In the third period on Saturday, the Canadiens found themselves in a 2-1 deficit against the Devils, in a game that, let’s be honest, had nothing to do with the 1987 Canada Cup final.
This is where supporters tried to start a wave, with some success.
A few minutes later, Jesper Bratt used his explosive speed to get alone past Jake Allen, who split to make the save and keep his team a goal down. The goalkeeper of the CH was entitled to a heartfelt ovation, against a backdrop of the theme of Superman.
All this in the midst of what was a sixth straight loss for the Habs, conceded 3-1, bringing the team’s record to 26-34-6.
“I also had times when we had to be good and we were losing all the time, and the fans were really on our backs,” Nick Suzuki wisely recalled after the game.
The captain of the Canadian speaks knowingly. Since arriving in Montreal in 2019, this is the eighth time that the Canadiens have gone through a streak of at least six straight losses. And as an iron man, he played every one of those matches!
Rightly or wrongly, Montreal has a reputation for a tough, stifling market, but anyone at the Bell Center on Saturday didn’t get that impression. Ditto for those who attended the press briefing by Martin St-Louis, who was again relaxed, as he was after Thursday’s setback.
“The fans are good at realizing where we are,” Suzuki said.
“Since Kent [Hughes] happened, he is very clear with the supporters and they know what is going on. With all the players out, they support us however they can. »
“We still try to put on a good show, to give everything we have,” added defender David Savard. I’m very proud of the group, we never give up. Once again, we were in the game at the end. It’s the fun to see that they support us, that they even tried to make waves. »
St-Louis has now been in office for 13 months. During his playing career, the turnover in Montreal was such that a coach practically arrived in the second half of his term after 13 months.
From 2000 to 2012, Michel Therrien, Claude Julien, Guy Carbonneau and Jacques Martin, not forgetting the interim Randy Cunneyworth, never had the luxury of coach the team over three full seasons, as the temperature rose after a while.
In these circumstances, St-Louis is therefore delighted with the perky atmosphere that reigns at the Bell Centre. “I’m just trying to imagine how it’s going to be when we get to the playoffs,” admitted the head coach. It’s a good start. »
Unequal weapons
St-Louis often talks about the importance of evaluating themselves “honestly,” a principle that encourages a group not to think they are better or worse than they really are, no matter what the results suggest. The supporters adhere to this philosophy, visibly.
The players too, because they realize that Montreal is fighting with unequal weapons at the end of the season. Behind Suzuki, the center line of the last two games is made up of a natural winger (Jonathan Drouin), a player claimed on waivers (Chris Tierney) and an American League veteran (Alex Belzile). And Suzuki’s two wingers on the first line (Rafaël Harvey-Pinard and Jesse Ylönen) have played more games in Laval than in Montreal this season.
This coincides with a streak where the Montrealers met in quick succession four teams on track to amass more than 100 points this season (Golden Knights, Rangers, Hurricanes and Devils).
“You have to look at all aspects. If you just look at our losses, you’re going to get angry, it’s human nature, Allen said. You have to look in the mirror, ask yourself what you are doing right or wrong. Whether your record is 6-0 or 0-6, you have to have the same approach. Obviously, you feel better at 6-0. But we are still doing good things, even if we could be better in some aspects. »
Regardless of the circumstances, Suzuki was clear: “It sucks to lose. But he is still able to take a step back by evaluating the team’s season. “Management has a long-term plan and we players have to focus on our daily task, which is to compete every night. »
It will be interesting to see how long this honeymoon lasts between supporters and the new administration. For the time being, everything suggests that the union will go to the leather wedding without the slightest hitch.
Rising
Jake Allen
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Another solid performance for the veteran keeper, who has regained his splendour. In nine outings since the All-Star Game, he’s hit .925.
Falling
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Jonathan Drouin
His evening began with a presence of a hundred seconds almost entirely in his zone. It was a harbinger of what was to come. However, he almost redeemed himself late in the game, but shot the post.
The number of the game
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Players from the Montreal Canadiens and New Jersey Devils look for the puck in a corner of the rink.
