Josh Anderson has always been recognized for his outspokenness since his arrival in Montreal. At the end of an evening where neither his two teammates on the podium nor his head coach had the taste to show their emotions, Anderson was the best to express what the most faithful supporters who imposed this match felt. .
Updated at 12:15 a.m.
“We were humiliated tonight, launched the big right winger, at the end of a thawed routine, this one at the count of 7-1 at the hands of the New Jersey Devils. A few mistakes cost us goals. We thought that after the break, we would be rested and ready to play. But you have seen it. I feel humiliated. »
There really aren’t really any other words to describe what happened at the Bell Center on Tuesday. The opponent was a team that had lost its previous seven games, which had played the day before, which won only one out of three games this season, and which was deprived of its first two goalkeepers, its number 1 defender (Dougie Hamilton ) and its most creative striker (Jack Hughes).
The usual scenario repeated itself. Jeff Petry making one cover mistake after another. A player like Michael McLeod, former first-round pick who had only 12 goals in 127 games before the evening, who looks like Ray Sheppard with his two goals scored in the enclave. At the other end, a goalkeeper who more or less has to stand out despite the 31 shots directed at him.
When a team welcomes spectators for the first time in two months, and there are only 500, and you hear boos during the last minute, it’s hard to think of words other than those uttered by Anderson earlier. .
Reinforcement and quickly
These humiliations are one thing for the skaters, who are 18 to share the blame after a defeat. “Tonight, we had only one line that worked,” recalled Anderson, referring to the fourth unit, the one piloted by Ryan Poehling.
But in goal, goals conceded in the half-dozen cannot be good for morale. However, recent figures are staggering. Since Christmas, it’s the 14and times (in 14 games) that this team allows three or more goals. But above all, it is the 9and times it allows five.
With the exception of a period from Jake Allen and a period from Michael McNiven, these beatings were all suffered by Cayden Primeau and Samuel Montembeault. Tuesday was Primeau’s turn.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Michael McLeod in front of Cayden Primeau
The latter is only 22 years old. Only one goaltender younger than him – Spencer Knight – is playing full-time in the NHL this season. This is because it is generally agreed that goalkeepers mature later than attackers and defenders. But with Allen and Carey Price on the sidelines, with Montembeault not 100%, Dominique Ducharme has no choice but to rely on Primeau.
But the one who was seen until recently as the best hope of the organization in front of the net takes it for his cold. His average of 4.62 is the worst in a season in the history of the Canadiens, among those who have played at least 10 games.
Primeau struggles to make important saves, but cannot be held to the impossible when opponents have such easy access to dangerous areas.
“You almost have to be perfect,” Ducharme dropped in a response. Was he thus underlining the fragility of his guardians? Impossible to know.
“I’m sure it’s not easy for a young goalkeeper to play behind us,” defender Ben Chiarot said. But young people have the chance to show what they can do, in difficult circumstances. To establish yourself full-time in the NHL, you have to weather storms. Sometimes a team will struggle. Our young goalkeepers are going through this right now. »
“We have a lot of games to play and it’s not pleasant to lose at the moment. It’s not fun to come to the arena,” admitted Anderson.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Ty Smith and Josh Anderson in front of goalie Jon Gillies
In short, the results night after night are hard to take, and the working atmosphere is hardly cheerful. That leaves very little to create winning conditions for the development of young people.
Maybe in the end Chiarot is right, that there is nothing wrong with learning “the hard way”. Teams like the 2005-06 Penguins or the 2016-17 Avalanche have recovered after six months of horror. But those teams also relied on guys like Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon, which CH doesn’t have.
Under the circumstances, it will be interesting to see if the new administration will stay in the same boat as Chiarot, or if it will try to extricate some young people from this shambles.
In details
Gillies travels
How well did you know Jon Gillies before Tuesday night? We neither. So here is a quick summary of his 2021-2022 season. Signs with Maine Mariners, ECHL; is loaned to the Providence Bruins, in the American League (AHL); signs a tryout contract with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, also in the AHL; signed with the St. Louis Blues on Dec. 8; plays a game with the Blues, who trade him to the Devils on December 15 for future consideration; then played eight games with the Devils before facing the Canadian. And now he left the metropolis with a victory in his pocket, his second this season and only the sixth of his career in the NHL. “He’s a good guy with a great story,” defender Ryan Graves said after the game. The latter had easy compliments for the one who is one of six goalkeepers to have worn the black, white and red uniform this season. “He makes life easy for us,” he said. Maybe not a great keeper, but a great story no doubt.
