Canadiens come out uninspired in opposition to Minnesota Wild

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It could be simple to counsel the Canadiens suffered an emotional letdown with out Kirby Dach, one of many younger gamers this group will construct round because it seeks brighter days sooner or later.

Nevertheless it’s unlikely even a wholesome Dach would have helped Montreal on this evening.

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The Canadiens got here out flat and suffered their first regulation loss in three video games this season, proving little opposition in opposition to the Minnesota Wild, who breezed to a 5-2 victory Tuesday evening on the Bell Centre.

Following the sport, as anticipated, the group introduced 6-foot-4, 217-pound centre Dach would miss the rest of the common season after sustaining tears to the anterior and medial collateral ligaments in his proper knee final Saturday, in opposition to Chicago, his former group. Dach will bear surgical procedure.

To compound issues, 21-year-old defenceman Kaiden Guhle didn’t return for the third interval, having suffered an upper-body harm. He’ll be re-evaluated earlier than the group offers an replace.

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That is starting to sound like a damaged file for the Canadiens, who led the NHL with 751 man-games misplaced final season.

“I don’t know the way we’re going to do it (with out Dach),” head coach Martin St. Louis admitted. “However we don’t play till Saturday, so we have now time to return up for air and attempt to discover the best resolution, no matter that’s.”

Dach, who had two assists this season, was changed on the Canadiens’ second line by Alex Newhook, who performed between Tanner Pearson and Juraj Slafkovsky. Coincidentally, Newhook and Pearson had been Montreal’s solely aim scorers in opposition to 38-year-old Marc-André Fleury, who was making his first begin of the season for the Wild.

Fleury, a Sorel native, confronted 27 photographs in what might need been the final begin of his profession in opposition to the Canadiens. It was the 545th victory of his profession, leaving him six in need of tying Patrick Roy.

No matter spectators remained chanted Fleury’s title within the third interval and after he was named the sport’s first star. He improved to 27-13-6 in opposition to the Canadiens and has 5 consecutive victories over Montreal.

The Wild, who allowed seven Toronto objectives on the highway final Saturday, has just one defeat in its final 16 video games in opposition to the Canadiens, going again to Oct. 17, 2019.

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Attributable to accidents and with the group up in opposition to the wage cap, Minnesota dressed solely 19 gamers — one beneath the minimal — electing to go along with 11 forwards and 6 defencemen.

“They work laborious,” Sean Monahan mentioned. “They’re a veteran group. Their prime guys had been transferring the puck. Once you’re enjoying in opposition to a group like that, the place their prime guys need to contact the puck and are on the power-play all recreation, they begin to be ok with themselves.”

The Wild scored two shorthanded objectives inside 26 seconds within the opening interval, earlier than scoring its closing three on the power-play in opposition to netminder Samuel Montembeault, who confronted 35 photographs however seemed weak on two of the objectives, crushed to his glove hand.

Joel Eriksson Ek paced Minnesota with two objectives, giving him three this season. Brandon Duhaime, Connor Dewar and Kirill Kaprizov accomplished the scoring. Duhaime and Dewar scored whereas the Wild was shorthanded. Mats Zuccarello had three assists. It marked the second time in his profession Eriksson Ek scored a number of power-play objectives in the identical recreation.

The Canadiens hadn’t allowed two objectives throughout the identical power-play since April 11, 2009, in opposition to Pittsburgh. Fleury, coincidentally, was the Penguins’ goalie that evening. The final time the Canadiens allowed a couple of shorthanded aim in a recreation was March 19, 2016, in opposition to Ottawa.

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Montreal, now 1-1-1, leads the league in minor penalties by the opening two weeks of the season.

“We didn’t give ourselves an opportunity to win,” Brendan Gallagher mentioned. “We will’t do the issues we did — the quantity of penalties we had; two shorthanded objectives on the identical power-play — we will’t try this. It wasn’t a really sensible recreation by us by any means.”

Dach’s absence created a gap for rugged fourth-line ahead Michael Pezzetta, who made his regular-season debut and did his greatest to supply a spark, successful a pair of fights in opposition to Duhaime within the second interval and Dakota Mermis within the third.

The Canadiens had been trailing 3-1 when Pezzetta dropped the gloves for the primary time and might need rallied had they scored the following aim. However Slafkovsky took a silly interference penalty within the offensive zone — his second of the sport — knocking a Wild participant’s stick out of his fingers. Minnesota scored each occasions he was off.

“It was a penalty we undoubtedly don’t want at the moment,” St. Louis admitted. “We’ve taken so many penalties I may bench everybody.”

Montreal concludes its three-game homestand Saturday evening, in opposition to Washington.

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