Claude Julien was extremely brief while explaining why he benched Max Domi against Chicago

BarDown Staff

Max Domi is called for a roughing penalty after getting into a scrum with Matthew Highmore. , Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images

And just like that, the Montreal Canadiens are back in the losing column.

After snapping an eight-game losing streak with back-to-back wins against the Ottawa Senators and Calgary Flames, the Habs dropped an ugly 4-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on home ice. The Canadiens were desperate for offence but that didn’t stop head coach Claude Julien from benching one of their top weapons. After taking a roughing penalty in the second period, Max Domi found his hockey pants glued to the bench by his head coach. When asked about the decision, Julien provided a pretty straightforward explanation:

#Habs Julien (in French) was brief in his rationale why he benched Domi after his roughing penalty in the 2nd: “You take a penalty like that, there are consequences.”

In English: “I did what I had to do... It’s not the first time he’s taken a bad penalty.”
— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNMtl) January 16, 2020

The penalty ended up being costly, as Chicago scored on the ensuing power play. Domi finished the game with just 15:17 minutes of ice, marking the second consecutive game he’s failed to reached 17 minutes The penalty was just his first over the Canadiens’ last six games. Domi has now been held off of the scoresheet in four straight games and has just three assists to his name in the month of January.

Smith sparks Blackhawks to 6th straight win in Montreal. MORE: https://t.co/97cA6WljYA pic.twitter.com/wstq3Oi6dT
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 16, 2020

The Habs have mustered just 16 goals over their last nine games (1.77 per contest) and are nine points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. Penalties or not, the Canadiens need some more offence and benching their prized acquisition didn’t appear to help their cause.

(H/T John Lu)