The kids are (not) alright

I'm not sure what was more painful to endure: watching the Canadiens collapse last night versus their arch-nemesis Boston Bruins, or falling into a large cactus (yes it happened to me).

But one thing is for sure, there have been multiple warning signs for those watching the games clear-eyed (to those delusionists take off your rose-colored glasses if not squirt some Visine in your eyes).

Winning games you were outplayed in with late game heroics, having several players with unsustainable shooting percentages, repeatedly overusing your key players (notably Suzuki, Matheson, Hutson and even Noah Dobson, especially in this season's condensed schedule) is not a recipe for long-term success. Shoddy goaltending, being prone to turnovers, seemingly being lost in this man-to-man defensive coverage (in particular when opponents are forechecking hard and cycling the puck repeatedly moving the ensuing pawns- aka the Habs' players- away from their assigned coverage) should have all been red flags that the results this season were not likely to last long term.

The word is out on the Canadiens: play some rock'em sock'em, forecheck their undersized D relentlessly, take away the forwards' time and space, and the probability of getting 2 points is quite high. And that is precisely what we have seen of late in back-to-back losses versus the surging Sabres and again last night versus Boston. Outside of a completely undeserved win versus the Senators or the squeaker one versus the tired and (severely) depleted Minnesota Wild, this bleu, blanc, rouge squad has been losing more than at any time this season. Worse, they seem to have more glaring holes (in their game) than a spaghetti strainer.

More worrisome is what we saw in a game like last night. The Bruins predictably came out hitting, targetting our younger players like Kapanen, Slafkovsky, Hutson and Demidov. You could tell this got into their heads, and as the game went, several started keeping the puck on their sticks far less than their abilities should dictate. Few, outside of the diminutive but always courageous Brendan Gallagher even wanted to drive the net. The perimeter is where they chose to install themselves for most of this contest, and it was also where our goals were scored.

And this I'm afraid should be of major concern to management. Our young players are not going to be alright, if they are all homogenous in style and sheepish in intent. We are far from having the right mix and balance both on the forward lines and on defense.

Now if only the veterans showed more assertiveness, if they occasionally led the way and made space for our young, admittedly very talented forwards: pulverizing body checks, sustained puck control around the boards, at time heading to the net. Sadly, this is not what we have seen thus far this season (oddly enough two who fare well in this department, Sammy Blais and Joe Veleno, were healthy scratches again last night). Even more unfortunate is we had these types of players last year in Emil Heinemann, Joel Armia and event the oft-maligned Christian Dvorak (suddenly emerging as a critically important player in Philadelphia).

The risk not only lies in the potential that this season may be slipping away from us but the potential for our young core may begin to settle, accepting defeat more easily, especially in light of the fact that they have surprised and been collecting more points (both collectively and individually) than many had expected. The risk is that by not facing adversity head on, that softness and lack of assertiveness we are seeing from many of late ends up becoming an integral part of their DNA.

And don't let anyone tell you that losing is ok just because of the average age of this team, that being soft or playing scared will magically resolve itself over time. The future is now, and you have to build character and winning habits immediately.

And if this cannot be resolved internally, well then, Kenneth, you know exactly what you have to do. Something bold, altering the core of this team.