Towards the end of the first period, a Canadian jersey landed on the ice at the Bell Center, followed by a cap.
There is one supporter, obviously, who had seen enough, and who, under the weight of defeats, humiliation and shame in general, decided that it was starting to do well. When the pain is too much, throwing in a $ 200 sweater can be therapeutic, as the best psychologists will tell you.
There is only one more question now: when will the Canadiens bosses throw in the towel as well?
We are only at the beginning of December, but here we are, ladies and gentlemen.
We could point out that on this quiet Thursday night at the Bell Center, the Canadian fought well, especially goalkeeper Jake Allen, who made 30 saves, several very nice. But in the end it was one loss, another, this time 4-1 to the Colorado Avalanche.
PHOTO DAVID BOILY, THE PRESS
Jake allen
This is the 19e defeat in 25 games this season.
“I saw it,” Nick Suzuki said of the lost jersey that ended up on the ice. “It’s not a good feeling for the players. It’s also hard to hear boos, but the fans want to see victories… ”
For that, the opportunity was good, since in front of the Avalanche’s net was goaltender Jonas Johansson, a former third-round pick of the Buffalo Sabers, who is essentially a minor league goaltender.
The Canadian replied with a big total of… 20 shots.
“We lacked consistency too much,” said Ryan Poehling. Our start to the match went well, but then there were ups and downs… That’s not what we should do in a match like this. ”
PHOTO DAVID BOILY, THE PRESS
Jonas Johansson of the Avalanche stretches to stop the puck in the third period.
Now what can the Canadian do? We see two options, really: live in a fantasy world and hope for another place in the playoffs, or start thinking about the next season right away.
That’s good, since Jeff Gorton, the new VP of hockey operations, is due to meet members of the media on Friday in Brossard.
For Dominique Ducharme, what follows will be important. Ducharme does not have the status of a veteran behind the bench, he has not even been in post for a year. Obviously he wants to lead his club in order to collect victories and establish himself in this league, as we saw on Thursday night, among others with Mattias Norlinder in the stands, and another young prospect, Cole Caufield, who was relegated to a supporting role with the fourth line.
But Ducharme could well be told to leave plenty of room for young people and think about their development… which is fabulous for the future of the club, but less fabulous for the column of wins and losses.
“It will be a management decision, it will not be my decision,” he commented at the end of the evening. It’s not my role. But no matter which direction the club wants to take, I’m going to get on board. ”
It’s still incredible: in July, this team was in the grand final, and the entire province was behind it. The future looked bright.
And then, on this Thursday evening at the beginning of December at the Bell Center, it was not the name of Carey Price or Phillip Danault that was chanted in the heights of the arena, but the name of… Patrick Roy .
No one expected that. Even less Dominique Ducharme.
On the rise: Alexander Romanov
PHOTO DAVID BOILY, THE PRESS
Alexander Romanov
The young defender takes more and more confidence and disturbs the opponent with his physical game. It’s a good sign.
Down: Cole Caufield
PHOTO DAVID BOILY, THE PRESS
Cole caufield
A small turn on the fourth line, and a role of spectator very passive on the third goal of the Avalanche.
The number
2
The Canadiens’ number of shots in five power-play, 8:29 minutes into the game
They said
We have guys who arrive in training, guys who have to leave training because of health problems or because of COVID-19 … Our team of coaches is doing what they can to try to find the right combinations.
Nick suzuki
We only threw 20 times at their goalie… We weren’t able to throw often enough.
Ryan poehling
I broke my nose, but I was still able to play… I watch the performance of our team, and it’s not like we have guys who play badly.
Alexander Romanov
Of course, we didn’t like our performance with a one-player advantage… We gave them a shorthanded goal. You have to do better than that in this aspect of the game.
Dominique ducharme
I don’t focus so much on individual statistics. Above all, I want our collective success, because I know that if the team is successful, the players will experience it individually.
Makar Wedge
I think our team understand very well what they have to do on both sides of the puck to win. This is the plan we presented to our players. We know we can generate offense, just do the job on defense.
Jared bednar
In details
Plus three, minus three …
PHOTO DAVID BOILY, THE PRESS
Mathieu Perreault and Jonas Johansson
Thursday morning, Dominique Ducharme said that his medical report was “plus three, minus two”. He was referring to the returns of Mathieu Perreault, Brett Kulak and Chris Wideman, and the absence of Sami Niku and Brendan Gallagher, who then had a first positive test for COVID-19. Its record is ultimately neutral. On the one hand, Ducharme confirmed that the two infected players had received a second positive result; they will therefore be in isolation for 10 days. On the other hand, Josh Anderson injured his upper body in a collision with tough Kurtis MacDermid in the second period. Ducharme has announced an absence of two to four weeks for Anderson. The big winger appeared to injure his left shoulder. If so, it is the shoulder on which he was operated in March 2020. Laurent Dauphin has been recalled from Laval.
Fasten your tuque!
PHOTO DAVID KIROUAC, USA TODAY SPORTS
Makar Wedge
Overall, the Canadian managed to limit the damage against the incandescent Cale Makar, speed dealer if there is one. However, we quickly saw the importance of the attackers in preventing it from taking off. In the first period, Michael Pezzetta and Mathieu Perreault collided near the offensive blue line as Makar returned with the puck. The opening thus created allowed him to decamp and cross the ice rink the time to say “Paul Coffey”. His climb came to an end when Alexander Romanov thwarted him along the ramp, a streak in which the Russian broke his nose. Makar has nevertheless found a way to register his 10e goal of the season, but after the game the 23-year-old confirmed that his teammate Gabriel Landeskog had deflected the puck. So it’s not impossible for the NHL to change the summary. Either way, if he keeps the pace, Makar could become the second defender in the 2000s to score 30 goals in a season. The other ? Mike Green, in 2008-2009.
The big outbreak?
PHOTO RYAN REMIORZ, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Valeri Nichushkin (13) counts in the second period of the game.
It was in December 2013. A young Valeri Nichushkin, 18, arrived in Dallas as a 10e choice in the last draft. It was there that a certain Jaromir Jagr, his teammate at the time, said that, one day, Nichushkin would be “the best in the world”. His prophecy didn’t exactly come true… The Russian amassed 34 points in his first NHL season, and it’s still his personal high. He also went into exile for two years in KHL. But the Nichushkin of 2021 is impressive. With one goal and one assist on Thursday, here he is at 11 points in 11 games this season. He took advantage of the hard work of teammate Logan O’Connor to score his goal, but besides, he looked to be his team’s every opportunity. “He creates tons of chances, but generally he doesn’t score often,” said Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar. His skill at defending, removing pucks, preventing the other team from shooting is at an elite level. He started with the fourth line, moved up to the third and now the second line and he’s an important part of that unit. “