(San Jose) It was perhaps not intended, but Martin St-Louis saw fit to mention the Creole Company when leaving San Jose.
“It’s good for morale,” summarized the Canadian coach Friday at the end of the day. It’s nothing perfect, but we will continue to correct the mistakes while trying to improve. »
A 3-2 shootout victory, even if it’s against the poor Sharks, is good for morale, indeed. Especially since it makes two in a row, while the Canadian was trying to recover from a series of four defeats when he landed in California at the start of the week.
No, Josh Anderson didn’t score, but there were a few members of this team who delivered morale-boosting performances: Cole Caufield, who scored his second goal of the season at five-on-five, and his sixth overall short, and Juraj Slafkovsky, who had an assist and is becoming the player he wants to be (“that was one of his best games,” Caufield said of him). And that’s without counting Cayden Primeau, the third wheel of the carriage, who received 33 shots, and who had another good outing in front of the net.
And since we’re in the good news, it’s Jesse Ylönen, forced to skip turns in the third period these days, when the coach decides to reduce his formation, who scored the winning goal in shots dam. “He has tiring hands for a goalkeeper… he moves quickly! », summed up Martin St-Louis about him.
It would undoubtedly be tempting here to point out that the Canadian had all the trouble in the world beating the worst club in the NHL, but that would be forgetting that this Canadian is not exactly part of the league’s elite. On the other hand, the Sharks took a 2-0 lead (that includes a goal from… Mike Hoffman!), and the Montreal club was able to make up for this deficit and then snatch the victory.
PHOTO JEFF CHIU, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Johnathan Kovacevic (26) and Christian Dvorak (28)
We created chances, but we didn’t convert them. We had to be patient, we knew that we were going to be able to equal the mark if we were patient. Then, in the shootout, it can go either way… so we’re happy to get the victory.
Johnathan Kovacevic
“I don’t know if we took them lightly… We’re trying to regain our splendor and also our confidence, especially after the games against Vegas and Boston, which hurt us a little… I don’t think that we took them lightly. In this league, everyone can beat everyone. It’s just that we had to find our game again.”
PHOTO JEFF CHIU, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tomas Hertl and Cayden Primeau
Could all of this have been collected in one beautiful afternoon here in San Jose? Maybe. You had to see the players come off the ice after the winning goal. You had to see the smiles and hear the cries of joy as all these beautiful people walked on the carpet towards the locker room.
You had to see a little of all that to understand that each victory is a pretext for celebrations and pats on the back, which is normal for a club which is on the path to respectability.
That too is good for morale.
“It’s what we have to do,” added Martin St-Louis. We have to get back to what we do well…”
On the rise: Juraj Slafkovsky
PHOTO JEFF CHIU, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Juraj Slafkovsky and Cole Caufield
He had an assist in this game, and he shot the net three times, in addition to being very engaged.
Down: Tanner Pearson
PHOTO STAN SZETO, USA TODAY SPORTS
Tanner Pearson
A player who is rarely visible on the ice, and who doesn’t bring much to the team at the moment.
The number: 6
PHOTO JEFF CHIU, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Cole Caufield and Nico Sturm
The number of shots on goal for Cole Caufield, who finished the match with a goal and an assist.
In details
A first point for Struble
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Jayden Struble
We can assume that Jayden Struble will remember his second game in the National Hockey League, because it was on this beautiful November 24 that the young defenseman collected his first point in the league. It was his pass that allowed Johnathan Kovacevic to shoot and, even better, score, during the second period of this match against the Sharks. “It’s obviously a great achievement, and I’m happy that it happened in a victory! did he declare. I was less nervous this time and also more comfortable on the ice. »
Armia recalled, Xhekaj on injured list
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Joel Armia
The Canadian took advantage of this Friday in San Jose to announce the return of Joel Armia, who was recalled from the Rocket and the American League. The Canadian specified that the veteran striker would go directly to Los Angeles to join the rest of the club on Friday evening. This decision followed another, the addition of Arber Xhekaj’s name to the injured list. This decision is retroactive to November 16, and the defender continues to be evaluated on a day-to-day basis.
No Vlasic with the Sharks
PHOTO JAE C. HONG, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Marc-Édouard Vlasic
Things are not going great for Marc-Édouard Vlasic. The Quebec defender was left out on Friday for this match against the Canadian, even if the Sharks had chosen to rely on a formation with 11 attackers and 7 defenders. For Vlasic, it was a fourth match in a row as a spectator, which is certainly not good news in his case. The veteran defender has only appeared in 13 games since the start of the season, and we can now wonder about his future in San Jose. Vlasic is still under contract with the Sharks for the next two seasons, with an average salary of $7 million.