The Montreal Canadiens will look to end their three-game homestand with a win on Thursday when they take on the Los Angeles Kings.
The Canadiens could not continue the aggressive game they showed in a 4-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. Two days later, Montreal fell victim to former Canadien Lars Eller, who scored two goals to help the Pittsburgh Penguins win 6-3.
“I don’t like to take credit from another team,” Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher told the Montreal Gazette. “(The Penguins) came at us hard, aggressive and in our faces. We didn’t have a lot of time to make plays. At the same time, I thought we weren’t sharp. I just thought we were players. It was a little sloppy.”
Montreal defenseman David Savard recorded a minus-3 rating in that game and dropped to minus-5 on the junior season. He’ll look for a better showing Thursday when he plays in his 800th NHL game.
“I think sometimes we’re disconnected,” Savard said, per the Montreal Gazette. “At some points, it feels like everyone is on the same page and playing very well. We have to find a way, even in those moments when we feel disconnected, to do better. The games we do. We’ve lost and we’ve had moments where it was difficult to come out and regroup we have to find a way to be consistent.
The Canadiens were consistent in each, as Juraj Slafkovsky scored on the power play early in the second half on Monday. Montreal has been man-up in all four of its games this season.
“We made more mistakes than them,” Slafkovsky said. “I think that’s all. … Our mistakes, like, a lot of weird people rush them, and it’s hard because they have good players who can score goals.”
The Canadiens were scoreless against the Kings last season, dropping a 4-0 decision.
Trevor Moore had two goals in a game in Los Angeles on Nov. 25, and another on Dec. 7. Pheonix Copley stopped 18 shots he faced in the start.
Copley relieved David Rittich after the latter scored four goals on 14 shots in the Kings’ 6-2 comeback win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. Copley was recalled from Ontario of the American Hockey League with fellow goaltender Darcy Kuemper nursing an injury.
Kevin Fiala and Alex Turcotte scored for the Kings on Wednesday as Los Angeles went 1-1-2 in their seven-game season opener due to field repairs. Fiala has scored three goals in the last two games, but Amakhosi have lost three games in a row (0-1-2).
“This ‘East-West’ type of thing doesn’t work for us,” Kings forward Trevor Lewis said of the team’s recent open approach. “We know what we have to do to be successful. We have to buy in and do it.”
The Kings played Wednesday without point guard Joel Edmundson, who was absent from the team as he awaits the birth of his first child with his wife.
–Field Level Media
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