What were we saying just 24 hours ago about the sad reality that tends to hit Canadians in the face, in Florida and during the holidays?
It was said to look like this. A downward spiral, a bad movie starting over, the wheels of a car rolling off.
We saw all that, and even worse, Thursday night at Sunrise, against the Florida Panthers.
Sometimes the score doesn’t indicate the pace of the game, but in this case it indicates it quite well, thank you.
Because a final score of 7-2 says it all.
“We are a little fragile at the moment, admitted Martin St-Louis at the end of the evening. All teams eventually get through it. We are in the middle of it right now. It’s part of learning…”
Learning, yes, of course, but the venerable Pat Burns once said that you shouldn’t go to war with butter knives, and seeing the two clubs jump on the ice, it was quite obvious that there was more talent on one side than the other. Especially with the return of a certain Barkov, who stood out from the start. Especially with five rookies, again, on the blue line.
Basically, the Canadian is doing what he can. That’s all. This gave surprising results for a few weeks, but this team was not going to survive the slightest unforeseen event, and things have gone off the rails since Mr. Savard and Mr. Monahan have been on the sidelines. The name of Kaiden Guhle could be added, he who seemed to injure his left knee late in the game.
“Savard and Monahan, they are guys who calmed the rest of the group, who played for us big minutes of play, summarized Martin St-Louis. It’s hard to survive that. »
From a club for which everything worked, the Canadian has gone to the status of a club for which nothing works anymore, and the contrast could not be more striking.
We see it on the ice, on the board, but also outside; you had to see this locker room completely empty at the end of Thursday evening, when almost all the players felt like avoiding questions from the media. While some waited in another room, only two were willing to come and answer questions, Arber Xhekaj and Jonathan Drouin.
It’s not a detail.
“We lose our rhythm on special teams, with our shorthanded game, which does not allow us to create a rhythm, explained Drouin. samuel [Montembeault] made some big saves, but at some point he can’t stop it all. »
It was Martin St-Louis himself who talked about the passengers not too long ago, and again, there are several names on this list. Now the passengers are also the people who pulled this club not too long ago, including the captain, Nick Suzuki, who is unrecognizable.
“There are a lot of frustrations in our team at the moment, recognized Jonathan Drouin. Nobody likes it, we are not happy with what is happening, but we also know that the solution is ours. »
With all that, we’ll have to get used to mass abacus simulations over the next few weeks. That’s pretty much anything Canadiens fans can find for fun.
Rising
PHOTO JASEN VINLOVE, USA TODAY SPORTS
Arber Xhekaj (72) ahead of Anton Lundell (15)
Arber Xhekaj
One of the few to offer a minimum of opposition to the Panthers, among other things with a very physical game.
Falling
PHOTO JASEN VINLOVE, USA TODAY SPORTS
Nick Suzuki (14) chases down Aleksander Barkov (16) and the puck.
Nick Suzuki
The captain is probably having his worst moments of the season.
The number of the match
PHOTO LYNNE SLADKY, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Aleksander Barkov (16) scored three goals in the Panthers victory.
14
Number of goals the Canadiens have allowed shorthanded in their last nine games.
They said
It was a tough game for us, obviously… we blocked shots, we got pucks in the face. We did not get the desired result.
Arber Xhekaj
Barkov is one of the best players in the league, he’s been doing what he’s been doing for years. We have seen it again, he is a very talented player.
Jonathan Drouin
I liked the battle we fought, especially during the first period. But the penalties in the second period slowed us down.
Martin St Louis
In details
Gallagher back, Dadonov too
Brendan Gallagher, who had not played since November 29 due to an injury, the nature of which was not disclosed by the club, was finally back to action Thursday night in Florida. Number 11 completed a trio with Christian Dvorak and Juraj Slafkovsky. In the case of Dadonov, who had been left out in the team’s previous two games, he had the opportunity to try his luck on the power play, but was unsuccessful. The return to play of these two players came to mean an evening of rest for Michael Pezzetta and Anthony Richard.
Barkov on fire
Returning to action after a three-game absence, Aleksander Barkov wasted no time in signaling his return. In fact, the Panthers forward needed just 2:37 to get noticed, scoring his first goal of the night. The problem for the Canadian is that he scored two more goals to complete his hat trick… before the end of the first period! In the end, Barkov finished his evening with 3 goals and 2 assists, or 5 points. “He is part of the top 5 of the best players in the league, and we cannot afford to leave him any space, ”summarized Arber Xhekaj.
Holiday mood at Sunrise
As is the tradition at the holiday season, the Canadiens stopped in Florida, and as is the tradition at the holiday season, there were hundreds of tricolor jerseys on site. According to the official NHL game sheet, 19,623 spectators attended this game, with a good proportion of Quebec vacationers who were well in voice and well present in the square. The only downside, if we can say so: Josiane Huberdeau, Jonathan’s sister, is no longer here to do us the honor of a O Canada in French, probably because the brother no longer plays there.