It went unnoticed, and that’s only natural, since the spotlight wasn’t on him. But on Saturday night, Kaiden Guhle had one of his least busy games of the season.
After three periods, he had played 16 min 35 s, a few seconds more than his lowest total so far, and above all well below his personal average, over 20 minutes.
Did Guhle have a bad game against the Philadelphia Flyers? Absolutely not.
The investigation does not need to be exhaustive to explain this drastic drop: Michael Matheson, in his first game of the season, was given more than 21 minutes of play before the start of overtime — more 24 minutes in total.
The veteran, in particular, was omnipresent in the last moments of the match, when the Habs tried to tie the game.
Much emphasis has been placed, as Joel Edmundson and then Matheson’s return to play approached, on the identity of the defenders who would suffer. For example, Chris Wideman has only played one of his team’s eight games since Edmundson has been in uniform. To make room for Matheson, Jordan Harris was the first to skip his turn. A rotation will take place with Johnathan Kovacevic and Arber Xhekaj, head coach Martin St-Louis has already warned.
However, the impact of the entry on the scene of Matheson is not measured only by the identity of the players left aside. It accelerates a phenomenon already initiated by Edmundson’s return: the alleviation of the responsibilities of recruits. Obviously, we give them air.
Apart from Wideman, Harris was the most affected by Edmundson’s arrival, giving up almost three minutes a game. Kovacevic has also lost feathers, mainly due to a change of assignment. Xhekaj, on the other hand, took the lead, since we paired him with number 44 and started to use him on the power play. Guhle had remained stable.
Matheson’s debut, however, was a game-changer for all youngsters. Partners on the third duo against the Flyers, Xhekaj and Kovacevic both had some of their lowest usage times of the season.
This transformation also manifests itself more profoundly. Let us take the example of Guhle again. Thursday night, in Columbus, he had spent some 11 minutes on the ice, five against five, against Johnny Gaudreau and Boone Jenner, the main impact players of the Blue Jackets. Two days later, it was for less than six minutes that David Savard and he had to contain Owen Tippett and the first line of the Flyers. The effort was shared, mainly with the duo of Edmundson and Matheson.
Xhekaj and Kovacevic, for their part, mostly faced the Flyers’ supporting forwards.
Note also that David Savard, undeniable leader in defense, seems impervious to the return of the injured. His ice time did not flinch when Edmundson returned, and it even increased slightly on Saturday with Matheson in the lineup.
Learning
After the meeting on Saturday, St-Louis admitted that his young backs would “maybe play fewer minutes”. However, “they will play the same kind of hockey, we still need them,” he said.
“They must continue to grow as players,” he said. The debut they had, all the experience they gained, you can’t buy that. We are very happy with where they are, and we will continue to manage them. »
“They’ve played almost 20 games, and they’re constantly learning,” said Christian Dvorak. Sometimes you also learn a lot by watching veterans. »
“Dealing with different responsibilities and different roles is part of learning,” said Brendan Gallagher. You have to adapt. With the returning veterans, the youngsters will have less ice time, so there will be more competition between them. I’m not worried. »
In the same vein, Joel Edmundson noted that there was nothing embarrassing about facing weaker opposition, even momentarily.
“Everyone in this league is capable of playing; some nights, it’s the fourth line that leads the charge, he said. Kovacevic and Xhekaj muzzled the fourth line [des Flyers]. No matter who is there, we have confidence in our defense. »
Tortorella’s raw love
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella on Saturday
Two hours before Saturday’s game, Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella met with members of the media. He was notably invited to speak about defender David Savard, whom he managed at the Columbus Blue Jackets. The colorful character then delivered a message of love as raw as it was sincere. “ Savvy is a hockey player, and that’s one of the greatest compliments you can give a guy,” Tortorella said. He loves coming to the arena no matter how he’s doing. »
The coach also praised how much “a team in the process of being built”, like the Habs, gained from having Savard in its ranks. “An incredible person, a good father, who comes to work every day,” he listed. Tortorella, however, is famous for its legendary franchise. He therefore did not hesitate to recall that Savard, “did not know how to skate at the time, so imagine now that he has aged”. “It’s awful, sometimes hard to watch,” he said again, concluding nonetheless: “But it gets the job done. This is quite an example for young people. »