Canadian 6 – Penguins 3 | A victory obscured by a resignation

(Pittsburgh) When you follow a team whose activities began under Lomer Gouin, it is rather rare to see historic premieres.

Guillaume Lefrançois
Press

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Thus, fans who spent their Saturday evening in front of their television set witnessed one of his rare firsts: three goals in an empty net from the Canadian.

But there was another first – at least, we suspect it is – much less anecdotal, much more dramatic: a member of the club’s staff who resigns on the sidelines of the match. Because let’s say it as it is: the news of Scott Mellanby’s departure, but above all the strange circumstances surrounding him, have cast a shadow over the Canadiens’ 6-3 victory over the Penguins.

We all know the Holy Trinity of the incredible events of recent years: a player (Mike Cammalleri) traded during a match, an assistant coach (Perry Pearn) fired 90 minutes before a duel and a goalkeeper coach (Stéphane Waite) dismissed during an intermission .

Except that in this case, it is the additional signs of an end of the diet that make this news intriguing. What clues? That Mellanby would have been interviewed, according to Pierre LeBrun, for the post of CEO – position occupied by Marc Bergevin, according to the latest news. That the idea of ​​a position of president of hockey operations – which does not yet exist – was discussed. That a former Ranger GM, Jeff Gorton, was approached for a high-level position in the organization …

Bergevin has experienced all of this from a distance, he who is theoretically in isolation at home due to his diagnosis of COVID-19. The same Bergevin who hammered, in an interview with Press last week, being “the boss of hockey” for the Canadiens. Information impossible to validate with the owner of the team, Geoff Molson, as long as he remains silent in public during the crisis.

But Dominique Ducharme must keep a cool head, find solutions for his unrecognizable team, knowing full well that his professional future necessarily depends on his boss …

“I have no control,” the head coach laughed. I have already said that I did not take the highway to get here. I took the small paths. I always told myself that by doing the right things, the right things were to happen. This is how I moved from one step to another, this is how I will continue. ”

That said, Ducharme admitted losing a very useful hockey man in Mellanby. “He’s a guy who has a good analysis of the players, a good evaluation. As a coach, when a new player arrived, he could give me the right information, so that I knew what to expect, how to use it, its strengths and weaknesses. ”

Bergevin, on the other hand, sees his first lieutenant leave, a guy he hired two months after taking office, and whom he promoted to deputy general manager two years later.

Inevitable changes

It is Josh Anderson, in a burst of candor last week, who had still recognized that “everyone thinks about it”, speaking of the future of Bergevin.

According to the words of Jake Allen and Jonathan Drouin, the players were informed of the news after the game. And they refused to go as far as Anderson.

“I’ve been in the National League for a while. When things don’t go well, there will be changes. With a start to the season like ours, things like that will happen, ”Drouin warned.

“Our game and the results have an influence [sur les décisions du club], but we can’t worry about that, Allen added. We have to worry about what’s going on on the ice. Management is not our responsibility. ”

These players therefore already have their share of problems to deal with, and many of these problems have nothing to do with uncertainty at 7^e stage. But the context is peculiar to say the least. It makes you wonder how long Molson will let chaos reign in this way …

Stops by the ton

So, on the ice, what happened during this game?

He played some good hockey, a game much more spectacular than the 1-0 score indicated after 40 minutes.

Anderson, after Friday’s loss to Buffalo, pointed out the too weak contribution of the veterans. The big winger, who remains the legacy of Bergevin’s first-ever draft pick, has gone from words to deeds, taking Tyler Toffoli and Christian Dvorak with him. The three veterans have amassed three points each.

Drouin played one of his good games of the season, despite a first period that he found “a bit difficult”. The Québécois was involved in what is considered by many observers to be one of the rare transactions that Bergevin lost.

Artturi Lehkonen, a too rare player from the Bergevin draft, continued his offensive momentum by scoring a goal.

And Jake Allen held it all at arm’s length, realizing stop after stop after stop – he finished at 47! – to calm the storm. If there is one position that marked the Bergevin years, it is that of goalkeeper number 2, a position that has caused him many headaches over time.

It all worked for one night, but it was lacking far too often in the first quarter of the season. And that’s why we got up this Sunday morning wondering how much longer Bergevin will be in charge of this team.

In details

Lehkonen, the watchdog

Dominique Ducharme had promised changes in his trios and he kept his word. He was there with an intriguing formula by swapping Jonathan Drouin and Artturi Lehkonen. The latter, always known for his responsible game, has therefore inherited Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, two players whose defensive play is – let’s be polite – unequal. In addition to defensive issues, this change also ensured that the two youngsters of the CH found themselves to team up with the most productive player of the Montrealers during the last nine games. Yes, it’s Lehkonen we’re talking about! And Lehkonen took the opportunity to score again. Evans found himself in a relatively offensive line with Drouin and Brendan Gallagher. The number 71 was also entitled to a nice chance to score in the third period, courtesy of Drouin, who fed him into the paying zone.

Wideman on the sidelines

In defense, it was the return to the classic formula of six defenders in the absence of Chris Wideman, injured upper body. His loss therefore allowed Sami Niku to obtain a promotion within Nick Suzuki’s unit on the power play. The initiative, however, did not produce grandiose results, the numerical superiority of the Canadian remaining in its torpor. Five against four, the visitors had their only good moments at the very start of the four-minute penalty imposed on Dominik Simon, when the other wave was on the ice. It was a face-off in the offensive zone, won by Christian Dvorak, which allowed Montreal to settle. Moreover, the game remained messy, for the simple reason that the Penguins were constantly winning races for the puck.

A crazy evening

In the absence of Bryan Rust, Evan Rodrigues enjoys an unexpected audition on the wing with Sidney Crosby. You could say he took his chance. The winger had a colossal evening offensively. He certainly scored on the power play, but five on five, Crosby, Jake Guentzel and he multiplied the streaks where they riddled Jake Allen with pucks. Rodrigues ended his evening with 12 (!) Shots, in addition to causing a penalty to Mattias Norlinder. Guentzel, he shot nine pucks towards the Habs goalkeeper. The one who is sometimes nicknamed E-Rod therefore has the opportunity to continue his astonishing start to the season. He now has 15 points in 21 games, his most productive season of 29 points in 2018-19. Rust has missed the last two games for the Penguins, but if Rodrigues continues to play like this, the effect of his absence will be lessened.

They said

Rising

Jonathan drouin

Author of a blunder Friday, Drouin recovered. A goal, chances to score for his trio mates, and even a check against John Marino which put the defender of the Penguins in fury!

Falling

Mattias Norlinder

Used sporadically, he received a penalty that could have hurt his team when it was still 0-0. For now, injuries to Brett Kulak, Chris Wideman and Joel Edmundson allow him to hang on …

The number of the match

+ 4

This is Christian Dvorak’s differential in this match. The American posted a horrible -15 before the game (the second-to-last differential in the NHL). The evening will do him good!