Not again.
After a hot start to the 2015-16 season in which the Montreal Canadiens won 18 of their first 24 games, the wheels soon fell off, as the team finished with a mark of 38-38-6 and missed the postseason for the first time since 2012.
Critics pointed to the loss of star goalie Carey Price, who missed all but 12 games with a knee injury, but a similar pattern has once again emerged this season, even with Price on the ice.
| Season | First 15 GP (Pt %) | Next 40 GP (Pt %) |
|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 12-2-1 (.833) | 15-22-3 (.413) |
| 2016-17 | 13-1-1 (.900) | 17-16-7 (.513) |
After kicking off the 2016-17 campaign with a 13-1-1 record - also going undefeated in regulation over the first 10 games - the Canadiens are just a single game above .500 over their past 40 games. In NHL math, the Canadiens failed to win 23 of those 40 contests.
Related: Canadiens need to rediscover scoring touch
To be fair, Montreal hasn't gone without its share of key injuries. Top center Alex Galchenyuk missed 18 games with a knee injury that kept him out of the lineup for six weeks. He returned to the lineup Jan. 14 but missed another three games at the end of the month with a similar ailment.
Meanwhile, winger Brendan Gallagher remains sidelined with a broken finger. He's since resumed skating but has now missed 16 games and counting.
Still, all teams experience injuries, and the Canadiens' inability to find ways to win and stop such a long run of poor play has seemingly become the norm.
Between the pipes, Price has drawn criticism of his own, losing his last five road games in a stretch that has seen his goals-against average climb to 3.45 and his save percentage plummet to .874.
On Tuesday, the Canadiens dropped an embarrassing 4-0 decision to the Colorado Avalanche, who sit last in the NHL with just 32 points - less than half as many as Montreal's current total of 68.
With three games remaining before the team's bye week - dates against the Arizona Coyotes, St. Louis Blues, and Boston Bruins - a return to Montreal's winning ways will be key to recovering what is quickly becoming another lost season.
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