It’s not often that after just two games a fanbase and team are sweating the other 80 that they still have to play in the regular season. For the Montreal Canadiens that is the spot they were in ahead of Saturday’s contest. An opening night loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs stung, but was manageable in the grand scheme of things. Following that up with a beatdown at the hands of the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, however, set off alarm bells.
They had a chance to right the lurching ship in their return to a packed Bell Centre against their long-time rival from the Big Apple, the New York Rangers.