The sun and surf of California proved no respite for the Canadiens’ woes. Now they return home to face the Florida Panthers at the Bell Centre and a city that’s ready to boil over with anxiety.
It wasn’t so much that they lost on the West Coast - that had been occurring for years - it was the manner in which the Canadiens did so. Their penalty kill was ravaged by the San Jose Sharks, the team simply capitulated in the third period against the Los Angeles Kings, and in a must-rebound situation, the Habs came out of the gate utterly flat against the Anaheim Ducks.