Capitals 8 – Canadian 4 | The job that fits, for everyone

(Montreal) In a world where coaches must exude confidence and assurance in order to be credible, Martin St-Louis is out of place. Not because he doesn’t display confidence, on the contrary. He has always been known for his determination.

But he’s also not afraid to admit the cold reality that he’s making do with the means at hand, given the circumstances. And that he learns a little on the job.

Take Saturday. The Canadian was standing up to the powerful Capitals and the score was still 1-1 approaching the median of the game. Then Josh Anderson squabbled in net, he and Nicklas Backstrom were sent off and the action continued at 4-on-4.

A clocked minute later, it was 3-2 Capitals, and the Washingtonians never gave up the lead again.

In his postgame press briefing, St. Louis pleaded guilty for that portion of the game, taking “the blame” for himself. “We haven’t worked much on our 4-on-4 system,” replied the Canadiens’ interim head coach.

One could say that it is the job that comes in. In his case, the difficulties are numerous: a workforce that is constantly changing due to injuries and transactions, players who drag sores, a calendar filled like that of a mechanic in April and a group well aware of its fate in the standings. since around All Saints’ Day. Difficult, in these circumstances, to work on details such as the 4 against 4 game.

360 minutes to play

However, the players still have six games to play and St. Louis has a very clear message for them.

It was Ryan Poehling who leaked the message. “Martin told us, we have six games left, and these are our best training opportunities, because no matter what we do, we will not be able to repeat the intensity of a game. »

In the words of St. Louis: “Players all have weaknesses in their game that they try to improve. I know they will tackle it with the specialized coaches they consult in the summer. But they will not be able to duplicate the rehearsals that we will do by the end of the season. That’s why they are important, even if sometimes they are not as good as they would like. »

For some, these “rehearsals” were more conclusive. Take Poehling, for example, who has netted two goals despite limited playing time, and has three in his last three games.

But for others, it’s more painful. Nick Suzuki is giving himself more and more “treatment days”, which suggests that he is not 100%. Anyway, his defensive performance is affected, he finished his Saturday at -3, and is -13 in his last 10 games.

Alexander Romanov also completed the meeting with a -3, and -8 in his last five outings. The rise in his responsibilities has been evident since Ben Chiarot and Brett Kulak were traded. The departure of Artturi Lehkonen, also last month, didn’t help anyone defensively either.

Jake Evans, however, rejected this explanation to explain the defensive relaxation, perceptible by the 48 goals that CH have granted in their last 10 games.

“There are no excuses. It’s our job, we’re NHL players,” Evans said. Chiarot and Lehkonen were good defensive players. But we are given a role and it is up to us to fill it. »

Anderson and team spirit

St-Louis was talking about what is not duplicated in training. One of those things is certainly esprit de corps, for the simple and good reason that everyone goes to their part of the country once the season is over.

You don’t need a great retrospective of the season to understand that this team spirit was lacking in the first half of the season and that the players sometimes seemed disinterested.

But it’s been better recently, and on Saturday it was clear that Josh Anderson and Joel Edmundson weren’t going to let Tom Wilson do what he does best with impunity. Late in the second period, Evans grew tired of seeing Wilson try to check him. Evans responded with a slash, the conflict escalated and it was Anderson who came to the rescue.

“That’s the type of player Wilson is. He’s tough and he’s intimidating. I felt like I was being targeted, and other players were being targeted as well. I was frustrated, but I was really happy with Josh’s reaction. He is a good teammate, who has character, ”summarized Evans.

The physical involvement of Wilson and Garnet Hathaway, however, was a reminder that the Capitals are also enjoying “last rehearsals.” But in their case, it’s in anticipation of the playoffs, where the intensity and passion will go up a notch.

“They are ready to go into the playoffs, physical side,” noted St-Louis. It’s hard to argue with him on that.

In details

Mantha shines at home

Anthony Mantha took advantage of his visit at home to record his first four-point night since March 8, 2020. The 27-year-old Quebecer scored two goals in 34 seconds in the second period, on assists from his linemate Lars Eller . He also had two assists on goals from Nic Dowd and Dmitry Orlov. This isn’t the first time Mantha has performed well in Montreal. He has 8 goals and 7 assists in 18 career games against the Canadiens. “Family, friends are here. The tickets are quite expensive, so I try to give them the greatest possible return for their money,” he said at a press conference, provoking collective laughter. More seriously, he then explained that his family sometimes benefited from free tickets through his grandfather, former Canadian player André Pronovost.

An indifferent crowd at Ovechkin

Alex Ovechkin had been booed during his last visit to Canada at the beginning of March, more particularly in Calgary, when the Russian invasion had begun two weeks ago in Ukraine. It was unclear what kind of reception Montreal fans would reserve for the 36-year-old Russian. The crowd offered a mixed reaction, split between boos and encouragement, when Michel Lacroix mentioned the forward’s name for the first time before the match. During the confrontation, she showed herself to be indifferent to Ovechkin, instead offering her boos to Tom Wilson, who distributed 5 body checks in his evening. Ovie scored her 47^and goal of the season on a fine pass from Evgeny Kuznetsov. If he reaches the 50-goal plateau, he will tie the record for most 50-goal seasons (9), held by Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky. “We don’t talk about his accomplishments in the locker room, but everyone knows exactly where he stands,” Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette said. The guys know what he gives our team every night. They’re all excited for him when he hits plateaus and sets records. »

Dvorak contributes to the attack

After amassing only 16 points in his first 37 games of the season, Christian Dvorak is on the right track offensively. The 26-year-old forward has 10 points in his last 13 games. He served a superb pass from behind to Jake Evans entering the zone at the start of the second period, which leveled the score at 1-1. He also won 62% of his faceoffs, but finished the night with a -1 rating. Where Dvorak doesn’t contribute is on the power play. He has zero points in 21:30 of playing time on the power play in the last 10 games.

They said

Rising

Joel Edmundson

He was physically involved all evening and was one of those who stood up to Tom Wilson. Aside from the time Alexander Ovechkin pulled him down, he put on a good performance.

Falling

Alexander Romanov

He and David Savard have been on the ice for six Capitals goals. He was often overwhelmed in his territory.

The number of the game

4

His team may have won 8-4, but Capitals defenseman Justin Schultz finished the game with a -4 record.