Avalanche 3 – Canadian 4 | The elite and the other chairs

Two terrible performances against the Philadelphia Flyers and San Jose Sharks, especially defensively. Followed by two convincing performances against the Edmonton Oilers and the Colorado Avalanche, particularly on the defensive side. If you understand anything, call us. The numbers are at the bottom of the screen.

But yes, we followed the briefing on the unpredictability of a young team, whose highs can be very high, and the lows, very low. This 4-3 victory against the powerful Avalanche on Monday evening obviously falls into the second category.

A few hours before the meeting, general manager Kent Hughes spoke to members of the media to take stock of the first half of the campaign. Among other things, he noted that it was difficult for management to accurately evaluate players called “to play above where they should normally play”. Those who are not in the right “chair”, that is.

With Kirby Dach and Christian Dvorak no longer playing this season, and with Alex Newhook who is in the midst of a long convalescence, we can estimate that on offense alone, at least three players fill the role of another. The total is probably higher than that, since other replacements must fill the position left vacant by the injured replacements. Are you still following?

Strangely, Monday’s match allowed us to highlight the rare players who are in the right place, if not very close. Starting with the Nick Suzuki trio which, with Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky, would have every reason to be the first trio if the entire team was healthy.

Against Nathan McKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Jonathan Drouin, this unit continued its good work started on Saturday against Connor McDavid. It wasn’t perfect – Suzuki and Caufield were on the ice for both of the Avalanche’s goals at even strength. However, they proved that adding strings to their bow, in this season of development, was not an illusion. They are capable of competing against the best and offering very good defensive performance.

The same Kent Hughes had answered, in the morning, questions about the absence of so-called “elite” attacking talent within his organization. The name of Matvei Michkov was even mentioned, echoing the superfans who still criticize him for not having drafted him last summer.

In the evening, Martin St-Louis had a lot to say about the notion of “elite”.

“What is elite? he philosophized. Is it just producing points? To score goals ? If you want to build a winning culture, you need […] guys who play game, who play 200 feet, who bring winning habits. »

In the right place

The head coach was first referring to his first line when speaking this way, but we understand that the idea applies to his entire team. The elite can be everywhere, in short.

So let’s look down, two trios lower. The third unit, Monday, was made up of Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, Jake Evans and Brendan Gallagher.

On a Stanley Cup contending team, at least two of the three would likely be on the fourth line. Moreover, at the inaugural match, that’s where Harvey-Pinard and Evans were.

In its second match since we formed it, however, this trio seemed, a rare occurrence this season, in the right place, and assigned to the right mission.

The Quebecer scored, helped by the other two, his first goal of the season. And Harvey-Pinard and Evans spent the last minute of the game on the ice to save the lead. At five on five, their unit spent some three minutes against MacKinnon’s unit, which they held in respect.

“All good teams have very good energy lines that can play against everyone,” said Nick Suzuki in the locker room. Just think of the Tampa Bay Lightning. This is important for a winning team. Jake, HP and Gally play well defensively, they don’t make too many mistakes. It was nice to see them score. »

Right next to the captain, Harvey-Pinard was all smiles. He had fun showing off his war wounds. One to the chin, courtesy of Josh Manson’s stick. One on the thigh, left there by a violent shot from Cale Makar.

“I won’t lie, this one feels good,” admitted the Saguenéen about his goal. I couldn’t wait for it to happen. »

He found it very “rewarding” to be called to play at the very end of the match. “I love playing in these situations, when we win or lose by a goal,” he continued. That’s why we play hockey. »

Does he feel like he’s in the right place in the lineup? ” Really ! I play with two guys who work extremely hard, smart guys on both ends of the ice. The offense starts from the defense. When we play well defensively, it gives us chances to score on the other side. »

No one expects Rafael Harvey-Pinard to become the power winger of this team when it aspires to success again. But the definition he gives to his role and his commitment is strikingly similar to that given to his coach of elite players.

Because there are not only the six mainly offensive positions to be filled in a team. There are, as far as we know, 20. The most popular chairs obviously have a high value… but so do the others. And it takes valuable players to fill them.

In details

Drouin enjoyed his evening

Jonathan Drouin was treated to the potpourri of reactions that is increasingly common at the Bell Center when a former CH player returns to town: a warm ovation during his tribute video, boos as soon as he touched the puck. “I tried to hold back the tears that were falling,” admitted Drouin. In six years here, there have been ups and downs, but I have had support here, I thank them, everyone from the organization, the staff, Geneviève [Paquette, directrice générale de la Fondation des Canadiens], lots of people I can name. » He was often booed, since he spent 27 minutes (!) on the ice. He finished the evening with an assist and now has 17 points in his last 16 outings. “It was the same thing with [Artturi] Lehkonen last year, Drouin recalled after the match. He got a great ovation, but was booed when he touched the puck. You know Lehkonen, he’s not a guy you can really hate. So if they do it to a guy like him, they’re going to do it to everyone. But it’s pretty cool. » If the spectators had a mixed reaction, Martin St-Louis had nothing but compliments for his former protégé. “One, he plays with four excellent players, and Jo has the intelligence to keep the game going. […] When he touches the puck, the play doesn’t die on his paddle. It’s certain that the other players don’t hate it, playing with him. »

A transformed Armia

Who the hell is this player who has been wearing number 40 for two games, the rogues wonder? The Joel Armia that we saw in action Monday against the Avalanche and Saturday against the Oilers looks a lot like what Marc Bergevin envisioned when he signed him to a four-year contract in the summer of 2021. The Finn spent 19:49 on the ice, including nearly four minutes on a penalty kill that did very well against quality Angus opposition. He scored his winning goal at the end of the match, with the passion that characterized his play in the last two matches. Passion that we also saw in the defensive zone, combined with an agility on skates which allowed him to remain well positioned in front of Nathan MacKinnon’s changes of direction. “I think he’s having fun, he’s smiling, he’s playing very good hockey at the moment,” said St-Louis. What we want from Armia is consistency. We have it at the moment, we hope it continues. »

Comfort for Allen

If anyone needs to breathe easier, it’s Jake Allen. His starts are increasingly spaced out – he hadn’t played the last four games, his longest inactive streak of the season – and when he does play, his teammates don’t always have their best effort in the body . Like last January 4 against Buffalo. But this time, his teammates answered the call, and Allen made his way, with 32 saves, for his second victory since the beginning of November (2-8-1 record since). The CH skaters certainly sacrificed themselves by blocking 25 shots, but Nathan MacKinnon always put seven shots on target, including two in the same sequence, and the New Brunswicker had the advantage in this Maritime duel.

Rising

Juraj Slafkovsky

He tied a personal best with six shots on target, including five in the first half. And he didn’t slow down his trio in its defensive mission against Nathan MacKinnon’s unit.

Falling

Michael Pezzetta

He was punished on his first appearance of the game, without knowing that he would only jump on the ice six more times. He played for 4:08, the second-lowest total of his career. His limitations become evident against top opponents.

The number of the match

28 min 5 sec

That’s how many minutes Mike Matheson played. Some 21 of those were against Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen.