Canadian 3 – Red Wings 2 (VG) | Another victory in net

It was Ben Chiarot, in the Red Wings locker room in the morning, who explained how the imminent departure of Carey Price had left a huge void in the formation of the Canadian barely a year ago.

Richard Labbe
The Press

What Chiarot didn’t say was that no one was going to forget about Price so quickly.

Nobody ? We are exaggerating, no doubt, because a Price at 100% of his means, it would still be no worse, and also because there are still supporters (not those who dream of Connor Bedard) who would like to see him again. under the mask. Still, his absence isn’t as disastrous as one might think, which in itself is quite stunning.

Another proof: this 3-2 victory for the Canadian, harvested in a shootout on this cold Tuesday night in Detroit.

The Wings should have probably won, they who threw a total of 43 times on the Montreal net, including 16 times in the first period alone. But Jake Allen imitated the Sultans doll: he said no, no, no, no and no.

“Jake made some big saves, that’s exactly what we needed to win, explained David Savard at the end of the evening. With the game shorthanded, that’s what allowed us to win the game. »

This is not the first time that a CH goalkeeper shines in this way this season, and this outcome is about as confusing as a visit by Hubert Lenoir to the ADISQ gala. It should be remembered here that last summer, the many DGs of the Canadiens in the provinces almost all campaigned for a transaction involving Allen, in order to add balls to the proverbial abacus of reconstruction.

But obviously, Jake Allen did not receive the memo from the abacus, nor did his sidekick Samuel Montembeault, who was also excellent at this surprising start to the season.

“It was a good match, limited himself to saying the veteran Allen, not too interested in talking about himself. It was not easy because the Red Wings have a very good team. But we found a way to get through and win in the end. »

This end, moreover, sums up quite well the current season of the Canadian: the club is not always perfect, far from it, but it finds a way.

This time it was Allen, it was the shorthanded play – the Wings finished the game 0-for-7 on the power play – and it was captain Nick Suzuki who scored the game-winning goal. during the shootout.

It was also Mike Hoffman, author of the first two goals of his band, who sometimes has the gift of showing up, like that, when you least expect it.

“It’s always good to be able to contribute to the success of the team,” said the forward. It is certain that we faced a lot of adversity this evening, perhaps a little more than some other evenings… ”

But they found a way. Still.

This is probably not the ideal recipe in order to be able to aim for the heights one day or another, but in any case, at the moment, it works. And it works in the most amazing way: with two reserve goalkeepers, who no longer behave like seconds.

In details

Dadonov back

Evgenii Dadonov will have spent the last few days with ups and downs: withdrawal from training, victim of a mysterious virus, victim of a mysterious injury, and finally, a return to play on Tuesday evening in Detroit. For him, it was therefore his first game since that of October 27 in Buffalo, after having missed the previous four games. In the end, the 33-year-old veteran striker had a pretty quiet evening, with no points and no shots on goal. Earlier today, he declined to respond when asked if he had demanded a trade. “It’s out of my control,” he offered as the only response.

Savard not in a good mood

David Savard was punished late in the second period for tripping. A decision that did not please the veteran defender, obviously. Thus, Savard came out of the penalty box by garlanding the referee Michael Markovic in passing. Then, at the sound of the last siren of the period, he again had a heated discussion with this same Markovic, who then imposed a heavy penalty for misconduct, for the first 10 minutes of the third period. Not ideal… “I’m not going to tell you what I told him, noted the defender. It’s just that I didn’t really agree with some of the decisions of the referees…”

Slafkovsky suspended?

Josh Anderson is under a two-game suspension following a hit from behind, and Juraj Slafkovsky could well suffer the same fate. The youngster hit Matt Luff late in the third period from behind. He was given a five-minute penalty for the illegal hit, and he too is expected to receive a call from the NHL about it shortly. Martin St-Louis said he had no idea whether or not this gesture would be worth a suspension. “It’s part of his learning,” he limited himself to saying about the gesture of the young striker.

They said

We have to take our hats off to the guys who had to take all these penalties during the game. It was a tough game, but the guys held on.

Jake Allen

Such a victory like that, I think it shows a lot of character. And Jake Allen has been amazing for us, as he has been all season.

Mike Hoffman

Nobody came to see me to tell me why I received this 10-minute penalty… It was a bit frustrating on my part, because I didn’t agree with the referees.

David Savard

I think we don’t get a lot of power plays… But did you see the punishment [mineure] to David Savard? He’s a guy who plays honestly, who doesn’t try dirty tricks. So I kind of understand his reaction…

Martin St Louis

Interview by Richard Labbé, The Press

Up: Mike Hoffman

There are those nights when Mike Hoffman looks like a top scorer. Tuesday night was one of those nights.

Down: Jonathan Drouin

It becomes more and more complicated to justify its presence in the formation. His blunder on the blue line led to a breakaway for the Wings and, ultimately, a penalty shot.

The number of the match: 43

That’s how many shots the Red Wings had in the loss.