We can't blame the Canadiens players for giving up. They came from behind three times on Saturday evening. In fact, they almost did it for the fourth time.

With a few seconds left in the third period, Juraj Slafkovsky knocked on the door three times instead of once. The last time, when the net gaped in front of him, the Slovakian saw John Carlson intervene in extreme cases.

The 19-year-old was so angry that he took out his frustration on the ramp when the siren sounded. Back in the locker room he was fuming again.

“I'm not surprised he's angry. He is a hungry player who wants to make a difference,” said Martin St-Louis.

As much as we can praise the Habs' resilience, they only have themselves to blame for spending the evening playing catch-up hockey.

The Enclave's defense, sorely lacking these days, toppled the Habs once again. Both Anthony Mantha, Sonny Milano and Aliaksei Protas ignored tight coverage and beat Jake Allen.

Three out of four goals. Considering that just last week, St-Louis told its players that they needed to be more vigilant in this location.

“When the puck is up and you're not far from the net, you have to watch out for an opponent. “You can’t let the puck hypnotize you,” emphasized St-Louis.

Evans as a spectator

We must assume that video meetings will be required.

In one of the sequences we will certainly see Jake Evans in the role of spectator as Protas jumps during a throw return. Speaking of Evans, his unit with Tanner Pearson and Josh Anderson was completely invisible.

They spent most of their time in the defense area. In one of the rare instances where they managed to reach the neutral zone, Anderson committed an offside call befitting an Abercorn Comets player.

Or leisure activities in St-Eusèbe, as Rodger Brulotte would say.

Slafkovsky is confident

Slafkovksy couldn't tie the game, but it wasn't for lack of effort. He fired seven shots into the net. Considering that not long ago he was criticized for not trusting himself enough.

Additionally, he and his linemates totaled 17 of the Habs' 31 shots. Nick Suzuki took the opportunity to reach the 20-goal mark for the third time in a row. He and Slafkovsky continued their streak of games with at least one point. Ten for the captain and eight for the juniors.

At least this combination wasn't the only one that hit the target. Alex Newhook's trio was on the pitch for two of the home team's three goals. As for the second point, we can only appreciate the work of Joel Armia, who opened the game thanks to an effective forecheck.

The big guy had a good one.