Injuries: The Canadiens weren't exactly destined to be good this season, something acknowledged by the organization. But it hasn't helped that Cole Caufield's season ended Jan. 19, Brendan Gallagher was out Jan. 3-March 21 and Sean Monahan hasn't played since Dec. 5. Add in Kaiden Guhle, Kirby Dach, Juraj Slafkovsky and Arber Xhekaj, among those who missed significant time. And that doesn't even include goalie Carey Price or forward Paul Byron, neither of whom played a single game. The Canadiens have been the team most decimated by injury in the NHL this season -- and it's not close.
By design: Though the Canadiens aren't calling what they're going through a rebuild, that's definitely one word for their current plan. At the moment, the Canadiens are working on retooling the organization, setting it up with the vision of the new management and coaching staff, making sure it can get to a place of being a perennial contender. They're evaluating talent and trying to right the ship. So, while the season hasn't gone as well as the Canadiens might have hoped, this also wasn't unexpected.
Lack of offense: Nick Suzuki leads the Canadiens with 61 points (23 goals, 38 assists) in 75 games. Next behind him? Dach. Who has 38 points (14 goals, 24 assists) in 58 games. That's not a lot of offense. Only three players have topped the 20-goal mark, with Josh Anderson (21) joining Caufield (26) and Suzuki. The Canadiens are 26th in the NHL, averaging 2.83 goals for per game. And they're worse on the power play, scoring 17.1 percent of the time, 28th in the League.