(Nashville) “It’s going to be the fun to put our head on our own pillow…”
This sentence from Martin St-Louis, launched with disarming sincerity in a stifled laugh of spite, could not better sum up the state of mind in which the players and coaches of the Canadiens left Nashville on Tuesday evening. Molested 6-3 by the Predators, this team finally returns home after a horrifying seven-game road trip. A single victory followed by six consecutive defeats. A defeat of 34 to 14 in total goals. The features are drawn; eyes, tormented.
After an energetic training session the day before, and in the hope that the return of David Savard would bring some order to a bewildered defence, there was optimism ahead of the game. However, after less than 11 minutes, it was already 3-0 for the locals.
Throughout the evening, Montreal territory was a playground for players in yellow. We stopped counting the shots from the slot and the high quality chances that Samuel Montembeault had to face.
“We have to give our goalkeepers a chance”, rightly noted David Savard after the final whistle, adding that his compatriot had “made big saves including [le CH] needed”, but that he could not do everything alone.
When players show up at face-off circles unhindered in any way, “saves are hard to make,” continued the defenseman who, after missing 13 games with injury, was the skater the most used of his camp.
“We have to find a way to correct these mistakes, because they are costing us dearly,” he concluded, wisely.
In addition to defensive errors, shorthanded play has been identified by Martin St-Louis as a second “glaring” element that “gives misery” to his club: two more goals conceded on Tuesday, 12 in all during the six last matches.
“We will watch the video and we will continue to search for answers in this video,” he added.
Internal
The answers will indeed have to be found. Because the solutions will not come from outside.
In other circumstances – let’s say the Habs from 2021-2022 – management can take action. Changes in management personnel, behind the bench or within the squad, for example.
However, unless there is a major surprise, the solution will not come from there, because the organization is obviously not in a process based on any short-term success whatsoever. If that had been the case, reinforcements would have already been brought in in defense to give some respite to the many recruits in place. On the contrary, Justin Barron was recalled as an additional player after Christmas. His start to the season was already not easy in the American League; unsurprisingly, it’s not better in the NHL.
Same thing in attack. The salary wiggle room provided by the long-term injured list would be enough to experiment with recalls from the Rocket. We could even, to save money, send lame veterans to think “downstairs”, without any risk that another team will take them over through the waiver. That didn’t happen either, and that’s normal. This season is one of transition towards, management hopes, better days.
The changes, if any, would only be marginal, even cosmetic. If by chance, we decided to show the door to an assistant coach, we doubt that a transformed team would take the ice by storm the next day.
The solutions will therefore have to be found internally, or even invented. It was already not easy before this long journey that began in mid-December. “We thought it was a good time to go on the road, but I don’t think that was the recipe,” admitted Jonathan Drouin. We will therefore have to look elsewhere.
Drouin, again: “We are going home, we will try to regain our momentum in front of our supporters, to regain our energy. »
There will also be education to be done. Kaiden Guhle, Arber Xhekaj, Jordan Harris, Johnathan Kovacevic, Justin Barron, Juraj Slafkovsky and Anthony Richard have almost no NHL experience. Jake Evans (170 games), Cole Caufield (115) and Michael Pezzetta (72) don’t have a long track record either. Beyond the work of the coaches, the veterans will have to help the youngsters weather the storm.
There is nervousness that sets in after a mistake. I remember, when I was 20 years old, it can last a whole period in your head, but you have to move on. We have good veterans who can help young people and make them understand that if there are 55 minutes left in a game, you can make up for a mistake.
Jonathan Drouin
“It’s tough mentally right now. But we have to stay together, as a group. And keep working. It’s the only thing to do,” concluded the Quebecer.
And it starts, as Martin St-Louis said so well, by laying your head on the pillow. Remembering that no matter what, the day ahead is brand new.
Rising
PHOTO MARK ZALESKI, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Cole Caufield (22) chased by Filip Forsberg (9)
Cole Caufield
Threatening throughout the match, he fired 12 shots, half of which reached the net, and scored a superb goal, his 22e of the season.
Falling
PHOTO GEOFF BURKE, USA TODAY SPORTS
Justin Barron (52) in the game against the Washington Capitals, Dec. 31
Justin Barron
Defensively, it does not work at all for him. After only 4 games in the NHL this season, he found himself on the ice for 8 of the opponent’s goals at five against five.
The number of the match
PHOTO NICK WASS, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Cole Caufield (22)
3
By serving a masterful fake to Juuse Saros in the first period, Cole Caufield scored the 49e goal of his career. However, it was only the third time he scored on the backhand, according to statistics compiled on this subject by the NHL. It’s good to say.
They said
We are mentally challenged. […] It’s not an easy league. It’s a challenge, you have to overcome it.
Martin St Louis
At times, it was better, we still managed to get out of our zone several times. But when [l’adversaire] takes the momentum, you have to find a way to slow them down, to slow them down.
David Savard
At the moment, it’s hard to find the positive when you lose games by these scores.
Jonathan Drouin
There were times when it was better, but we give too many chances to score, we don’t play tight enough in our zone. Defenders and attackers, we are all in the same boat.
Jonathan Drouin
In details
Armia in penance
Of the 354 forwards who have played more than 250 five-on-five minutes this season in the NHL, only one has been on the ice for less than five team goals. This is probably the only statistical category that Joel Armia dominates. And that contributed to his coach’s decision to send him into the stands for Tuesday’s game. “Sometimes you need to take a step back, watch a game from above and press the button reset, argued Martin St-Louis in the morning. It’s not an easy league; it takes results sometimes. These, obviously, are not there. In 26 games this season, Armia has been limited to three assists, despite getting chances on offensive lines and even on the power play. Evgenii Dadonov, for his part, was left out for the fifth time in eight games.
Don’t wake the beast…
Time passes, but one thing remains: when a team is looking for itself, nothing better than a game against the Canadiens to do some good. This season, the Predators are struggling to score five-on-five goals: they scored four on Tuesday night. Their numerical advantage is one of the worst in the league: they produced two goals against the CH, almost three, in fact, since the goal of Mattias Ekholm, in the first period, was scored a small second after Brendan Gallagher had left the dungeon. The Habs, for their part, have now allowed 12 shorthanded goals in their last 6 games. As for his massive attack brigade, despite encouraging signs over the past week, it has this time been shut out on four occasions. Everything, everything, everything is fine.
A bad habit
The chorus begins to be sadly known. The meeting was only a little over 4 minutes old when the opponent had already taken the lead. It was the fourth time in as many games that the CH yielded in the first five minutes, and the 13e times of the season. Casually, after 38 games, it comes up quite often – once every three games, if our calculations are correct. Brother François Gagnon of RDS also noted on Twitter that the Habs conceded in the first five minutes 9 times in the second period and 13 times in the third. “We shoot ourselves in the foot,” summed up Martin St-Louis. “Before the first goal, we had a good start, nuanced Jonathan Drouin. Suzuki’s trio had a great first outing, that’s what you want. But the punishment [à Joel Edmundson] killed us…”