Stars 3 – Canadian 2 | Joel Armia and relevance

Trailing 3-2 with 64 seconds left on Saturday, Martin St-Louis calls for a timeout. It’s time for the huddle on the Canadiens bench. The usual suspects gather at the board: Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, Juraj Slafkovsky and Mike Matheson.

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Freshly back in action, Alex Newhook is there too. The sixth man? It’s not clear, but Joel Armia listens to the instructions, sitting astride the tape.

The suspense gripped the 21,105 spectators; Who knows if the free WiFi network at the Bell Center hasn’t overheated? Will Armia step over the boards to the side of the rink to get in on the action, or to the other side to sit back down on the bench? If we had been at Bankerthe answer would have come after the break.

You will understand here that we make thick butter. Armia was indeed named among the six skaters. But on the one hand, the Habs ultimately did not score the equalizing goal and the score remained 3-2 in favor of the Dallas Stars.

On the other hand, the more cynical will point out that in a formation with five attackers and a single defender, with support players and down-and-out attackers like Jake Evans and Tanner Pearson as other options, being designated is not in itself a feat.

The fact remains that it was the first time this year that Armia was sent to six against five while the CH really had chances of creating equality. And it wasn’t by chance.

An increased role

There are players who walk the talk. Armia, for his part, went straight into action, for the simple reason that there was really no word beforehand. There was no more after the match, since he was not in the locker room to meet the journalists.

This player, sent back to Laval after being ignored by 31 teams on waivers, is taking advantage of the increased opportunities to once again become a relevant element of the Canadian.

Saturday’s match was his seventh, out of the last 10, in which he exceeded 17 minutes of play. That doesn’t always translate into offensive results – he was also shut out for a fifth game in a row -, but it He is a player who is quietly finding a use for himself. He also almost equalized the mark by using his famous hands to bring himself alone in front of Jake Oettinger, before shooting too high. The only negative note was his unfortunate collision with Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, which forced the latter to give up his arms.

Newhook played on the same line as Armia for the first time this season. He offered her the usual compliments. “It’s fun to see what he can do with his big frame. He uses his body to create chances,” described the Newfoundlander.

We could add his colossal work on the penalty kill. On Saturday, he spent more than seven minutes on the ice four-on-five. In this phase of the game, Natural Stat Trick data indicates that he is the CH player against whom the opponent scores the least often this season (7.04 goals per 60 minutes).

With the Habs dropped from the playoff race, names are starting to circulate here and there on your favorite rumor sites. Armia’s, with another year on his contract at $3.4 million, isn’t exactly popular. Obviously, if he plays anywhere other than Montreal, the 17-minute evenings on the ice will probably be over. And Kent Hughes should definitely retain some of his salary. However, his impact short of one man and his success alongside Eric Staal and Corey Perry in spring 2021 militate in his favor. Or in favor of Hughes, it depends.

Desired depth

That said, while waiting to know what will happen to him, Armia is one of the tools at St-Louis’ disposal to diversify its attack a bit. Because behind the Suzuki trio, it’s thin, and the CH needs some secondary production.

It was Suzuki’s unit that scored both goals in the defeat. She also provided three of the five goals in Tuesday’s victory in Washington.

Meanwhile, Josh Anderson hasn’t scored in six games since his return. Jesse Ylönen hasn’t scored since November 16. Tanner Pearson played well Saturday in his fifth game since returning, but was a draft before getting injured. Jake Evans applies himself defensively, but he is without goals in his last 23 outings.

“The Suzuki trio is playing well, we need that to continue. But everyone must contribute to the attack. It’s not easy to get there in this league, but we have to find a way,” summarized St-Louis.

The search for solutions will continue this Sunday afternoon, against the Blues.

In details

Harvey-Pinard injured, Roy recalled

If everything seemed to be working for Rafaël Harvey-Pinard last season, it has been quite the opposite since the start of this campaign. At the start of the second period on Saturday, the Quebecer accidentally collided with his teammate Joel Armia, to whom he lost six inches and more than 30 pounds. Unsurprisingly, it was Harvey-Pinard who emerged the most damaged from the shock, particularly after he fell on his right leg. He painfully retired to the locker room and did not play again. The team said he had a “lower body” injury and would undergo further testing shortly. Two previous injuries, also to the “lower body”, have already cost the striker 27 games this season. On the offensive side, he has so far been limited to 7 points, including 1 goal, in 24 games. At the end of the duel against the Stars, the Canadian announced that he had recalled Joshua Roy from the Laval Rocket.

Gignac short of a man

With the loss of Harvey-Pinard, Martin St-Louis had to find a replacement on the shorthanded side. He therefore set his sights on Brandon Gignac, who was playing a second match with the Habs. Not only did the new number 74 look right at home, but he came close to getting his first point in the tricolor jersey in the third period. Well served by his speed, he orchestrated a climb with Mike Matheson, who inherited the disc in front of goalkeeper Jake Oettinger. The defender attempted a feint and hit the post. In total, Gignac spent four minutes on the ice short of a man, a phase of play in which the CH was also perfect in almost 12 minutes of work. After the game, the forward indicated that he was not looking to be outrageously offensive on the penalty kill. However, “if I see a chance to leave with the puck, I will definitely try,” he said.

Newhook in great shape

Coming back to play after missing 27 games is not easy. Except maybe for Alex Newhook. The 23-year-old forward showed on Saturday that his ankle injury is fully healed. Not only did he have a strong start to the match at the center of a trio with Rafaël Harvey-Pinard (before the latter was injured) and Joel Armia, but above all he seemed as happy as a fish in water on the power play . The detail is not trivial, since he inherits the heavy task of replacing Sean Monahan in the center of the opposing zone. The Canadian did not score five against four, but his first wave was very threatening. Martin St-Louis said seeing the rest of this unit – Mike Matheson, Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky – adapt so quickly was a “good sign.” “With Monahan, they were very connected, on the same wavelength,” said the head coach. I think the other four are capable of keeping the machine going. » Suzuki recalled how “intelligent” Newhook was. “He knows where to place himself,” continued the captain. We knew it would be an easy transition. We want our numerical advantage to continue to be good, we have made a lot of progress [à ce chapitre] this season. »

Simon-Olivier Lorange, The Press