Canadian 2 – Senators 3 | The tree and the forest

(Kanata) No need to look too far for the story of the Canadiens’ 3-2 loss to Ottawa.

Seven minor penalties cut the wings of the Habs who, after a hot start, have never been the same again. The Senators took advantage, scoring two of their three power play goals. The 0-3 deficit was too great to leave the federal capital with at least one point.

That’s it for the basics. Now, did the CH run to its own loss or was it the victim of referees whistling too quickly?

Martin St-Louis has chosen his side. Furious after the meeting, the head coach drew on the repertoire of his mentor John Tortorella by returning, four times, a question to a journalist who had asked it.

“Did you watch the game? “, he retorted each time, curtly. Adding among other things: “I think you know the answer. »

“We deserve better,” he said to sum up the performance of his men.

That’s probably true, especially given the start of his club’s game. The locals took 12 min 25 s before their first shot reached the net defended by Samuel Montembeault.

Then, with just under six minutes to go in the first period, Arber Xhekaj received a roughing penalty. The tipping point happened then, St-Louis felt. “Before that, we were everywhere. »

“After the first period, we said to ourselves that the only way they [les Sénateurs] come back in the match, it would be that we let their attack get going or that we are undisciplined, ”testified Montembeault after the defeat.

It is an exact combination of these two factors that has indeed launched the Senators.

However, how much did the Habs deserve “better”? We can ask ourselves the question.

This punishment to Xhekaj, in first, was passed successfully. Kirby Dach got a shot within seconds. The Senators nonetheless dominated the end of the engagement… and the start of the next, when the intermission had theoretically reset the “momentum” counter to zero.

Upon returning from the locker room, in less than 90 seconds, the Sens have already shot three times at the net and scored a goal – five against five, by the way.

Can we link this stampede to the punishment of Xhekaj? The thread is thin.

” He can not ”

Let us repeat the question: did the CH deserve “better”? Especially in the second period, one of his worst of the season?

The answer is still unclear. “It looks like we spent the whole period shorthanded,” said Christian Dvorak, one of the most in-demand forwards in this phase of the game. By his own admission, he would have preferred to keep his strength to play more at five against five.

Like many spectators, Kirby Dach was surprised to be penalized for obstruction after knocking down Brady Tkachuk in a race for the puck. He himself said, after the fact, having in mind “other similar situations” where he would have got away with it without a slap on the wrist. So let’s give him the benefit of the doubt. However, it is more difficult for him to justify the two additional minutes of penance he inherited after haranguing the referee. One can easily imagine that the officials have a shorter fuse with the 21-year-old players than with the veterans they have been around for years.

“He can’t do that,” confirmed St-Louis lip service.

What the latter did not seem to want to admit is that his team was, at least in part, the architect of his misfortune. He “adored” the performance of his team at five against five. However, for the sixth time in nine games, his troops have scored a goal or less in these circumstances. She created few high quality chances and failed to convert them.

On three occasions, his power play unit was shut out, getting just three shots. Here, the refrain is known.

Anyway, since this is the theme of the evening, it’s not as if all the punishments of the meeting had been far-fetched. Despite a performance that could have ended in victory, the work of the referees thus became the tree that hid the forest.

Games like these reinforce the importance of players “controlling their emotions,” St-Louis said.

“It’s hard,” he admitted.

It’s sometimes difficult for the coach too, he could have added.

Rising

Christian Dvorak

He was overworked shorthanded (more than five minutes). It was also his superb shot that reduced the lead to just one goal.

Falling

Kirby Dash

His goal brought the Canadian back to life, but we especially remember his three minor penalties, including one for having garlanded the referee.

The number of the match: 6

In a match with multiple shoulders, Arber Xhekaj and Michael Pezzetta each delivered six hits.

In details

Will they ever score?

Posted in the slot halfway through the first period, Jake Evans received a perfect pass from Christian Dvorak from behind the net. His point-blank shot is stopped. Poor number 71 rolls his eyes… In second, Jonathan Drouin is practically alone in front of Cam Talbot, but receives a blow from the stick which prevents him from shooting as he would have liked… At the start of third, Joel Armia mocks completely from Jake Sanderson, serves a clever fake to Talbot, then the puck, fired from the backhand, ends its race on the post. The bad luck seems to be on the only three Canadian forwards still without a goal this season. Here they are now, together, 60 games without scoring. It’s not for lack of trying, we’ll note nonetheless. In a rare remark that did not concern penalties, Martin St-Louis mentioned that Drouin, on his return to the game after missing 13 games, had played “a very good game”.

Talbot prefers December

RAdm Talbot’s arrival in Ottawa was not the smoothest. An injury sustained in training camp cost him the first month of the season. Then, like his team (4-9-1), he found November endless. However, the icy air blowing over Kanata, the pearl of Eastern Ontario, seemed to reinvigorate him. Since opening the first slot of his advent calendar, Talbot has scored four wins in five starts. And he’s only conceded four goals in his last three games. The Senators are still far from the promised land, especially with their first two center players stuck in the infirmary, but inspired performances from their number one goaltender will give them hope for a rise in the standings.

Better late than never

Laval Rocket fans must have had watery eyes watching Jake Lucchini circle the rink alone before his teammates during the warm-up period. The 27-year-old forward played his very first NHL game on Wednesday, after exactly 200 American League season games. His rights temporarily belonged to the Canadian, after a minor trade concluded with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2020. At his baptism of the NHL, Lucchini offered an honest performance, spending almost 11 minutes on the ice. Although head coach DJ Smith had good words for Lucchini ahead of the game, fans on social media appeared dubious at the organization’s choice to recall the minor league veteran over Egor Sokolov, the club’s offensive prospect and leader of the Belleville Senators this season.