Arber Xhekaj picked up a misconduct tonight against Nashville, leaving the Canadiens with five defensemen for the first half of the third period.
Stu Cowan figures that won't sit well with Martin St-Louis. Hard to argue with him.
Misconducts look harmless on the scoresheet because nobody goes on the power play. The damage shows up on the bench, where everyone else eats the extra shifts.
Lane Hutson, Noah Dobson, Michael Matheson, Alexandre Carrier and Adam Engstrom have to cover every shift on the back end until the misconduct expires.
Engstrom loses his partner in the process, which forces St-Louis and his staff into some quick math on the fly.
It's like running a relay with one runner stuck on the sideline. Somebody has to take two legs, and nobody's fresh at the finish line.
It was a difficult loss for the Canadiens, who were forced to manage too many problems at once.
Montreal's lack of defensive depth became impossible to ignore as the game wore on.
The team could not afford costly mistakes against a Nashville lineup capable of making opponents pay.
Martin St-Louis will have plenty to review before the Canadiens face Detroit on Saturday.
Xhekaj came into the night without a point this season, carrying a -1 rating on a $1,500,000 cap hit.
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Jayden Struble's night off suddenly looks costly for the Canadiens
The extra body Montreal could have used didn't dress. Jayden Struble was left out of tonight's lineup.
The 25-year-old had played all 3 games before tonight, sitting at an even rating on a $1,412,500 cap hit.
So how does that lineup call look now?
Some of those extra shifts fall to Hutson, who already spent time in the box tonight on a call that didn't hold up on replay.
He came into the game with 4 assists, and Montreal needs him on the ice, not watching from the penalty box or gassed on the bench.
Michael Matheson, already sitting at a -3 rating this season, is another one absorbing the extra work.
Nashville has Steven Stamkos with 3 goals and Roman Josi with 2 power-play assists, so a tired blue line is exactly what the Predators want to see.
The Canadiens entered the night giving up 4.7 goals a game, the last thing a five-man defense corps needs hanging over it.
Detroit comes to town Saturday, and St-Louis will have a decision to make on the back end.
Does Arber Xhekaj keep his spot after this, or does Struble get his sweater back?
Should Martin St-Louis scratch Arber Xhekaj and put Jayden Struble back in against Detroit?
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