Zero
That’s the number of penalty minutes awarded in this game, a first in the NHL this season. Apart from a scrum in front of the Devils net in the third period, the game took place in cordiality and placidity.
They said
I think we played a good game. In the first half, we suffered a lot of turnovers, we had to defend ourselves a lot. We spent a lot of time in our zone, but we didn’t give much. Second, it got better. It’s a good team, you have to give them credit. They don’t give much space.
Martin St Louis
Do they look discouraged? I don’t feel like a seller right now. My team is here [les joueurs] are not discouraged.
Martin St Louis
It was hard to generate quality chances. It’s a great team. It’s hard to get inside the rink. We played pretty well after the first half. We can take positives from it, even if it is not easy not to win.
Jake Allen
We knew that March was going to be difficult. We face a lot of good opponents. From the trip to California until the end of the month, we knew it would be a marathon. We haven’t practiced much either, but the staff make sure we feel good.
Jake Allen
I want to play every game and I’m doing everything to get there. We had some unfortunate injuries. We have guys who came into training and got a role they weren’t expecting.
Nick Suzuki
I think Jake Allen was very good. We also missed the target often, and their defenders blocked a lot of shots. We have to give the Canadian what is rightfully his. He kept us out [de l’enclave]. His defensive structure was very good.
Lindy Ruff, Devils head coach
I don’t see how I could remember, I can hardly remember what happened last week.
Lindy Ruff, asked about her memories of a match without any penalties
In details
Real summer theater
The performance of the Canadian players on the first goal of the Devils, in the first period, was downright burlesque. The three forwards on the ice – Alex Belzile, Michael Pezzetta and Anthony Richard – collided at their blue line as Nathan Bastian came in from the opposite direction. The disc then went towards Chris Wideman, who however could not control it since the object was cushioned by a stick on the ground. Bastian rushed the CH defender, who lost his battle. Pressed by Miles Wood, Kaiden Guhle also failed to grab the puck, which ended up without an owner. Bastian, who wasn’t asking for so much, grabbed it and beat Jake Allen with a low shot. Those who missed the game on TV will be able to watch the sequence on a loop starting in May at the Théâtre de la Marjolaine in Eastman in a dinner-show format. Wideman, by the way, was on the ice for less than 9 minutes for the second straight game.
Tatar, the specialist
The New Jersey Devils are one of the best five-on-five teams in the NHL. This brings us to talk about a player who resolutely defines himself as a specialist in this phase of the game: Tomas Tatar. This one, let us remember, formed with Phillip Danault and Brendan Gallagher one of the most dominant trios on the circuit at equal strength from 2018 to 2021. We warn you, the rest is a bit tucked away. According to the MoneyPuck website, of the top 10 combinations of forwards who have played at least 135 minutes together and are ranked by expected goal split, four belong to the Devils. Of these, three include Tomas Tatar and Nico Hischier. Specialist, shall we say? With Dawson Mercer, they form the best line of the moment in the league. Against the Habs, this unit was downright dominant, especially when it found itself on the ice against the one piloted by Jonathan Drouin. Despite everything, this trio only scored one goal and was on the ice during CH’s only success. “It was almost disappointing that the score was 2-1 after two periods, commented Tatar. You have to give credit to Jake Allen, who was terrific. But I’m happy with the way we played. »
Dawson Mercer in history
We were talking about nested statistics, this one is not stung either. On Saturday night, Dawson Mercer shattered the Devils franchise record for the longest streak with at least one game (12) by a player under the age of 22. He succeeds Brendan Shanahan. Tomas Tatar seemed surprised when a journalist reported this feat to him. “I didn’t even know that! “, he confessed with a laugh, adding quickly how his linemate “plays well on 200 feet”. “It’s nice to see him go,” he added. The subject had also been discussed a little earlier, after the morning training. Mercer didn’t seem too upset, agreeing he was heading more pucks to the net than before. Checked, he has more than doubled his rate of shots per game since the start of this happy streak (3.6) compared to the first 53 games of the season (1.7). Head coach Lindy Ruff said the puck seemed to be sticking to him. He was also enthusiastic about the “chemistry” uniting Mercer, Tatar and Hischier.
Simon-Olivier Lorange, The Press