(Los Angeles) The Canadian arrived in Los Angeles on this splendid Saturday afternoon, and he found himself facing the team he would like to become.
“They have a good team, probably the best in the league at the moment,” summed up Brendan Gallagher once it was all over. They are in tune with their game system, and they have a lot of talent… You have to see how difficult it is to face them. This is what we aspire to become too. »
It’s good to aim high, but after about 30 minutes of play on Saturday, it was quite clear that the Canadian is light years behind these Kings, who obtained a fifth victory in a row with this clear victory of 4- 0, against a frankly overwhelmed Canadian.
This is one of those times where the score doesn’t really indicate the outcome of the game, because it could have been even worse.
When he left, the Canadian shot only once in the first period, and at the end of the day, while Pheonix Copley returned for a little lap of glory on the ice, we wondered what the Kings goaltender could have done to deserve this first star. Of the Canadian’s 18 shots, how many were really dangerous? You can probably count that on the fingers of one hand.
PHOTO MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Center Trevor Lewis celebrates after scoring a goal.
“We knew what to expect,” explained Nick Suzuki, one of the few to get a quality scoring chance on Saturday. But we didn’t make the plays we talked about making. They arrive with their 1-3-1 system, and to counter that, you have to be on point, we weren’t. They put so much pressure that we all have to know what to do; as soon as a guy finds himself out of position, they take advantage. We had a good game plan, we didn’t execute it. »
The informed observer will have noticed that the Canadiens players had displayed this same confused look against the Kings last season at the Bell Center, and one would have thought that this time, the club would have been better equipped to deal with this system of play , but no, that didn’t happen.
It will also be difficult to try to copy what these Kings did. This is obviously a club that was once champion (twice, in 2012 and 2014), which has retained some pieces of this glorious era, including the indestructible Anze Kopitar, 36 years old, who has 10 goals this season.
PHOTO MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jake Allen stops the puck in front of Phillip Danault.
Since their last crown, the Kings have missed the playoffs five times, but they have hit home runs at the draft table, among others with Adrian Kempe and Quinton Byfield, while making some excellent decisions along the way, including acquisition of a certain Phillip Danault, who would also be rather useful to the Canadian these days.
In short, it is not a model that is so easy to imitate.
They probably play the best overall game in the entire National League. They don’t allow you to breathe… It’s impressive to see, and it’s also a good lesson for us to learn.
Jake Allen
Allen was back in front of the Canadian goal, following him in what looks like a predetermined rotation in front of the Montreal net, a bit like a rotation of pitchers in baseball. Samuel Montembeault, who perhaps played his best game as a member of the Canadiens last Wednesday in Anaheim, will at least have to wait until next Wednesday before being able to get another start.
Allen, by the way, didn’t look very good against the Kings, and one wonders if that won’t dampen the enthusiasm of the Edmonton Oilers a little for him, who had once again sent a scout to the building.
But the Canadian goalkeeper was not the only one to look bad.
“The Kings forced us to play in a way we didn’t want,” added defenseman Mike Matheson. Their game system, you don’t see that often…”
We don’t see this type of excellence that often either. Will the Canadian be able to achieve it one day? Saturday in any case, that day seemed a long way away.
Rising
Mike Matheson
The veteran defender has not been his club’s best; he was just the least worst.
Falling
Johnathan Kovacevic
He was on the ice for three of the Kings’ four goals. We call it a difficult evening.
The number
The number of shots on goal for Josh Anderson, whose offensive drought continues.
In details
A difficult first period…
PHOTO MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Martin St-Louis often talks about the importance of starting matches well, the importance of the first goal too, but on this Saturday in Los Angeles, his players obviously did not have the memo: they succeeded only one shot on the Kings net during the first period. Probably not the start to the match that we were looking for… “We didn’t really shoot at the net during the first period, but I wasn’t angry,” assured the Montreal coach at the end of the match. We didn’t give them many chances to score either… We adjusted, and we executed our plays better in the second period. »
Will Ferrell in the place!
Funny coincidence during this match: in the third period, the giant screen broadcast a clip of the famous comedian Will Ferrell, where he asks the crowd to make noise. Just moments later, Trevor Lewis scored the Kings’ third goal… and Ferrell appeared on screen again, live this time, and handing out handshakes all around him in celebration! The Canadian, obviously, was never able to recover.
A recruit dinner and leave
Since the Canadian’s next game is only scheduled for Wednesday, the team has chosen to stay under the palm trees of California a little longer. Before the Sunday break – the club will resume training only on Monday – the players have planned the traditional rookie dinner for Saturday evening in Los Angeles. “It’s bad timing after a defeat,” noted captain Nick Suzuki. But we will try to forget that. It’s a moment that is always special for rookies, everyone goes through it… but it would have been better if we had won! »