zone.”

Anderson said the Canadiens had some scoring opportunities and were frustrated when they didn’t connect.

One of the reasons for that frustration was goalkeeper Phillip Grubauer. He was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy and the Kraken pulled him away from Colorado with a six-year contract with an annual cap of $ 5.9 million. He set the tone for this early game when he crossed to save a leg after Mike Hoffman set Brendan Gallagher on a strange run.

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It was difficult to find positives for Canadians.

Hoffman scored for the second straight game and Gallagher received an assist for his first point of the season.

Weber, who is out of season with multiple injuries, flew in from his home in Kelowna and joined his teammates in a Seattle Seahawks game Monday. He didn’t offer any updates on his health, but Jonathan Drouin suggested after the morning skate that the star defender had played his last game.

Drouin, who is the team’s leading scorer with five points, said it was important to start this trip on the right foot but failed to register a shot on goal and finished the night on minus-3.

The next step for the Canadiens is Thursday’s rematch against the San Jose Sharks, who won 5-0 last week at the Bell Center.

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