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While attempting to figure out what went wrong for the Montreal Canadiens in 2017-18, there are several conclusions one can come to.

The vast majority of the players underperformed, as evidenced by Brendan Gallagher’s team-leading 41 points through 66 games. That’s not a knock on Gallagher, considering that relative to his teammates he’s having a great season. But if your leading scorer has roughly the same number of points as Alex Ovechkin has goals, it’s safe to say your team is struggling to create offence.

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But there’s more to it than that. Max Pacioretty failed to hit 30 goals for the first time in half a decade. Carey Price’s numbers are not just underwhelming by his standards, they’re bad by any standards. On the defensive side, most players have failed to live up to expectations, a situation made worse by the prolonged absence of Shea Weber. And of course, you can point to the general manager finishing the season with unused cap space, yet another season in which the lack of a No. 1 centre hasn’t been addressed, and a lack of vision when it came to assembling the defensive squad.