Montreal Canadiens End The Team’s Longest Losing Streak in 80 Seasons

Well, the Montreal Canadiens organization filled the rink with motivation. Specifically, the arena was seeping history when it brought back some of the franchise’s greatest all-time great players to celebrate the 110th anniversary of the Canadiens’ franchise.

Although I’m certain that, when the team organized the event, it didn’t know a losing streak would be a threat; however, I’m also pretty sure that having those Canadiens alumni in attendance didn’t do anything but ramp up the current players.

Whatever happened, it worked. And, as a result, the Canadiens ended their losing streak before it hit eight games, which would have been their longest losing streak in 80 years. In attendance at Bell Centre were great players such as Yvan Cournoyer, Serge Savard, Chris Chelios, and Saku Koivu.

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The Victory Over the New York Islanders

Obviously, the moment was not lost on the players. Not only did Phillip Danault, Brendan Gallagher, and Shea Weber (Jeff Petry had the other goal) each get a goal and an assist to help the Canadiens snap their eight-game losing streak, Weber noted about the celebration: “I can’t say enough how neat that was. There’s so much history in this franchise. To have the captains here, their presence, them giving back to the team, it was really cool.”

He added that the presence of these great franchise players was encouraging, noting “it definitely helped. Everybody in here had a boost, especially the way things were going. It was a good thing for us to be a part of that and use that.”

The win ended a 0-5-3 skid and avoided the club’s first nine-game skid since the 1939-40 season.

Players of the Game

Jeff Petry’s goal was his third goal of the season. He now has 15 points in 28 games.

Gallagher’s goal was the team-high 11th goal of the season. He now has 21 points in 28 games.

Not only did Weber have a goal and an assist, but he also logged 29:49 minutes of ice time in 27 shifts. Weber started the season slowly but has scored nine goals, 14 assists, and 23 points in 29 games.

Danault scored a goal and added an assist. He now has seven goals, 15 assists, for 22 points in 29 games.

Carey Price improved his record to 11-9-3 with a 3.13 GAA and .899 save percentage. He had been on a 0-5-1 slide during his last six games.

Related: NHL Rumor: Montreal Canadiens Might Move Price and Weber

Other Montreal Canadiens Team News

Max Domi has been held pointless in three straight games. He had five shots on goal against the Islanders, but couldn’t score a goal. He has only scored two goals with six points during his previous 15 games. The 24-year-old Domi had a career season with 72-points a year ago, but his shooting percentage this year is only 8.3%. There not much chance, if this slide continues, that he’ll come anywhere near last season’s totals.

Gustav Olofsson was up with the big club for a while, but he was returned to Laval of the AHL. He played only three games with the Canadiens, and he didn’t have much ice time when he played. Against the Islanders, he only played 5:59 minutes

Cayden Primeau was in goal for the Canadiens in Thursday night’s 3-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. He wasn’t bad, and he stopped 32 of 35 shots. However, his team simply didn’t mount enough offense. It was Primeau’s NHL debut. The Canadiens picked him in the seventh round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, and the 20-year-old goalie has had seven wins with a 2.58 goals-against average and .910 save percentage in 12 games with Laval this season.

What’s Next with the Canadiens?

The Canadiens have a two-game road trip coming up. They’ll play the New York Rangers on December 6 and then have three nights off and play the Pittsburgh Penguins on December 10. Hopefully, the team can stop its one-game losing streak it started tonight against the Avalanche. It might be the team’s season should they lost seven in a row once again.