How many players will it take for the Canadian to lose in battle to COVID or injury for the NHL to agree that it no longer makes sense to let this team play games?
• Read also: “The product on ice is not the same”
• Read also: “The product on ice is not the same”
Facing the Hurricanes, one of the powers of the circuit, Dominique Ducharme presented himself with a formation in which only five players had more than 100 games of experience.
Halfway through the match, he lost one of them when Brendan Gallagher left the game with a lower body injury.
“We don’t think it’s too serious. His case will be reassessed daily, ”explained Ducharme at the end of this 4-0 defeat.
This loss was on top of that of Jonathan Drouin, who had to forfeit a few minutes before the meeting due to a virus unrelated to COVID.
“Before the game, Jonathan was not feeling well. He had a quick test and the result was negative. He participated in the warm-up, but had no energy. We hope that he will be correct for the next game, ”said the Canadiens head coach.
Since they’ve already pushed back the first four games of January to a later date, perhaps Tour makers have chosen to stretch the elastic to its maximum. Except that when it comes to preserving the integrity of the game, the situation Montrealers find themselves in is proof that this integrity is seriously damaged.
Cautious responses
Thursday, the Canadian was not in the game very long. True he didn’t grant anything evenly, but at one point it felt like the Hurricanes were playing without spending too much energy.
Obviously, Ducharme will not throw stones at those who make the decisions.
“All I hope is our guys come back healthy. What the league is going to do, I have no control over. We will prepare for the next match and we will see what will happen, ”he dropped after a few seconds of reflection.
Then, when a colleague came back directly to the charge by asking him if he would agree to play tomorrow’s game, if he was the master of the decision, the head coach preferred to bypass the question.
“For the guys who are here, who are fighting and who have a chance (to play in the NHL), it wouldn’t be fair to say we weren’t playing. I’m going to follow what’s going on and what the league is going to say. If we play, we’ll be ready, ”he said.
So much for the said answer. As for the unspoken one, offered by his face, we understand that he would prefer the team to return to Montreal rather than face the Panthers who, Thursday night, washed out the Lightning to the count of 9 to 3.