(St-Paul, Minnesota) Having a surplus of good players is a happy problem.
Updated at 0:22
This may not be a “problem” with which the Canadian is dealing, especially not when compared to well-established teams like the Minnesota Wild, victorious 4-1 Tuesday night against the Habs.
What this formation does not lack, however, is forwards. All the more reason for experienced attackers. As of Tuesday night, 7 of the 12 forwards in uniform were 26 and older. And again, the two oldest members of the group, Mike Hoffman, 32, and Evgenii Dadonov, 33, followed the game from the press gallery.
When we talk about the famous youth turn of the CH, we must therefore bring nuances. Tuesday morning, precisely, Martin St-Louis stressed how much he “needed good veterans” to surround his young elements. The surplus of the moment imposes “difficult” decisions on him, but he does not budge: “I prefer to have veterans who miss matches than no veterans. »
This luxury frankly did not appear Tuesday evening in St-Paul. The first trio, that of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Kirby Dach, spent the evening in the opposing zone. Nothing to say about this very young combination with promising looks.
Behind them, however, it was less encouraging. What English speakers call the “middle six”, so roughly speaking the second and third lines, did not give their coach much to eat. At five against five, the unit formed by Sean Monahan, Jonathan Drouin and Joel Armia was the least used. That of Christian Dvorak, Josh Anderson and Brendan Gallagher certainly had the thankless task of dealing with the effective trios of Kaprizov and Matt Boldy, but struggled to generate quality chances.
After the game, Martin St-Louis didn’t criticize his players – he hardly ever does, by the way. Asked about his level of satisfaction with the performance of his veterans in attack, he was succinct, indicating that he was “happy with the team”. More specifically on Anderson’s impact, he felt that the big winger had “played well”, well “protected the puck”. “I have no problem with Josh,” he concluded.
It would indeed be alarmist to suggest that the head coach has a “problem” on his hands. However, in this season where the development of young people is on everyone’s lips, the management of its experienced players could become a headache. The six players in lines 2 and 3 on Tuesday night were between the ages of 26 and 30. They have all played 400 games in the NHL or are about to reach that milestone. They have also scored, all together, a grand total of 10 goals this season. Caufield and Suzuki, at two, have 12.
Do we need to add more?
Determination
That being the case, it’s not as if the Habs played a horrible game either. On the contrary, even. The second period was fatal, but an inspired first period and a burst of life at the end of the third could have given birth to a different result.
“I’m thrilled to see what the guys are doing on the ice,” said St-Louis. [En fin de troisième], we withdrew the goalkeeper and I still had my time out, I felt that we were in the game. I have confidence in our way of playing, without cheating. We have shown in the past that we can come back; tonight we ran out of time. I liked everything, except the result. »
In fact, the coach pointed out that his men probably had a worse game last Thursday in Buffalo, but they came away with the victory.
St-Louis, again: “You can’t just be satisfied when you win, otherwise you won’t progress. It’s a bit obtuse. I prefer to have a growth mindset. »
That game in Minnesota was the 10e of the team this season, the first symbolic step in a campaign that several observers – particularly in this section – immediately saw as a long way of the cross. Five victories later, the disaster has not happened. Not yet, anyway.
“I think we should be happy,” Jake Allen said. There is still progress to be made, but we played a lot of good hockey. There were a few less beautiful moments, but we bounced back well. We easily changed the pace, which was difficult to do last year. »
This last sighting hits the center of the bullseye. Again on Tuesday, with a deficit of three goals, the Montrealers did not give up.
“The guys in this locker room never stop fighting,” confirmed Nick Suzuki. Even behind by two or three goals, we know we have the talent to come back. »
We will not comment on the overabundance of talent in this formation, because it is not what will save it this season. Nevertheless, resilience and determination are fashionable in the Canadian’s current approach. And when we constantly repeat how much we try to build a “culture”, it is at the right time.
