(Montreal) The sequence scrolled during the broadcast of the game on RDS in the third period. We see a visibly frustrated Stefan Noesen, who returns to the bench with the stick of his rival Alex Belzile. Once on the bench, he gives a good kick to finish with the stolen stick. Concealment is not for him.
“He wanted my stick, I left it to him! “, joked Belzile, after the match, in the locker room of the Canadian.
“Did you offer to autograph it?”
“It’s not worth much, my staff, compared to others!”
Even though the Canadian had just lost 4-3 to the Carolina Hurricanes, the atmosphere was light in the locker room. After all, a shootout loss against such a power is honorable for a team as mortgaged as the Habs. And let’s politely say that the club isn’t one point closer in its quest for a playoff berth.
Moreover, if the CH snatched a point from the visitors, it is largely thanks to the work of the fourth trio, that of Belzile, Michael Pezzetta and Chris Tierney. The unit scored two goals, Tierney could have scored a third, but Antti Raanta made such a difficult save that he was shaken by it.
Belzile scored one of those two goals, in addition to causing a penalty early in the game. In addition to the aforementioned Noesen, he also made Brent Burns lose his temper.
The Bas-Laurentien disputed, casually, an 18e straight game with the Canadiens. In fact, he’s been in Montreal so long that he now has to go on waivers if the team wants to send him back to the AHL. This partly explains why he will not be able to participate in the Rocket playoffs (if he qualifies) since the Habs did not cede him on paper to Laval at the trade deadline.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Alex Belzile scores the first goal of the evening against goalkeeper Antti Raanta.
There are certainly extenuating circumstances, mainly an injured list as long as the list of collaborators on your favorite Wu-Tang Clan album. Still, for a 31-year-old player, who had only 13 games on the clock before the start of the season, spending a quarter of the season in the NHL, full-time, is a feat in itself.
Alex Belzile, permanent player in the NHL? “Why not? Retorted goalkeeper Jake Allen. He plays like a guy who is here full time. I don’t care about his age. I would take him on my team every day. »
If we go by the past, his chances are obviously slim that this stay in the NHL will become a permanent position. There’s a reason the case of Derek Ryan, a forward now with the Oilers who established himself full-time in the league at age 30, is so often cited as an example.
“I think it gives me a different perspective from a lot of guys who come in younger,” Ryan said during the Oilers’ visit to the Bell Center last month. Maybe some of them take things for granted, it can happen when you’re younger, less mature. Probably I like it more. »
Words that match what Belzile answered Tuesday, when he was asked if he was beginning to see himself as a full-fledged NHL player. “Perhaps a little, but in my nature, I have never taken anything for granted, on the contrary. I want more. It’s my personality, I always want to improve. I’m starting to take my place in the National League. »
With 9 points in those 18 games and an impeccable effort, he is doing everything in his power to give himself the best chance.
Pezzetta’s contribution
The stakes are different for Pezzetta. He has been playing full-time in the NHL since last season. On the other hand, he must constantly fight to avoid ending up in the stands, as was the case for 12 of the first 13 games of the season.
The man with the curly hair scored a goal, a game that he himself started by tackling Jesperi Kotkaniemi on the boards, causing a turnover. His highlight, however, was his dive to save the Hurricanes from scoring after Allen’s spectacular save in the third period.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
The goal of Michael Pezzetta in the second period.
“I’m even happier with the goal that I probably blocked, I hate getting scored when I’m on the ice,” noted the number 55.
“Pezz didn’t have an easy start to the season, he wasn’t playing a lot. With the staff we had, it wasn’t always a good fit for him. He is better when he plays in a straight line,” illustrated Martin St-Louis.
There is a lot of talk about Cole Caufield and Sean Monahan’s files for the coming summer since they will need new contracts. But Belzile and Pezzetta must also sit down at the table. In this second half of the season, they give each other arguments for a happy ending.
Rising
Jake Allen
Spectacular work evening for the masked man from CH. He finished the game with 36 saves, including one thanks to a sideways slide à la Bill Ranford.
Falling
Rem Pitlick
He gets chance after chance to assert himself, even in overtime, but is unable to seize one.
The number of the game
-2
That’s poor Jalen Chatfield’s differential in this win. The problem: the Hurricanes defenseman only played 7:15 Not an easy night at the office.
In details
Kotkaniemi breaks the party
Well yes. Like in a movie, it was none other than Jesperi Kotkaniemi who put an end to the debate in the shootout. The former Habs first-round pick, the sixth player on his team to start, fired a quick, accurate shot into the top of the net, over Jake Allen’s right shoulder. The Finn celebrated soberly, one arm in the air, to the boos of the crowd. “I tried to be as respectful as I could. It’s special to have this goal here,” he said after the match, adding that this goal was undoubtedly part of the top 10 of his finest career moments. “It was pretty fun, to be honest,” said his head coach, Rod Brind’Amour. We know its history here. He’s a good youngster and I was just happy for him because I know he’s been under a lot of unnecessary pressure, but that’s how it works when a player leaves a team. Kotkaniemi is having a good time lately: he had a goal and four assists as recently as Sunday.
The fifth time is the good one
Early in the third period, with the Canadiens leading 3-2, Derek Stepan made contact with Allen. Paul Stastny recovered the loose puck to tie the game at 3-3. For the third time this season and the fifth time since becoming NHL head coach, Martin St-Louis contested the goal for goaltender interference. And for the first time, the officials agreed with him; Stepan was indeed preventing Allen from moving freely. “It’s the first time I had confidence to win it! “launched St-Louis with a laugh at the end of his press briefing. For his part, Rod Brind’Amour pointed out that a CH player seemed to have tripped Stepan. “They didn’t consider that. That’s what it is. »
Raanta and Chatfield fall in battle
The Hurricanes lost two players during the game: defender Jalen Chatfield and goalkeeper Antti Raanta. The latter seemed to make a bad move trying to stop a shot from Chris Tierney late in the first period. Frederik Andersen took over in the second period. “We’re in a position where if a player gets hurt a bit, we can take him out of the game,” Brind’Amour said. It was a precaution for both players. I don’t think it will be serious for either of them. »
They said
It was an exciting game. I’m tired and I haven’t played. It shows where we are as a group. We show that we can play with everyone right now. It’s fun to be in that environment.
Martin St Louis
We haven’t had this kind of game all season. It was the first match where, at least for two periods, I could say: what are we doing? It is human nature; we will have ups and downs. […] I give the guys a lot of credit because they found a way [de gagner].
Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour
You try not to do this maneuver every game. It happens once a year. It’s athletic, you bring out the athlete in you. I knew he was going to shoot high, I was just trying to get in there. Luckily, it got to me, but most of the time, you get caught.
Jake Allen on his spectacular save against Jaccob Slavin
In life in general, we like to face the best clubs. It was a great test. Indirectly, you compare yourself, see where you went. It’s a leading team that just came off a big game against Tampa, 6-0. It was a good effort, but if Jake Allen wasn’t there, the game might have changed.
Alex Belzile
Our guys can hold their heads up high. It’s a whole team on the other side. The circumstances were difficult. No one was at the top of their game. […] I’m really proud of the guys, the way we fought.
Jake Allen
Interview by Katherine Harvey-Pinard, The Press