Blue Jackets 2 — Canadian 1 | good intentions

We must admit that we rarely rely on the argument of good intentions in a situation of success.

Simon Olivier Lorange
The Press

Beginning a sentence with “the intention was good” is almost invariably followed by “but” then by the result which contradicts the initial intention. One could say, for example, that the Canadiens landed at the Bell Center on Saturday with the best intentions in the world, but left the building anyway after a 2-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

We certainly tied the game at the start of the third period and almost redeemed 40 minutes of inefficiency. But with 8 seconds to play, while Jeff Petry was in the dungeon, Patrik Laine still fired a cannonball which left no chance for Samuel Montembeault, impeccable in this meeting moreover.

If we talk about the theme of good intentions, it’s because Martin St-Louis, the new head coach of the Canadiens, himself invoked it twice after the game.

First to analyze the circumstances leading to the punishment of Petry mentioned above. Then to talk about the open bar of scoring chances that the front of the net represented in this game, especially in the first two periods.

We’re not sure where Petry was going with that bodycheck attempt on Oliver Bjorkstrand, but we do know how it ended: a penalty for tripping the Jackets forward and a game-winning goal from the same Jackets blue.

“The line between playing with passion and not getting punished is difficult” to respect, justified St-Louis. “Guys all want to win, everyone wants to do well. […] I understand the situation he was in, he’s not going there for that [commettre une faute]. He lost his angle a bit, his leg came out…”

We won’t write a novel about Petry’s troubles since the start of the season, but let’s note that this umpteenth blunder in the running was in perfect phase with the match before, and the one before, and the other. before too.

Blame

In recent days, much has been made of the strategic changes made in Canadian territory. We therefore seek to prioritize man-to-man coverage and get out of the zone in possession of the disc rather than getting rid of it.

Let’s quickly summarize Saturday’s situation: it didn’t work. Against the Washington Capitals on Tuesday, we managed to force the shooters to run away from the pay zone. Against the Jackets, we reopened the floodgates.

It was not expensive to approach Montembeault, even less to fire a dangerous shot in his direction. In the second period alone, the Natural Stat Trick site credited the visitors with 11 quality scoring chances.

In this regard, St-Louis wanted to “take the blame”. It was he, he assured, who asked his men to keep the puck as long as possible. “When you ask your players to do that, sometimes you hurt yourself,” he said. Lots of chances [adverses]it was our fault. […] Sometimes, we must recognize that it is better that we send our problems a little further. » Read here: clear the puck rather than risk having it stolen.

“These were not selfish games, he nuanced. These were all good intentions. »

St-Louis, again: “We had some good ideas. We must correct them and continue to develop confidence. »

We mentioned it above, but let’s come back to it. We will invoke good intentions when the results are not forthcoming… and also when we do not have the capacity to achieve them, at least not in the short term.

It is arguably humanly possible to run a marathon with a broken leg. But it might be a bit tricky.

That’s kind of where the Canadian is.

Good marks

To leave things on a perky note, let’s mention the inspired performances of two players who haven’t had it easy lately.

Samuel Montembeault had allowed 9 goals on the last 23 shots he had received before the All-Star game break. Some knew he was playing despite an injury, but for lack of clean water, we persisted in using him. His wrist has not yet returned “100%”, but the rest has been welcome. He continues to get better.

Above all, this 40-stop match did him “really good”. He was sorry for the late goal which deprived his team of a chance to play in extra time, but he nevertheless saw “positive” in this game and felt that his team was going “in the right direction”.

Cole Caufield, meanwhile, scored his second goal in as many games, having scored just one in his previous 30 encounters. It is not so much this revival of production that we retain as the way to get there. The puck sent his way by Ryan Poehling was not easy to catch, but he quickly regained control and fired a blistering shot. Just like he did last Thursday on his goal which was disallowed due to offside.

This level of execution and reaction speed is not within the reach of all players. Yet that is what will make Caufield successful in the NHL.

“I don’t know how much of a difference the coaching change” made for him, Poehling said of his linemate. Maybe it’s the long thought he had during the break.

However, “it’s good to see him be himself again,” continued the center player. “I can’t wait to see him go in the next games. »

Up: Samuel Montembeault

An exceptional performance which benefited his team and which certainly did him good after very difficult outings.

Down: Cale Klague

Sometimes paired with Chris Wideman, sometimes with Brett Kulak, the poor guy looked bad for most of the game. On a team better off in defense, he would often skip his turn.

The number of the game

82

It’s been 82 years since the Canadian had lost 9 consecutive games. The last time was from December 16, 1939 to January 6, 1940. The team record of 12 straight losses, set in 1926, is not so far off.