The Mercer Star
When the Devils made him a first-round pick in 2020, Dawson Mercer was described as a forward who was certainly gifted offensively, but also called upon to excel in both directions of the ice. It is especially the first aspect that caught our attention on Tuesday. His dry shot didn’t give Cayden Primeau a chance in the first period, and his precise cross pass allowed Nico Hischier to make it 3-1 in the second period. One of his club’s most used forwards, the Newfoundlander was named the game’s first star. This former Drummondville Voltigeurs and Chicoutimi Saguenéens, in the QMJHL, was all smiles after the game, his first at the Bell Centre. He was especially happy to have scored early in the match, in order to “dismiss” this first goal from his path. “I spent five years in Quebec, so I knew it would be special,” he said. After this game, Mercer has 25 points, including 10 goals, in the 7and scoring rank among league rookies.
Byron still running
A bit like a comedian who faces a heavy silence after having launched a new joke in an intimate room in the region, we can say of Paul Byron that he still needs a break-in. Deprived of training camp and the first 43 games of the season, the small CH striker was only in a second game in 2021-2022, nine days after the first. And after these two meetings, which resulted in a little less than 30 minutes of play in total, he already has a record of -6. It’s abysmal, especially for a player reputed to be effective against the big opposing trios, and even more knowing that he plays to the left of Jake Evans, also an expert in the field. On Tuesday, when he was putting pressure on the puck carrier – Michael McLeod – in the second period, he was completely surprised by the Devils player’s pass to Jesper Boqvist. Two and a half seconds later, the puck was behind Cayden Primeau. Byron, one of the most intense workers of the Canadian, must be the first to be sorry for the situation. Nevertheless, despite everything, it is not only him who pulls his club down.
10,500 spectators from February 21
The Quebec government announced Tuesday that performance halls, including large ones like the Bell Center and the Videotron Center, will no longer have to comply with the 500-spectator limit as of February 21. The two largest amphitheaters in the province will however have to be restricted to 50% of their capacity until March 14, which will nevertheless give the Habs the opportunity to welcome some 10,500 people in the meantime. The four local games for the next two weeks will therefore be presented in front of only 500 people installed in the boxes arranged all around the rink. The team will then play three games in front of half-full bleachers and, if all goes as planned, a full house would be possible for the March 15 duel against the Arizona Coyotes. In total, the Canadian will have played nine games behind closed doors.
They said
Let’s give the Devils credit. They skated well, while we looked like a team coming back from a break. We were rusty, we didn’t have our legs. […] Right now we’re stressing the importance of killing games quickly in our area, but it looks like we’re a step behind.
Ben Chiarot
We just need everyone to play. When it does, you will see a different result. Tonight, we had only one trio that worked.
Josh Anderson
The goal at the end of the second period is a face-off. There is no reason for the guy to be alone. On the last goal, there is no reason to throw the puck behind the goal. Details like that, situations where a player takes a step ahead of us, every time, they make us pay.
Dominique Ducharme
It is certain that we want more [de leadership], but we want more from everyone. Do you have to be 30, 32 to be a leader? No, you can be a youngster. We want all the players.
Dominique Ducharme
From the start of the match, the trio of Michael McLoed was very difficult to face. He set the tone with a strong net presence. When a unit works this hard and is rewarded like this, everyone pitches in.
Lindy Ruff, Devils head coach
We kept things simple, without breaking our heads. We grabbed returns and created traffic in net and it paid off. There is a lesson to be learned: goals can simply come. This is how we should play.
Ryan Graves
I have so much respect for him. Before the QMJHL draft, I remember my meeting with him. He said he wanted me on his team. He helped me a lot to improve my game. It’s very special to have faced him in the NHL.
Dawson Mercer on Dominique Ducharme, his first coach and GM in the QMJHL
Rising
Ryan Poehling
He was threatened with being left out with the imminent return of Christian Dvorak. He was one of the few players on his team to be threatening offensively.
Falling
Alexander Romanov
Jeff Petry could have ended up here for a 15and times this season (we’re hardly exaggerating). But after distributing the shoulder shots in the first period, Romanov multiplied the blunders.
The number of the match
19
The Canadian allowed at least five goals for a 19and times this season. The team is on course to beat its mediocre record of 26, set in 1983-84, when goalkeeping and defensive play were less structured.