Jake Allen assures that he saw nothing. “If I had noticed, the puck would have ended up in the goal! »
It happens in the third period, with eight minutes to go and a 1-1 tie. Nikita Zadorov molests Jordan Harris in the offensive zone, the Flames relaunch the attack and bring themselves to 2 against 0, with poor Allen as the only defense.
Nazem Kadri and Dillon Dube exchange the puck, but are unable to score. Is this an Allen save? Is it the intervention in extremis of Johnathan Kovacevic, in retreat?
PHOTO DAVID KIROUAC, USA TODAY SPORTS
Jake Allen (34) and Michael Pezzetta (55)
“Kovy touched it a bit, my skate too. I do not know. It didn’t fit, that’s all that matters! “, to launch Allen.
What he hadn’t seen was Kovacevic’s withdrawal. What he has seen even less is the slight push that Juraj Slafkovsky gives Kovacevic. Whether Allen or Kovacevic prevented the goal was a crucial play in the Canadiens’ 2-1 win over the Calgary Flames in Monday’s shootout.
“I bent my head to skate as fast as possible. The timing was perfect because the moment I stretched the stick it was Juraj giving me a push, just a little push and that was enough for me to surrender,” Kovacevic said.
“I was trying to push him,” Slafkovsky confirmed. I know he has the longest stick in history! It functioned. »
It was a simple detail, a game that we will certainly see again less than the sublime pass he served to Josh Anderson on the only goal of the winners before the penalty shootout. Against a Jacob Markström who played like an elite keeper, it was the kind of play needed to score.
The reaction of his teammates, particularly Kovacevic, spoke volumes about the quality of the pass the young man had just executed.
“We hang out a lot together, he’s a good friend,” Kovacevic said. It’s just good to see him pull off that amazing pass. And it’s nice to see it hatch. It seems that he plays with confidence. In overtime, he comes in and takes a big slap shot. He does not hesitate. »
The always on colleague Patrick Friolet noted that Slafkovsky succeeded in his pass by making a game that he repeated in training with Adam Nicholas, director of hockey development for the Canadian.
“Obviously his teachings help, admitted the big teenager. It helps to practice it because it then becomes a habit in matches. You don’t think anymore, you do it because it becomes natural. »
Casually, Slafkovsky has four points in his last six games, since head coach Martin St-Louis promoted him to the second or third lines, depending on the night, rather than employing him in the fourth unit. His minutes of play gradually increased to 15:22 on Monday, a high for him in his short career.
There were certainly extenuating circumstances (the CH played with seven wingers after the injury to Cole Caufield and the match was played in 65 minutes). But the fact remains that St. Louis wouldn’t have used him in overtime and twice in the last five minutes of the third period if he didn’t have confidence. On one of those appearances, he even came close to setting up another Anderson goal by shoving the fat Zadorov first, which led to a number 17 chance.
“It’s hard to ask an 18-year-old guy to have a lot of details in his game, because you learn the details when you arrive in the NHL, underlined St-Louis. But he is a young person who is easy to coach because he wants to learn. He doesn’t think he knows everything, he knows he has to improve things and when we talk about it with him, he executes them. With this mentality, he will always progress. »
In the details
Chris Tanev sacrifices himself
PHOTO PAUL CHIASSON, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Chris Tanev returns to the locker room, helped by his teammates.
Midway through the second period, Flames defenseman Chris Tanev blocked a powerful slap shot from short range from Nick Suzuki. The puck ended up on the side of his head. Tanev collapsed after the impact and lay on the ice for a few minutes before struggling to his feet and retreating to the locker room. He did not return to the game afterwards. It was the main topic of discussion in the Reds locker room after the game. “You never want to see that,” said Jonathan Huberdeau. It’s dangerous to get a puck in the face. I haven’t really seen the sequence. But it didn’t look pretty. He looked like he was in pain. Darryl Sutter said he spoke with Tanev after the game, but didn’t give an update on his condition. “I said to the guys: the toughest guy in the building is Chris Tanev, go win for him. »
Caufield checked hard
In possession of the puck in front of his goal during a power play early in the second period, Cole Caufield was severely checked by the opposing number 22, Trevor Lewis (6 ft 1 in, 201 lbs). Caufield fell hard on his back and his head seemed to hit the ground. The Canadian’s top scorer left the game and did not return. Martin St-Louis indicated after the game that his forward would be assessed on Tuesday. “It’s a game that happens in hockey,” said the head coach. “We are always concerned when our best shooter does not return, for his part mentioned Juraj Slafkovsky. But I did these tests twice in two weeks. I think it will be correct. »
Nick Scissorhands
PHOTO DAVID KIROUAC, USA TODAY SPORTS
Nick Suzuki (14)
Again, Nick Suzuki did not disappoint in the shootout. Second to start at the Canadian after the first shooter of each team had failed, the captain executed the feint which is quietly becoming his signature. The center has scored on all four of his shootouts this season, tying him with Kirill Kaprizov for first in the league in shootouts. “It continues to work! exclaimed Kirby Dach about his teammate’s maneuver. It’s crazy. It takes patience and a lot of skill to wait and hit the puck over the mitt over and over again. Dach, third to start at CH, also scored with a wrist shot in the top of the net. It’s the second time in two occasions that he has scored in the shootout this season. “I always felt like I was a good shooter,” he said. It’s getting better. I had a few chances in Chicago. I changed the angle and different things, in order to read what the guardian gives you. [Il faut] arrive not with a determined mind, but with a definite game or three moves [en tête] to figure out how to score. »
They said
This is big man hockey. We put on our big boy pants and we played well against them.
Jake Allen
Jack [Evans] took big faceoffs. [Josh] Anderson skated all night. Juraj [Slafkovsky] was very strong at the goal line, he used his big frame, and Anderson scored the big goal. It was our best line tonight.
Jake Allen
I think it was a good team win. We weren’t perfect, but over 60 minutes, it’s one of our best games from start to finish, in terms of details, our game, playing the game that’s in front of you. It was tight. We killed the punishments.
Martin St Louis
We fought well. It was a tough match. We killed a four-minute penalty in overtime, that’s huge. Guys were getting in front of shots, some fell in battle. I think the guys took their game up a notch today. We didn’t have the last word, so that’s a disappointment.
Jonathan Huberdeau
When I arrive, I try to do the right reading. He was good at removing the option I wanted. I was lucky it fit.
Nick Suzuki on his shootout goal
We generated a lot of chances. It’s just that sometimes the puck doesn’t want to go in. But in general, we controlled the puck well, we made plays. It’s just that we lacked finishing, but the intentions were there.
Martin St-Louis on the power play
Rising
Christian Dvorak
Big evening of work, even if he was not rewarded on the score sheet. Six shots on goal, many of them quality, and 70% success in face-offs, all that in 23 minutes of play.
Falling
Michael Pezzetta
He spent the evening under siege in his territory and his choreographed fight was worthy of what was seen in the 1990s.
The number of the match
.975
That’s how efficient Jake Allen has been in two games against the Flames this season. He allowed just two goals on 81 shots.
With Katherine Harvey-Pinard, The Press