(Montreal) Montreal Canadiens head coach Dominique Ducharme has been saying for weeks that his team needs the effort of each of its players to hope to win, and not that of just a few individuals. However, the message seems to fall on deaf ears, night after night.
It was the case again Friday, when the Canadian made numerous turnovers in his zone and continued his slide in the standings, losing 4-1 to the Sabers at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.
” It’s frustrating. You’re becoming your own worst enemy, and that’s what we did tonight. We have control of that puck. We’re in the NHL, you can play games. And making games doesn’t mean it has to go to the best games of the week all the time. They are efficient, intelligent, well-executed games. This is what we did in the first period, and as soon as we move away from that… We cannot have a system to defend that, ”summarized Ducharme, visibly angry.
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Twice Tage Thompson, Cody Eakin and Kyle Okposo blacked out the scoresheet for the Sabers (8-10-2), who ended their four-game losing streak.
Josh Anderson was the only one to strike back for the Canadian (5-15-2), who was trying to bounce back after suffering a stinging 6-3 loss to the Washington Capitals on Wednesday.
“Josh was our best forward tonight. For me, when we talk about effort, we are talking about execution and decision with the puck. This is where we get into trouble, shoot each other in the foot and run after the game. This is where we get disorganized, because there is no way to counter a turnaround. It does not exist. You have to be able to play those games, ”said Ducharme.
Goalkeeper Samuel Montembeault will therefore have to wait a little longer before enjoying a second victory this season. He did what he could, under the circumstances, and ended his night’s work with 35 saves.
His opposite, ex-Canadian goaltender Dustin Tokarski, repelled 25 shots in front of the Sabers’ net. It was his first career victory against his former team.
Once again, things started off badly for Ducharme’s men.
The Bleu-blanc-rouge again conceded the first goal of the match. This time around, forward Artturi Lehkonen caused a turnaround deep in his own territory that set the table for Thompson’s net, 4:08 into the first frame.
Anderson brought the two teams back to square one with 7:16 left on the clock, taking advantage of a blunder by Jeff Skinner in the defensive zone to grab a free disc in the slot and beat Tokarski with a shot. precise cuffs. It was his fifth goal this season.
The Sabers came back in the second period, with two unanswered goals.
Eakin initially took advantage of a blunder by Jeff Petry in Saber territory to scramble and skillfully complete a three-on-one descent, making it 2-1 for the locals. Then, with less than five minutes to play in the period, Okposo took advantage of the nonchalance of the Canadian on the power play to double the lead of his team.
Thompson put an end to the Habs’ attempt to come back at 3:29 of the third period, scoring his second goal of the game. And the Canadian suffered a second loss in a row abroad.
Ducharme had again recommended a formation of 11 forwards and seven defenders against the Sabers. The maneuver smiled on him last week, in a 6-3 victory over the Nashville Predators. Not this time.
Forward Cédric Paquette had given way in the starting squad to defender Mattias Norlinder. The 21-year-old Swede played his third career game on the Bettman Tour, and he did well for a first away from the Bell Center.
Ducharme also took the opportunity to juggle his trios, including Jonathan Drouin, Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. An experience which, as has often been the case since the start of the campaign, has yielded mixed results.
It was the second game this season between the Habs and the Sabers. The New York team had won 5-1 on October 14 – Montembeault was then the starting goalkeeper.
The Canadian will play two games in two nights, and Ducharme has already confirmed that goaltender Jake Allen will find his net against the Penguins in Pittsburgh on Saturday night.
Cloakroom echoes
Ben Chiarot admitted that the Sabers had scored opportune goals, which hurt the Canadiens badly.
“Of course there are ups and downs when things aren’t going well. We play on our heels, it’s normal. But I don’t feel that was the case tonight. They broke our backs with a few opportune goals at key points, and it completely broke our pace. It was the equivalent of being kicked in the butt at the worst possible time. ”
Josh Anderson has sent a message to the veterans of the team, who must put in a sustained effort.
“We have to be better. The young people come here and they watch us. They are the ones who work, who perform. I’m not saying it’s everyone – I include myself in that – but consistency is not there. We have to stick together. You have to, because you want to have fun when you arrive at the arena. At the moment, we don’t have any. ”
Jonathan Drouin doesn’t believe he and his teammates are discouraged, but admits that his confidence is starting to lack.
“No, there is no discouragement on the bench, but for sure it’s hard to keep your confidence when you start to lose a lot of games like we are doing now. Looks like every time they have a chance to score she goes into our net. We offer too many quality scoring chances for the opposing team – it was the case on the fourth goal tonight, that of Thompson, Montembeault did not have much chance to make the save on that. ”