Canadian 2 — Jets 3 | Mission accomplished, despite everything

(Winnipeg) It was in the middle of the game. After a whistle, Jets forward Saku Mäenalanen attacked Arber Xhekaj. The same Xhekaj who already has a few K. — O. on his record. Who could smash a basketball with one hand. Who, let’s say, has an interest in settling a conflict somewhere in the world if he wants to win the Nobel Peace Prize, because he won’t succeed on a skating rink.

Guillaume Lefrancois
The Press

In short, even if Xhekaj can very well defend himself, Joel Edmundson rushed on Mäenalanen. It amused the journalists on the catwalk at the Canada Life Center and we learned after the game that we weren’t the only ones who laughed a little.

“I said to Eddy, ‘It’s fine, I’m okay!'” Xhekaj said, laughing. But I can’t stop him from doing what he does. And I think he was really looking forward to getting back to playing. »

The mood was altogether jovial in the Canadiens locker room on Thursday night, given that this team had just lost 3-2 in overtime to the Jets.

The CH was not impeccable, far from it. The indiscipline hurt him, the game happened more in the Habs zone than in the enemy zone and some attackers were very discreet.

But Edmundson’s return was one of the things players were happy about, and it grabbed the attention far more than any poorly executed detail.

This greatly appreciated, highly respected teammate has just worked hard to rejoin the squad after a back injury caused him to miss the start of the season. That same Edmundson was limited to just 24 games last year, also due to back problems.

“You can do whatever you want in training, you can’t hurt your teammates. It was good to shoulder the shots, commented Edmundson. It’s one of the things I missed the most in hockey. I’m happy to have played, I’ve only played 25 games in two years. I wanted to put myself in the game, plant a guy in the gang! »

In Edmundson, Captain Suzuki also found one of his assistants. “It’s great to have him back in the locker room and on the ice. He’s a good point guard, he blocks tons of shots. Good to see him again. »

We quickly saw what makes him a valued teammate. His defense of Xhekaj may have been anecdotal, but he also rushed at Sam Gagner after the latter tried one too many sticks on goalkeeper Samuel Montembeault.

“Especially after stoppage time, if anything happens, we have more big guys, compared to last year. We know that we are going to retaliate and that we will not let it go, ”summarized Montembeault.

Suzuki was delighted with Edmundson’s return, but also with the sublime pass that Cole Caufield served to him to set up the first goal of the match.

“Besides, Cole said he did it between his legs!” I hadn’t noticed, but I just remember receiving the pass to beat their defender. Martin [St-Louis] love this game and he always reminds the guys to do it,” noted Suzuki.

But beyond these details, returning to Montreal with a 2-1-1 record during this trip to the four pearls of America that are Buffalo, St. Louis, St. Paul and Winnipeg constitutes a feat for a team that was given for dead somewhere around the second week of July.

St-Louis often comes up with the idea of ​​the process taking precedence over the results. But like any coach, he sometimes gets carried away when the results are there.

Failing to have obtained a result Thursday evening, the CH obtained one during this trip. And it didn’t come at the expense of the sacrosanct process. Edmundson clearly understood the importance of said process.

For him, it was one of the reasons to smile after the game.

“We are in the game every game. I couldn’t have said that last year, recalled number 44. But we fight every night. We are very young. The cohesion of the locker room is transported to the ice rink. If you can have control in the locker room, it shows on the ice. I’m not surprised. We are an exciting team to watch. »

Up: Samuel Montembeault

The keeper would have deserved the win, especially after frustrating Mark Scheifele in the opening moments of extra time. His good start to the season continues.

Down: Rem Pitlick

In a context of a surplus of attackers, this type of game, where he stands out for two stick penalties and not much else, is to be avoided.

The number of the match: 10

Arber Xhekaj gave out 10 hits. Since the NHL began compiling this statistic in 2003, this is the seventh time a CH player has reached ten. The team record of 13 belongs to Charles Hudon.

In details

The saga continues

Joel Edmundson’s return should have been the main story of the day at the Canadiens, but he’s been somewhat overshadowed by the Evgenii Dadonov case, which is getting stranger by the day. Thursday noon, the Russian winger was placed on the injured list, retroactive to October 31, still due to the famous virus which explains, according to the team, why he did not put on the skates on Monday or Tuesday. Except that Dadonov participated in training on Wednesday and Thursday, along with his teammates. By placing Dadonov on the injured list, the Habs maintain their formation at 23 players, which prevents them from giving up a player to Laval or subjecting one to waivers. Dadonov will be eligible for a return to play on Tuesday. Kent Hughes therefore has four days to find a solution to his surplus of players.

An unexpected effect

It was Chris Wideman who had to give up his place to allow Edmundson’s return, which meant that there were minutes of play to redistribute on the power play. Surprise, it was Arber Xhekaj who inherited it. Once the first unit-composed of five forwards-left the rink, Xhekaj stepped in as the sole back of the second wave. However, it is not this morning that we will analyze its strengths and weaknesses at the forefront, since against the disciplined Jets, the CH obtained only one complete numerical advantage. Kaiden Guhle and Justin Barron (in Laval) are probably the two best-equipped defensemen for the power play among young backs. Xhekaj says he played on the power play only in his last season in junior. “You can’t know what you got until you try it,” Martin St-Louis said after the game. But he didn’t look like an out of place guy. »

Connor finally breaks the ice

Kyle Connor does not know the expected start to the season. The sniper had indeed only one goal since the start of the season, and it was in an empty net. By scoring the winning net, in overtime, he beat a goalkeeper for the first time, in his 10^e match. Sooner or later, it was going to come back for the American, and we won’t accuse him of not having tried. He scored on what was his sixth shot of the match, and his 12^e shooting attempt. He and Pierre-Luc Dubois were the best forwards in the winning side.