The Montreal Canadiens will look to conclude their three-game homestand with a victory on Thursday after they face the Los Angeles Kings.
The Canadiens had been unable to hold over the aggressive play they confirmed in a 4-1 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. Two days later, Montreal fell sufferer to former Canadien Lars Eller, who scored twice to assist the Pittsburgh Penguins submit a 6-3 triumph.
“I do not prefer to take credit score away from the opposite staff,” Canadiens ahead Brendan Gallagher mentioned, per the Montreal Gazette. “(The Penguins) got here at us arduous, they had been aggressive and in our face. We did not have a variety of time to make performs. On the identical time, I believe we weren’t sharp. I simply thought we had been a bit of sloppy.”
Montreal defenseman David Savard recorded a minus-3 score in that recreation and dropped to minus-5 on the younger season. He’ll search for a greater displaying on Thursday when he performs his 800th profession NHL recreation.
“I believe at some factors we’re disconnected,” Savard mentioned, per the Montreal Gazette. “At another factors, it looks like everyone’s on the identical web page and taking part in very well. We have simply received to determine a approach, even throughout these moments once we do not feel as linked, to execute higher. The video games we misplaced we had occasions the place it was tougher to interrupt out and regroup. Now we have to determine a method to be extra constant.”
The Canadiens had been constant in a single regard, as Juraj Slafkovsky scored on the facility play early within the second interval on Monday. Montreal has transformed with the person benefit in all 4 of its video games this season.
“We made extra errors than them,” Slafkovsky mentioned. “I assume that is all it’s. … Our personal errors, like, so many odd-man rushes for them, and it is arduous as a result of they’ve good gamers that may rating objectives.”
The Canadiens did not rating any objectives in opposition to the Kings final season, dropping a pair of 4-0 choices.
Trevor Moore scored two objectives within the conflict at Los Angeles on Nov. 25, and he tallied once more on Dec. 7. Pheonix Copley turned apart all 18 photographs he confronted within the preliminary encounter.
Copley relieved David Rittich after the latter yielded 4 objectives on 14 photographs within the Kings’ 6-2 setback to the host Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. Copley was summoned from Ontario of the American Hockey League with fellow goaltender Darcy Kuemper nursing a lower-body harm.
Kevin Fiala and Alex Turcotte produced the Kings’ purpose on Wednesday as Los Angeles fell to 1-1-2 throughout its season-opening seven-game highway journey necessitated by enviornment renovations. Fiala has scored three objectives prior to now two video games, however the Kings have dropped three video games in a row (0-1-2).
“This ‘East-West’ form of stuff will not be working for us,” Kings ahead Trevor Lewis mentioned of the staff’s latest open-ice strategy. “We all know what we’ve got to do to achieve success. We have simply received to purchase in and do it.”
The Kings performed Wednesday with out defenseman Joel Edmundson, who was away from the staff as he awaited the delivery of his first baby along with his spouse.
–Discipline Stage Media
