There is no doubt in my mind that if your a Montreal Canadiens the last few weeks have been something you would want to forget. As since returning from the All-Star Game the Montreal Canadiens have been struggling as they have lost the lost 5 game in the row, and they were looking to end this streak as they played The Arizona Coyotes on The 27th at the Bell Centre in Montreal. The Starting Goaltender in net for the Canadiens was Samuel Montembeault, this was a little unexpected due to the fact that he hasn’t started for The Canadiens since February 21st when they played The Buffalo Sabres in Montreal. Although the Canadiens lost the game 3-2 tonight was different for Snacks as Montembeault stopped 36 out of the 38 shots on target in the win. However, Montembeault is not the only one who stepped up to snap this streak as Joel Armia started off the scoring for the Canadiens in the first period when he potted his 10th of the season. This was a big stepping stone to counteract the fact that the Canadiens were out-shot in the first period as his goal was the only goal in the 1st. Until the second period when Jordan Harris added onto the scoring for the Canadiens as he blocked a shot that was coming from Arizona’s defender Carconi and then he brought it all the way back by himself and scored his second goal of the season. However this reassurance goal by Harris didn’t last long for the Canadiens as Alexander Kerfoot scored his 9th goal of the season for the Coyotes 3 minutes later. The second period finished with no further addition of goals by any teams but the Coyotes were still leading the shot category 27 shots in comparison to only 15 shot by Montreal. In the 3rd period the Canadiens made some adjustments as 5 minutes into the period Tanner Pearson scored his 5th goal of the season for the Canadiens making it 3-1. The game stayed that way until there was 6 minutes left in the game and Nick Bjugstad tried to rally back the Coyotes with a goal to make it 3-2. However, the Coyotes efforts would not be enough as with 2.2 seconds left in the game Nick Suzuki potted in an empty netter from the blue line to make the final score 4-2 Montreal Canadiens.

The overall game was a much-needed important win for The Canadiens as they finally ended the losing streak. However, the game was no way easy as the Coyotes outshot the Canadiens 38 to 20, and in the effort the Canadiens blocked 24 shots compared to the Coyotes 12. The Canadiens also had to figure out their penalty kill problems as today they were the only team who was given penalties. Although it was a rather low penalty game to begin with, having only 3 penalties in total all were given to Montreal. It was the fact that penalties were given to the key players as The first overall pick from 2022 Juraj Slafkovsky got a high-sticking penalty once in the first period and another time in the second. The last penalty by the Canadiens was in the 3rd by Assistant Captain Josh Anderson and the call was for tripping. Although, the Coyotes did not get a penalty in this game they also did not capitalize on any of there power play opportunities. Overall this game was a heartfelt competition played by The Canadiens and it came at the right time because with the win they avoided moving to last position in the Atlantic Conference. Overall, the Montreal Canadiens currently sit 27th in the NHL at 54 points and have a record of 23 wins, 28 losses, and 8 overtime/shootout losses. Hopefully, this win can give the Montreal Canadiens momentum to finish off the season strong or at least go into their next few games with some confidence as have a tough 4 game road stretch ahead of them, and 1 tough game when they get back,

At the start of this road stretch they will be going to Florida to play the Panthers and then the Lightning. This is not just a division matchup for the Canadiens this is to prove that they can face one of the top teams. As the Panthers are 8-2 in the last 10 games and they have 82 points which puts them in the top 3 in standings in the entire NHL. For the Lightning it’s a game that can go either or as Tampa are a mid-tier team in the Atlantic and our 5-5 in there last 10. However after that it gets more harder as they go to the West and play Nashville who is 6-3 in there last 10 games . They then finish off the road trip when they head to the always grueling fanbase of The Carolina Hurricanes. Carolina also has a 6-3 record in there last 10 but have more points than The Predators. This road trip is a true test to see how the Montreal Canadiens will be looking in terms of the Draft or maybe if all goes well making a push to be closer in playoffs. However for me this road trip isn’t even the toughest match that will happen in the Canadiens next 5 games as there 5th and final game is when they get back home. This game is against their rivals the Toronto Maple Leafs, and if they end up doing poorly on the road trip, this game against the Leafs could be the tipping point, to changing the organization and internal aspects in this team. But, this is all my speculation, Montreal has to take this win and cling to it as it wasn’t their best display of hockey effort but it was good enough to get them a win. And as they say 2 points is 2 points especially if it will go a long way to help them in this tough Atlantic Division.