Canadian 3 – Sabers 1 | On the importance of a healthy Monahan

(Buffalo) Tanner Pearson finishes his interviews and heads to the chicken wing buffet reserved for Canadiens players. “You and Sean Monahan must have some good Darryl Sutter stories to tell?” », we ask him.

He starts to take a bite, but his amused look and smile say it all. “We have several, yes! “, he finally said.

Pearson and Brendan Gallagher were two of the players assailed by the cameras after the Habs’ 3-1 victory at KeyBank Center on Monday. They both hit the target in this victory, Gallagher with the winning goal, Pearson with the insurance net.

Both are also enjoying being Monahan’s wingmen thus far. Both were bothered by injuries last year, both are sorely lacking in speed in an NHL where all the youngsters are as fast as Otis Nixon. And let’s put it bluntly: both aroused much more cynicism than enthusiasm for the season among fans. However, Gallagher has two goals in five games; Pearson, five points in five games.

And Darryl Sutter in there? It was Pearson himself who recalled that he was sort of the link between himself and Monahan.

“Mony was quite a player, he gave us a lot of trouble when he was in Calgary,” recalls Pearson, a former Kings and Canucks player, who often faced Monahan. I played for Darryl, he trained me at the start of my career, and Mony had him too. I don’t know if there is a connection, but Monahan is a very simple player, who talks a lot on the ice. It’s easy to play with him. »

“He’s strong on the puck, good on faceoffs… Back in the day, he and Johnny Gaudreau were pretty good together. »

Monahan no longer has Gaudreau at his side or Sutter behind him, but after also giving up a good part of last season due to injuries, here he is back in great shape. He shares the 1^er team rank for points (5), he leads the CH in differential (+5) and he is 1^er in the NHL for faceoff efficiency (65.4%). In addition to these measurable statistics, the 29-year-old veteran constantly prevents the opponent from recovering loose pucks thanks to interventions always at the point of his stick. This is what he did twice rather than once on the first goal of the match, that of Justin Barron.

“He’s incredibly easy to play with,” Gallagher said. He is dominant on faceoffs most nights. He is smart, competitive and he wants to win. I really like playing with him. »

The “old people” have not said their last word

The Sabers (26 years old) and the Canadiens (26.3 years old) constitute two of the youngest teams in the NHL. This was also one of the themes in the morning press briefings.

Ironically, three of the four goals were scored by thirty-somethings (Pearson, Gallagher and Jeff Skinner). The oldest Canadian, Jake Allen, was also one of the heroes of this triumph.

During the presentation of the players at the first game at the Bell Centre, Cole Caufield and Arber Xhekaj received the warmest ovations. Nick Suzuki, Juraj Slafkovsky, Kirby Dach and Kaiden Guhle are constantly under the microscope because of the role they will be called upon to play in the Canadian of tomorrow.

But the role of veterans in all this “is to be leaders,” recalled Martin St-Louis. The best way to be a leader is to lead by example. We have a good group of veterans who help pull the young guys. It’s important to have that.”

The club’s vice-dean, David Savard, blocked two shots during the same presence in the third period, a presence which he ended on a blade, making him a sensation on social networks. And to the bench of his people.

“The guy has the balls to block those shots, they were powerful,” noted one of the youngsters, Xhekaj. We needed it and he did it. It gave us energy for the following appearances. »

The problem is that his sense of sacrifice has left its mark. Savard did not return to the ice after this presence, missing the last eight minutes. He was not available to speak to the media after the game, precisely because he was receiving treatment. He appeared to be hit in one arm by one of the shots he blocked.

Savard’s uncertainty, however, is a reminder of the danger that awaits this team. Gallagher, Pearson, Monahan and Allen all have extensive medical histories in recent years. Gallagher and Monahan even made their situation worse by trying to set an example, playing despite injuries.

If the Canadian wants to play meaningful games in March, as Jeff Gorton hinted last month, or if the team wants to add to its bank of prospects with transactions at the end of the season, the health of the veterans will be a crucial element.

In details

Another Gallagher special

Another match, another goal “like in time”, to borrow Kaïn’s formulation. After accompanying the puck into the goal on Saturday, Brendan Gallagher hit the target again with his methods circa 2018, this time by pushing a puck that the opposing goalie, Eric Comrie, thought was immobilized. “He’s good 20 feet from goal. He still has it. It wasn’t pretty, it was a goal like the other night,” said Jake Allen. We will remember his goal, because it proved victorious, but we cannot ignore his role on Justin Barron’s net at the start of the match. It’s Gallagher who causes JJ Peterka to lose the puck in the neutral zone, who rushes to the net on Tanner Pearson’s first opportunity, then tackles defender Mattias Samuelsson from the slot, before hiding the view from Comrie, who took a while to spot the puck on Barron’s paddle.

When bay windows are used…

After Saturday’s victory, Martin St-Louis spoke, in a response, of his team’s numerous shots that missed the target, particularly on the power play. Statistically, the situation is not catastrophic. Before the match, the Canadian came to 31^e ranks in the NHL for missed shots with 47, far from the 97 of the leaders, the Carolina Hurricanes, who however played six games. With the 12 of the day, the Tricolore now “climbs” to 23^e rank. But it is above all in the quality of the missed opportunities that these shots into the bay window weigh down the Montreal attack. A few minutes apart, in the middle of the match, Jake Evans and Cole Caufield ruined good chances with inaccurate shots. Will it be necessary to highlight the targets that the stars explode in the skills competition?

Skinner, again

Jeff Skinner and the Canadian, a love story. The little winger has always had success against the Habs and that continued on Monday. “Success” is relative in this case, because he didn’t dominate the game either. But he did what snipers like him do best: he scored a goal. In 39 games against CH, Skinner now has 24 goals and 41 points, more than against any other opponent, even though he played the first eight seasons of his career in another division, and he didn’t see Montreal during the shortened 2021 season. Luckily for the Sabers he was there, though, because poor Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson are still stuck at one point each in six games this season. However, it’s not for lack of trying… They each had at least one quality opportunity, and Thompson directed 12 pucks towards the opposing net, including 5 on target. His record of 1 goal on 29 shots suggests that a “stock market correction” is imminent.

Rising

David Savard

He participated in the winning goal by supporting the attack, before signing an anthology presence to block two shots from Tage Thompson. Will his sacrifice be paid for in matches spent in the infirmary?

Falling

Nick Suzuki

Breaking out on Saturday, he and his line were much more subdued at five-on-five, even though they mainly faced the Sabres’ fourth line. It wasn’t much better on the power play.

The number of the match

30

A sign of the pace of the match, 30 faceoffs took place in the Canadian’s territory, compared to only 12 in the Sabres’ zone.