(Columbus) The Canadiens players pride themselves on approaching each game the same way, regardless of the opponent. They kept their word this week: in two games against the best and the worst team in the Metropolitan Division, they offered as many poor performances.
They certainly fought hard, Thursday night in Columbus, filling deficits of 2-0 then 3-2, and again reducing the gap to 5-4. But an atrocious first period and a glaring lack of cohesion sank the Habs, who returned to Montreal after a 6-4 loss.
Against the Devils, the chain broke after the first period. In Columbus, it is the initial commitment that the CH would like to erase from its memory. “Our worst period of the season,” said Brendan Gallagher, visibly irritated by his team’s performance.
It’s too hard to come back after getting into trouble like that. We can sometimes do it, but we can’t expect it to happen all the time.
Brendan Gallagher
The veteran was asked by a reporter if the youth and inexperience of several of his teammates could be to blame. The response was not long in coming.
PHOTO JAY LAPRETE, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Brendan Gallagher beats goaltender Joonas Korpisalo in the third period.
“That would be being too nice to us,” he said. We have certain expectations of our group. And we believe it. It’s not normal not to be mentally ready in the first half. The blame lies with everyone except our goalkeeper. It’s a hard lesson to learn. I hope that won’t happen again. »
To our knowledge, this is the first time since the start of the season that there has been talk of “expectations” in the Canadiens locker room. Or that they are so bluntly named. Head coach Martin St-Louis keeps repeating that you shouldn’t judge your team by its results. And it’s fair game. But the expectations are independent of the result.
The Blue Jackets were, without a doubt, an accessible prey for the Habs. Deprived of Patrik Laine, Zack Werenski, Elvis Merzlikins, Jakub Voracek and Jake Bean, among others, their training is a pale copy of what it should have looked like. Although the Blue Jackets were on a two-in-three game winning streak, they were — and still are — the worst team in the Eastern Conference.
“We took things for granted,” said Nick Suzuki. This is, we will agree, not optimal.
” Fortunate ”
Win or lose, indeed, it is difficult to justify how completely the CH completely missed the start of this meeting.
PHOTO GAELEN MORSE, USA TODAY SPORTS
Canadian goaltender Samuel Montembeault grants a goal in the third period.
” [Les Jackets] played with a lot of speed, we found ourselves with the puck in the skates, and it went to the other side, ”noted Samuel Montembeault.
“We shot each other in the foot,” continued Martin St-Louis. We were lucky it was just 2-0 [à l’entracte]. »
“We were going all in on some games, without protecting themselves if it doesn’t work. […] I am more disappointed with the first period than having lost the match, because we fought the same” to create the equality, he added.
This sentence alone sums up the duality between results and expectations. Results can wait. The Canadian is not in a short-term approach, does not seek to pile up the victories, does not aim more for the playoffs. We are obviously talking here from the point of view of the organization, since the players themselves will never be satisfied with defeats.
Expectations are anchored in the present, regardless of ranking or score. One could, very reasonably, have expected that the men in white would not allow three breakaways in the first period. For instance.
Some expectations, too, need to be adjusted due to the circumstances. “In an ideal world, would David Savard play fewer minutes? “, we asked Martin St-Louis. The latter then defended his defender by citing only “bad luck” on the third goal of the Blue Jackets. Savard was indeed the victim of a bad leap on this one, but it is difficult not to grasp the fatigue in his overall game.
His coach has no other valid option on the right flank of his first duo. Let’s say it again: none. His expectations must therefore be adjusted. The Quebecer is nonetheless a warrior and a leader. However, reducing his playing time is not envisaged.
It is a corporate position that can be defended, but which is not without consequence. Probably the results will match.
Up: Johnathan Kovacevic
PHOTO JAY LAPRETE, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jack Roslovic and Johnathan Kovacevic
A few blunders in defense, especially at the start of the game, but compensated by nice offensive flashes.
Down: David Savard
PHOTO JAY LAPRETE, ASSOCIATED PRESS
David Savard and Johnny Gaudreau
We certainly don’t want to obsess over his case, but it seems more and more difficult for him. And there’s still a lot of hockey to play this season.
The number of the match: 1
The minor officials experienced, like the Habs, a difficult evening. They only attributed CH a single turnover on the scoresheet – Kirby Dach would have been the only culprit. Anyone who watched the encounter can attest to the fact that this understatement is grotesque.
They said
We shoot ourselves in the foot. Is it because of youth? A little. But youth also gives us something positive. We controlled the puck, we made zone entries, zone exits. There were a lot of positives.
Martin St Louis
We’re never going to let go. It’s just disappointing, because we know that the way we started the game cost us dearly.
Brendan Gallagher
We have certainly committed more than one[revirement]! We stretched our presence in the defensive zone too much in the first period. We were victims of turnovers in the neutral zone, myself included. We have to fix that and be ready for Saturday.
Nick Suzuki
We never give up, no matter the score. We have a young team, we have to find a way to play well in this league. We should have found a way to win in the third period.
Nick Suzuki
I think it went well [pour moi] in the first and second half, but it got complicated in the third. The fourth goal was my mistake. We had just tied the score at 3-3, it would have been an important stoppage.
Samuel Montembeault
In details
Not Montembeault’s evening
His team played so disorganized that he cannot bear the sole responsibility for the defeat, but Samuel Montembeault has certainly had his least convincing game so far this season. The Blue Jackets’ second goal and even more so the fourth didn’t make it look good at all. On Sean Kuraly’s first goal in the third period – detailed in the following paragraph – he opted for a harpoon shot, without however coming out of his net. He thus became easy prey. “I hesitated, and that’s why I got beaten, he analyzed. If I go, I have to go 100%. I hesitated at the last second, and it made me arrive late, and he kicked me to the side. Before the game, the Quebecer had a .938 five-on-five save percentage, among the best in the league. He is now at .916, having allowed five even-strength goals on Thursday. We erase and we start again.
Featured plumbers
While fourth-line offensive production is generally seen as a gift to a team, the Blue Jackets are in for a treat these days. After scoring two goals last Tuesday, center Sean Kuraly added two goals and an assist against CH. On his first net, he overtook Evgenii Dadonov and anticipated the reaction of Samuel Montembeault. A few moments later, he clearly won a face-off in the opposing zone before handing over to Mathieu Olivier, who scored with a free shot. Earlier, Jackets head coach Brad Larsen complimented the unit completed by Eric Robinson, saying it gave him “flexibility” in managing his bench. His plumbers did not miss the opportunity to reward him.
Olivier-Xhekaj, first round
After the Blue Jackets’ morning practice on Thursday, forward Mathieu Olivier, one of the NHL’s few “real” brawlers, said he knew Arber Xhekaj’s reputation, but he wouldn’t “go after” him. in the evening. After seeing the Habs close a two-goal deficit at the end of the second period, the Quebecer revised his position. He invited the CH defender to throw down the gloves, which Xhekaj, whose size is much larger than his, accepted. The colossus of the Canadian carried some good blows from the start, but the embrace was short-lived. It was Xhekaj’s second fight this season, after the one against Zack Kassian of the Arizona Coyotes. He had also fought twice during the preparatory calendar. With a goal and a fight, Olivier received the second star of the game.