3 reasons why Montreal Canadiens lost 7-2 against New York Rangers

The Montreal Canadiens suffered a blowout 7-2 loss against the New York Rangers at the Bell Centre on Tuesday night as part of the Frozen Frenzy schedule.

The Rangers cruised after scoring four goals in the first period from Mika Zibanejad, Jonny Brodzinski, Reilly Smith, and a power play marker from Filip Chytil.

Chytil added another in the third with Branden Schneider and Kaapo Kakko getting the others. Meanwhile, Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki replied with a pair of goals.

So, let’s take a look at the three reasons why the Montreal Canadiens were blown out on Tuesday night at the hands of the New York Rangers.

3 reasons why the Montreal Canadiens lost against New York Rangers

#3. The Habs couldn’t keep up with the Rangers

The Rangers came out blazing from the opening whistle. They put the pressure on, looking to score early. The approach worked as the Rangers had a 4-0 by the 11-minute mark of the first period. At that point, Montreal starter Sam Montembeault was pulled.

The first goal of the game less than a minute into the first period was a good example. The Habs had gotten some pressure on the Rangers in their zone before the Rangers picked up a rebound and transitioned into a rush chance.

The Habs could not get back into the play quickly enough, leading to an odd-man rush. In the end, Zibanejad came in as the trailer and buried a pass from the high slot for the game’s first goal.

Similarly, the Habs fell asleep on what was supposed to be an icing call that led to the Brodzinski goal. The Rangers beat out the icing with the puck coming back to Brodzinski for the goal. The lazy reaction to the play led to an easy goal for Rangers.

#2. The Habs were littered with defensive lapses

The Brodzinski goal was just one of many defensive lapses throughout the game. The Schneider goal in the third period was another example.

The play started with the Habs turning over the puck in the Rangers zone. Then, the Montreal Canadiens’ blueliners could not get back into the play fast enough to set up around the net.

After the Rangers got into position, Chytil hit a wide-open Schneider with a cross-ice pass. Schneider had all the time and space he needed to set up for the shot and hit the mark.

The goal made the game 5-2, essentially putting it out of reach just as the Montreal Canadiens seemed to be gaining some sort of momentum.

#1. The Habs could not stop the barrage of shots on net

In the end, the Rangers ended up with 45 shots on goal. The Habs could not do anything to stop the barrage of shots. The game resembled a shooting gallery for the Rangers, allowing them multiple opportunities to score on various plays.

While the Montreal netminders gave up seven goals, they deserve credit for making enough stops to keep the game at 7-2. The game could have easily been even more lopsided had Cayden Primeau not made 32 saves on the night.

The Canadiens will return to the ice on Saturday night against the St. Louis Blues.