Laine scoreless, Matheson, Carrier awful defensively and more: 3 reasons why Montreal Canadiens lost 6-1 to St. Louis Blues

The Montreal Canadiens were on the receiving end of a 5-1 blowout from the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night at Enterprise Center. The Habs surrendered four unanswered goals after tying the game late in the first period.

With the loss, the Habs are now riding a three-game skid, leaving the door open for the New York Rangers and New York Islanders to leapfrog them into the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki got the only tally on the night. Meanwhile, Jordan Kyrou, Dylan Holloway, Robert Thomas, Alexandre Texier, Zack Bolduc (PPG) and Philip Broberg got the goals for the St. Louis Blues.

Here’s a closer look at three reasons why the Montreal Canadiens lost to the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night.

3 reasons why Montreal Canadiens lost 6-1 to St. Louis Blues

#3. Montembeault pulled

Canadiens starting netminder Samuel Montembeault had a rough outing. He gave up five goals on 32 shots, getting the hook midway through the third period after Philip Broberg made the game 5-1. Jakub Dobes replaced Montembeault. He proceeded to give up one goal on five shots.

Overall, it was a tough night for Montreal goaltenders, as they were on the wrong end of a walloping from the Blues, who are suddenly looking like a solid playoff team.

#2. Matheson, Carrier's awful defensively

Montreal Canadiens top defenseman Mike Matheson and partner Alexandre Carrier finished the game with a minus-4 rating. The pairing got burned all night long as the Blues found little resistance from the Montreal defense.

Neither Matheson nor Carrier were able to make much difference against the Blues' attack.

Here’s a look at the game’s opening goal:

Matheson can be seen circling the ice, failing to pick anyone up. Similarly, Carrier is at the side of the net, jostling with Dylan Holloway, who got an assist on the goal.

Here’s a look at the Blues’ second goal of the game:

On this play, Matheson and Carrier were burned again. This time. Matheson failed to tie up Dylan Holloway’s stick in front of the net. As such, Holloway was able to deflect the puck and get the shot past Montembeault for the go-ahead goal and the eventual game-winner.

#1. Laine scoreless

On a night in which the Canadiens needed an offensive jolt, secret weapon Patrik Laine was nowhere to be found.

Laine did not register on the scoresheet in 16:19 of ice time over 17 shifts. He managed three shots on goal, but neither found the back of the net.

On the whole, it was a tough night for Montreal forwards as they managed just a single goal on 25 shots.

The Canadiens will look to bounce back when they take on the Philadelphia Flyers next at Wells Fargo Center on Thursday.