MONTREAL\u2014 The Montreal Canadiens<\/a> were booed off the ice on Monday.<\/p>\n

They were booed off the ice after just one period. They were booed off the ice after falling down 3-0 and down 19-6 on the shot clock after 20 minutes.<\/p>\n

Their fans were down on them in a way they hadn\u2019t been through the first 40 games of the season.<\/p>\n

Consider that this reaction didn\u2019t come directly after the Canadiens returned from their most recent road trip with just one win collected in seven games and lost 4-1 in a hard-fought game to the New York Rangers to open 2023 at the Bell Centre, because the problem that night (last Thursday) wasn\u2019t the same as the one on this night. Also, consider that this happened after the Canadiens finally appeared more engaged in every department than they had in a month to capture what they felt was a momentum-swinging win against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday because that made the way they came out on Monday that much harder to swallow.<\/p>\n

The crowd\u2019s reaction to the Canadiens looking as disengaged as they possibly could be through the first 20 minutes was appropriate. The fans, who are in large part completely understanding that this team is in a rebuild means it\u2019s expected to lose much more than it wins, booed because all they ask for in return for their money is effort and the Canadiens weren\u2019t close to delivering their best one.<\/p>\n

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