The Montreal Canadiens were pulverized last Friday night, falling 10-0 to the Columbus Blue Jackets. The game produced some crazy stats, but the wildest one was seeing goaltender Al Montoya’s save percentage drop nearly 50 points (.955 to .908) after allowing 10 goals on 40 shots. He didn’t stand a chance as the team in front of him played like dog poop.
Montoya sacrificed his own stats to keep Carey Price from coming into the game. The 31-year-old expressed happiness the game was over, admitting to TSN’s Jon Lu, he “took one for the team” by staying in net.
#Habs Montoya acknowledges that he "took one for the team" by staying in for the entire game vs Columbus.
— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNWpg) November 9, 2016
#Habs Montoya says he never intended to leave the net in Columbus. He was prepared to stay in until the final buzzer.
— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNWpg) November 9, 2016
“It’s good for me now (but) it was a tough day,” he added, according to Lu, saying he waited until Wednesday to talk about the game because “it was a lot to process.”
It’s easy to feel for Montoya. He was sensational for the Canadiens early in the season while Price dealt with injury issues. Both Montoya’s and Montreal’s momentum came to a screeching halt in the ugly defeat. It’s hard to blame Montoya for the loss as the Canadiens didn’t score a goal and left him to fend for himself throughout the night.
Montoya will hopefully never have to experience a night like Friday ever again. Getting traumatized by the Columbus Blue Jackets’ goal cannon that many times is more than enough.
[theScore]
