As many observers and fans predicted prior to the start of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, the 2022-2023 Montreal Canadiens are struggling, and certain stats illustrate their struggles well.
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Unsurprisingly, the Habs are “fighting” for the bottom of the overall standings, and finishing 32nd of the round will give them the best chance of winning the lottery in the next amateur draft. In such a case, he has an opportunity to select Regina Pats’ gifted forward Connor Bedard.
Head coach Martin St-Louis’ team also held 26th place in the NHL with 50 points before the duels on Monday and nothing indicates a comeback, injuries don’t help them. Here are the numbers that don’t lie about him.
Lost over 400 games
As of Friday, and as reported by mangameslost.com, the Canadians led the NHL with 414 missed player games this season, 10 more than the Toronto Maple Leafs. At the other end of the spectrum, the New York Rangers have been blessed in that regard thanks to their 29 missed man games. Bleu-Blanc-Rouge are thus well placed to once again win the unenviable title of the most crippled club in the league, having missed a total of 731 player games in 2021-2022.
game of helplessness
Like the previous campaign, this one is marked by the ineffectiveness of the Canadian’s power play, 29th in the NHL with a 16.9% win rate. However, St-Louis can take comfort in the fact that his people are doing better than last year when they finished second to bottom with 13.7%. Massive attacking at its best is a prerequisite for success: the bottom six formations for outnumbered performances are currently barred from the playoffs.
Low profile offensive
If the power play is difficult to produce then the entire team’s overall goals will suffer and in the case of the Habs, who withheld Cole Caufield, that means 29th in terms of overall offense with an average of 2.63 goals scored per game . That’s a far cry from the Edmonton Oilers (3.75) and Boston Bruins (3.73), the NHL’s two most productive clubs. Last season, Montreal finished with a return of 2.69, which should be similar to its current schedule numbers.
sieve defensive
Even within his territory, the Canadian has difficulties. With an average of 3.66 goals conceded per game, they are the fourth most happy team in the league. In particular, everything is related to the number of shots allowed, since goalkeepers Jake Allen and Samuel Montembeault have had their very busy evenings so far. Montreal averages 33.9 shots per duel, the fifth-highest total in the NHL.
Back to others
Captain Nick Suzuki leads his team with 42 points. This is the lowest number for a point guard among other NHL clubs. To be honest, only the Chicago Blackhawks (Max Domi, also 42 points) are even worse. Behind the number 14, Kirby Dach is his second-best active scorer at 35, down one behind Caufield, who has been away for several weeks. All of the club’s other hockey players are below the 25-point mark.