The Montreal Canadiens have hit a rough patch at home, and the numbers tell an interesting story about what’s going wrong at the Bell Centre.
You might think it’s the pressure from the home crowd. But Montreal fans are actually pretty supportive compared to places like Madison Square Garden or Philadelphia, where fans don’t hesitate to boo their own teams.
The real problem? It’s all about the second period.
Since November 1, the Habs’ performance in the middle frame has basically decided if they’ll win or lose. Here’s how it breaks down:
• When they win the second period (5 games): 9 out of 10 possible points
• When they tie in the second (2 games): 2 out of 4 points
• When they lose the second (8 games): Just 1 point out of 16
That last number is brutal – when Montreal doesn’t win the second period at home, they’ve picked up only three points out of a possible 20.
But here’s the weird part: they’re not getting outplayed, at least not on paper. The Canadiens have taken exactly the same number of shots (133) as their opponents in second periods since November 1.
The difference? They’ve been scored on 25 times while only finding the net 17 times themselves. Their goalies are stopping just 81.2% of shots in these middle frames – that’s way below NHL standards.
It’s not all on the netminders, though. The team’s making life harder than it needs to be.
Players aren’t getting to the dirty areas in front of the net enough. They’re trying too many fancy plays that lead to turnovers. And when things break down, everyone gets spread out instead of staying tight as a five-man unit.
The contrast between home and road games is striking. Since November 1, they’re minus-18 at home but plus-4 on the road.
The solution? It’s pretty simple, actually – the kind of hockey that worked in Thursday’s game against Chicago. Dump the puck deep, chase it hard, and get bodies in front of the net. Sometimes the old-school approach is still the best one.
