Jake Allen had just made a couple of steals, the last to fix a mistake by Corey Schueneman ahead of him.
Updated yesterday at 11:51 p.m.
In the stands of the Bell Center, we shouted “Allen, Allen” as we had to shout “Wamsley, Wamsley” in another era at the Forum. During the subsequent commercial break, the giant screen camera remained on him, with fans continuing to give him a standing ovation for a full minute.
“It was pretty cool,” Allen said. I came to see Carey play when I was 17 or 18 and playing in the juniors. Playing for this team is an honor. It was quite a unique moment. »
Basically, Allen had a typical night for a veteran of a rebuilding team. He saved furniture for his young teammates and kept them in the game. Then, in overtime, an error by youngsters Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, combined with a poor reading in the offensive zone by veteran Jeff Petry, and it was over.
His 43 stops were not enough. A goal from Brad Marchand later, the Bruins won 3-2, in a game played a few hours after a hectic trade deadline for the Habs.
The departures of Artturi Lehkonen, Brett Kulak and, before that, Ben Chiarot and Tyler Toffoli are only a first step. Kent Hughes will continue to reshape his squad come summer.
It’s still too early to tell if Allen will be part of it, not least because some uncertainty will linger until Carey Price is seen in the flesh in front of the net in a game that matters.
However, this process will not happen overnight. Players usually let their leaders get wet on long-term projections, but Allen had the honesty to go for it.
After hailing Hughes’ trades, after acknowledging the positive effect Martin St-Louis has had since his arrival, Allen was realistic.
“We know that it’s not a one-year process and that we won’t immediately return to the Stanley Cup final,” said the New Brunswicker. We have two or three years. Those who don’t see it realistically will find it difficult. But when we get to the end of the process, it will have been worth the wait. »
Those who remain
Everyone has their own way of approaching the current process of the Canadiens, whether it’s called rebuilding, resetting or, as they said in 2003, reengineering.
In his position as new head coach, who obviously expects to be here for the long term, St-Louis is one of the optimists.
There, we know where we are, who is here and we have the rest of the year to work on our plan, on how we want to play with the guys we have. Next year, I know we won’t start from scratch.
Martin St Louis
For the players, on the other hand, everyone will have their own reaction. At the end of January, Brendan Gallagher remained evasive when he was asked about his desire to go through such a process.
He and Josh Anderson have valid agreements until 2027. Carey Price, until 2026. Joel Armia, Christian Dvorak, Jeff Petry and David Savard are linked to the Canadiens until 2025, unless there is a transaction by now. the. They have in common to be veterans who see precious years of their career possibly sacrificed. Of the lot, only Savard has a Stanley Cup ring.
So it remains to be seen how they will approach this future. Armia was asked the question, but was unable to verbalize how he felt.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Joel Armia celebrates his goal in 3and period.
Savard, on the other hand, has always been praised for his leadership, a quality that will be invaluable within a defensive brigade that will get younger in the coming months. Alexander Romanov is already there, Justin Barron will be there in the next few days, and we should see Kaiden Guhle and Jordan Harris before long. Those of them who will stay in the NHL will need role models.
“I think the youngsters who came up played well. […] They were ready to take the chance Martin gave them, Savard said. It bodes well for the future. It’s fun to see young people perform, it will push us to perform. »
Over the next few weeks, other veterans will speak in front of the microphones, but also, and above all, in the office of Kent Hughes. The most unfortunate may well want to jump ship, but if the general manager is consistent with what he said for Petry (a transaction that will make sense for the Canadian), they will not all be able to leave. Some of these contracts will be nearly impossible to trade.
At the very least, if Hughes cares about Allen, he also cares about his team.
“I was hopeful that I would stay here,” said the goaltender. This is where I want to play, I didn’t want to be traded and I’m happy to be here for the rest of the season. »
In details
David Savard the artist
With only 42 goals to his credit in 653 season games, David Savard knows he is not being paid for his silk hands. The fact remains that in his first season with the Canadiens, he favored quality over quantity. Against the Bruins, the defender scored with a backhand shot into the top of the net after receiving an accurate pass from Alexander Romanov. It was his second goal of the season. His first was entered on December 28 in Tampa; he then intercepted a pass to the blue line, beat Victor Hedman, no less, and surprised goalkeeper Maxime Lagacé with a shot from the slot. After Monday night’s meeting, Savard kindly declined the invitation to be renamed Bobby Orr.
A supper for Clifton
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Connor Clifton celebrates his goal which tied the game in 3and period.
Defender Connor Clifton doesn’t score often either. Tying the game late in the third period, he scored only the second time this season, and the fifth in his 140-game career. That goal isn’t special just because it gave the Bruins a seeding point. It will indeed earn Clifton a dinner, courtesy of Brad Marchand. It was the latter who served a perfect pass to Joel Armia along the Canadian’s blue line at the start of the third period. The Finn took advantage of a long breakaway to send his team ahead 2-1. Head coach Bruce Cassidy called it “careless” play by his star player. Marchand himself spoke of an “embarrassing” streak for him. “It was a terrible game on my part, he analyzed. I owe Cliffy dinner! I’m glad we didn’t lose because of that turnover. »
Merchant wanted to make Allen pay
Brad Marchand may have scored two goals, including the one that gave his team the victory, but he could have scored a lot more, had it not been for Jake Allen, who offered a masterful performance. The Canadiens goalie stole his opponent multiple times, notably on a shot from the mouth of the net midway through the third period. However, it was in the very last second of the second period that Allen stood up in the most spectacular fashion, stretching the mitt following a shot from Marchand. The striker, who got 12 shot attempts, 8 of which hit the target, took revenge in overtime by beating Allen with a nice backhand maneuver. After the game, Marchand said he wanted to punish the goaltender for “strutting”. “I just wanted to score more because of that stoppage,” he said.
They said
The energy in the locker room is nice. You just want to be there and help the guys win. It felt good to be back on the ice. We are building something right now. The team has been playing well for a while and it’s fun to be back and help them.
David Savard on his return to the game
I love my players. Guys like Kulak, Lehkonen, Hammond, even when Ben is gone… You build relationships in a work environment, you see how they give you, so it was tough.
Martin St-Louis on the transactions that occurred during the day
If there’s anything players can take from Brad Marchand, it’s how to grow as a player. That’s noticing everyone around you doing better things than you. You bring that to your game. You evolve as a player. Me, I did that a lot. Brad does the same thing. That’s why he is the player he is today.
Martin St-Louis on Brad Marchand
I’m really excited about the future of this team. It’s fun to come to the rink every day. As a player, you can’t think too much about changes and everything. You just have to do your job every day.
Joel Armia
He’s a smart player. I know he’s judged on a lot of other things, but he has great sense of the game and he consistently gives third, fourth and fifth effort. He went through all the stages [de sa carrière] thanks to this.
Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy on Brad Marchand
[Le Canadien] came out strong, both goaltenders kept their team in the game, the crowd was packed… He’s a good Bruins-Canadian.
Bruce Cassidy
Up: Joel Armia
His breakaway goal, made possible thanks to the play of Christian Dvorak, gives him four points in his last four games.
Down: Rem Pitlick
The striker has had some good times since his arrival in Montreal, but he was very discreet in this game and his line spent a lot of time defending themselves.
The number of the match: 18
The 18 Bruins skaters in uniform got at least one shot on Jake Allen, which explains the Habs goaltender’s busy night at work.