Tis the season to be optimistic in the face of darkness. This applies the day after the Montreal Canadiens lost to the Calgary Flames 3-2 in overtime on Tuesday, November 5. There were encouraging signs from Montreal in the way they played and organized themselves in certain situations. And yet, it was all for nothing. Well, it was for one point instead of two. Here are three takeaways.

Canadians can’t have nice things

Work hard and good things will happen. Good things come to those who wait. You get back as much as you put in.

All these people have the impression that they should have applied in Tuesday’s game against the Flames. The first period was arguably the Canadians’ best in ages. They had two power play opportunities and, although they didn’t score, the units circled around the tired Calgary defenders. Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf was sensational when he should have been, and he was mainly responsible for the score still being 0-0 after the first 20 minutes of play.

Brendan Gallagherwho is emerging as a hugely important player this season as the club attempts to stay afloat, scored midway through the game on the power play to level the terms 1-1. Speaking of special teams, the Canadiens surprised the Flames in the third period, but shorthanded. Two Calgary forwards fell to the ice in a collision despite a faceoff win in the Montreal zone, allowing Jake Evans and Joel Armia to rush for a two-on-one and the latter to pull the cookie into the basket to make 2-1.

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And despite all these efforts and, it should be noted, a great evening for Samuel Montembeault, the hockey gods decided that the Habs would not be fully rewarded. Gallagher thought he had given his team a 3-1 advantage in the third period, but the Flames shrewdly recognized the play was offside and had the goal disallowed via a brief review.

Then, as they tried mightily to protect a valuable one-goal advantage, Flames forward Matthew Coronato showed what he was made of. It’s rare for players to land more critical braces than him. His 2-2 score came at 17:14 of the third period after a slick skate and a bad wrist shot. He followed that up by scoring six seconds into overtime with another powerful wrist shot. Yes, six seconds.

A respectable performance from Montreal was rewarded with a single point.

Dvorak and Anderson look good for once

Part of the reason the Canadiens looked decent against the Flames was because of Christian Dvorák and Josh Anderson. These players have no shortage of criticism, much of it was deserved. They cost the team $4.5 million and $5.5 million per season, respectively, but do little to earn those high prices.

Even Dvorak and Anderson’s most ardent critics had to admit that both players were in the thick of things Tuesday. They and Gallagher – who formed the third line – had the most offensive zone starts with five. Anderson and Dvorak both had four shot attempts, and Dvorak was in the middle of the action that resulted in a penalty for the Flames in the second period.

The days of hoping either of these forwards would accomplish big things for the Habs are long gone. However, if – and this could be a big if – they can replicate the way they played against Calgary more often, then at least the club can rest assured that the third line can wreak havoc on the opposition. Apply pressure in the offensive zone, contain the puck and create chances by feeding Gallagher.

A set of thumbs

They say that American football is a game of inches. This is often the case. But hockey can also claim that.

Slafkovsky could have given Montreal a 2-1 lead in the third, but his shot went off the post. In the second period, an unexpected half breakaway from Cole Caufield seemed to make Wolf nervous in front of the net. The puck slipped towards him, but he misjudged it. As a result, it got lost between his skates for a moment, prompting him to simply fall on the puck for a stoppage of play. It was a strange moment that could have led to a better scoring chance.

Alex Newhook had seven shot attempts. Kaiden Guhle, whose presence was praised on the blue line, scored three. Those were good shots too, but most missed the crossbar or post by a whisker. It was just one of those nights where it felt like more pucks should have found the back of the net, but they didn’t.

That said, the performance itself should, in theory, motivate the club. It was honorable, even if the result hurts. That’s something head coach Martin St. Louis and his staff can build on. The last time we said something like this was after a 4-3 Philadelphia win against the Flyers on October 27. 48 hours later, the Habs were beaten by the Seattle Kraken 8-2. This time, that game two nights later will take place on Thursday, November 7 against the New Jersey Devils.

As long as the team clings to the positives, there will be light at the end of the tunnel, no matter how distant it may be at times.