(Calgary) On Wednesday, Darryl Sutter called him worthy of a captain. Thursday, Jake Allen described him as a tough guy. A ” tough bastard he said in his native language.
Sean Monahan may have arrived at the Saddledome with a protective boot, but he and his team left with something even better: two points. The Canadian beat the Flames 2-1 on Thursday, a victory signed Monahan… and Allen, precisely.
After two days of talking about Monahan’s injuries, her selflessness, her ability to endure pain while doing her job, we wish we could move on. But when a camera captured him arriving at the Saddledome with said protective boot on his right foot, it was clear that his condition, once again, was going to be talked about.
It was a special match and there was no way I would miss it.
Sean Monahan
Monahan looked anything but an injured player. From the first to the last appearance, he was the best player in his camp. Let’s drop his two assists and instead talk about his involvement, his work along the ramps. On several occasions, he imposed himself to recover pucks in his territory and relaunched the attack.
In the words of one of his wingers, Juraj Slafkovsky: “He makes other people better. He understands the game, he knows when to slow down, when to speed up, how to control the puck. »
Casually, Monahan now has 10 points in his last 10 games. His right foot injury? “It’s minor. I try to get out of it. I may miss some training, ”he summed up.
The important thing is above all his hips, and to see him go, to see him skate, it doesn’t seem too problematic anymore. This is interesting for the Canadian, or for any team that will be interested in him by the trade deadline.
PHOTO LARRY MACDOUGAL, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Jake Allen
With help from Allen
That said, Monahan may have played inspired, but his teammates’ performances weren’t quite as on point. The trios of Nick Suzuki and Christian Dvorak spent the evening under siege in their territory. With a slightly more human goalkeeper in front of the Canadian net, the Flames would have won.
Except Allen was superhuman. Author of 45 saves, he stole this match for the Montrealers.
It had been a few matches that I hadn’t played up to my expectations. We lost the last match, but I felt better. I wanted to build on that. I felt good tonight.
Jake Allen
All this comes at a time when Martin St-Louis felt the need to remind a few times in recent days that Allen was indeed his number 1 goalkeeper, even if Samuel Montembeault has offered better performances so far.
We would like to tell you that Allen “got the message”, that he “responded to his coach”. But the flat truth is that Allen assures that he did not see the statement pass.
“I don’t read what’s written, so I’m the last to know! “, he launched.
“Sam is one of the best goalies in the NHL this season. He deserved to play these games. I have been in this situation before. I have high expectations of myself. There will be obstacles along the way, I am not perfect. »
He’s not, but his teammates needed him to be on a freezing Thursday night in Alberta. He practically was.
Up: Juraj Slafkovsky
A valiant effort on his part. He took advantage of a blunder to score, but his shot on the post on the breakaway was a good reminder of the quality of his shot.
Down: Jordan Harris
A difficult evening, spent mostly in his zone. His two penalties will not help him in the rotation of defenders.
The number of the match: 40
Cole Caufield’s goal was his 40e in the NHL, at his 100e match. In modern NHL history (since 1943), he is the fourth Canadiens player to reach that number in 100 games. Others ? Maurice Richard, Jean Beliveau and Bernard Geoffrion. Not bad.
In details
Chris Wideman, attacker, a little
With Brendan Gallagher absent, and with Rem Pitlick unable to arrive at the Saddledome early enough to play the game, Chris Wideman had to play up front, as the Habs had only 11 forwards available. Wideman stayed up front in the first period, in a funny matched fourth line with the very defensive Jake Evans and the very belligerent Michael Pezzetta. But then we saw him in defense, which gave a respite to left-handers forced to play on the right, since David Savard was the only other right-hander in the brigade. His presence also allowed Martin St-Louis to employ him at the forefront of the second power play unit. We can in passing wonder why the CH did not recall Pitlick earlier, knowing that Gallagher was absent from Wednesday’s training. The team therefore left with 12 attackers, including Gallagher who was visibly mortgaged.
A name to watch
Adam Ruzicka’s name wasn’t on hockey pool fans’ radars this summer, and it will still be a while before he is, but the giant-sized winger will definitely have to be kept tabs at the Flames. This choice of 4e tour in 2017 played a strong game alongside Mikael Backlund, and fell within a decimeter of scoring in the middle period, when his shot hit the post. Ultra-productive in the American League last year (20 points in 16 games), he totaled 9 points in just 13 games this season.
New role for Josh Anderson
Under John Tortorella in Columbus, Josh Anderson was a permanent member of the penalty kill units, a role he lost upon his arrival in Montreal. It must be said that with Phillip Danault, Artturi Lehkonen, Paul Byron, Jake Evans, Tyler Toffoli and Joel Armia, the team did not lack resources at 4 against 5. Quite the opposite of this season, St-Louis deploring, he a few weeks ago, the fact that he must mainly use his crosses shorthanded. For a third game in a row, Anderson was therefore employed in this situation. With his speed, he can certainly encourage his rivals to be wary of the breakaway, but it will be necessary to see if he has the sense of anticipation and positioning to be effective in this phase of the game.