Rising
Cole Caufield
Although he didn’t score, he was a constant threat around the net. He was credited with eight shots on goal, just one shy of his personal best.
Falling
Josh Anderson
When he is “hot”, he is not half hot. The reverse is also true. He was a ghost against the Wild.
The number of the match
12 min 24 sec
It’s the ice time of Jonathan Drouin, the lowest total for the Canadiens, despite the fact that he played on an offensive line.
In details
Dadonov unavailable
What mysterious illness does Evgenii Dadonov suffer from? Your hypothesis is worth ours. For the second time in a row, the Russian skipped training for his team on Tuesday morning. He again submitted to a “day of treatment”, according to the organization. He is not injured, it is insisted, but would be rather sick, although the team refuses to divulge the exact reason for his unavailability. The 33-year-old winger continues to hang out with his teammates – he attended the game against the Wild from the press gallery, along with reserves Michael Pezzetta and Mike Hoffman. His fate has sparked curiosity since Saturday, when he was dropped for the game against the St. Louis Blues. He had, however, taken part in the morning warm-up, according to the journalists on site. All the players were off on Sunday, then on Monday and again on Tuesday, Dadonov was on “treatment days”. It is therefore not known when what afflicts him manifested. In eight games this season, number 63 hasn’t picked up a single point.
Rossi breaks the ice
PHOTO ABBIE PARR, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kirill Kaprizov (97) receives congratulations from teammates Matt Boldy (12) and Joel Eriksson Ek (14) after his first goal of the night.
Still looking for the first goal of his fledgling NHL career, Marco Rossi broke the scoring ice, assisting on his team’s third goal. The 21-year-old Austrian, the organization’s top prospect, had a thunderous season in the American League in 2021-2022. However, despite good performances, he was still cleared this season. In the morning, head coach Dean Evason had been complimentary of this first-round choice in 2020 (9th overall). “He’s progressing, he’s gaining confidence every day,” said the Wild driver. He is young, he is following his progression curve, he will experience ups and downs and we will live with it. Mason Shaw, who spent the entire season with Rossi in the American League last year, went even further: “He’s fantastic. He’s so calm on the ice; he is much more mature than other young people of his age. »
Dominating Kaprizov
“He’s always on the move, he understands where the game is going. Much like Nikita Kucherov, the puck constantly seems to find him. Invited by a journalist from Minnesota to talk about the game of Kirill Kaprizov, Martin St-Louis did not hide his admiration for the Russian striker, after the morning training of the two clubs, Tuesday morning. He didn’t believe so well. Kaprizov was, hands down, the most dominant player on the ice during the game. The puck “found” him on his first goal, scored thanks to a deflection which, despite a high coefficient of difficulty, seemed disconcertingly easy. On his second, he was in the right place at the right time and didn’t miss his chance despite Marco Rossi’s leaping delivery. And he certainly could have completed his hat trick early in the third period. His lightning shot, released from the slot, totally thwarted Jake Allen, but the puck hit the horizontal bar. Kaprizov has now scored five points in four career games against CH.
They said
Our first was a really good time. The second hurt us. But in general, if we play like that, we won’t have too many problems to get good results on the road.
Martin St Louis
I don’t need to tell Cole Caufield to shoot. But he’s figuring out how to be more selective, he’s looking for better options, he’s paying more attention to the game in general. I’m impressed with his game without the puck. Progress in this direction will make him a better hockey player.
Martin St Louis
I didn’t hate our game. They [le Wild] were opportunistic: when they had chances, they scored. There were also some weird jumps, like on their third goal. But as a team, we worked hard. Now we have to find a way to find the back of the net.
David Savard
The fit was good. [Kirby Dach] is a very intelligent player, he likes to evolve with offensive players. He sits well and makes good plays. Our chemistry improves with each game, and we hope to continue playing with him for a while.
Nick Suzuki on his line with Dach and Caufield