Free washer | Play chess, not checkers…

The Canadian trailed 2-1 midway through the second period Monday night and the Devils took advantage of a numerical superiority. Jesse Ylönen made the right play handing the puck to his defender Logan Mailloux, in full swing towards the neutral zone.

Thanks to his speed, Mailloux, the team’s first choice, 31^e overall in 2021, reached the New Jersey blue line, but quickly found himself stuck in front of four opponents. Wisdom, logic rather, would have consisted of sending the puck to the back of the territory, gaining a few dozen extra seconds, and repositioning yourself on defense. The CH, we remind you, had one player less.

Mailloux instead tried to break through this wall, without success, obviously. Young wonder Jack Hughes regained possession of the puck. Mailloux tried to retreat at high speed, but a spin from Hughes, already in the Canadian’s zone, sent the CH’s hope to graze against the boards. A second later, that is to say a genius pass from Hughes, after having beat another opponent, Josh Anderson, and the Devils led by two goals.

A few minutes earlier, Mailloux had been saved by goalkeeper Samuel Montembeault, this time on a numerical advantage. He was at the end of his shift, out of breath, after chasing an opponent at the back of the zone, when he recovered the puck at the blue line. He tried to outwit a Devils player, quickly found himself off balance, with one hand on the stick, and his clumsiness allowed an escape.

Martin Saint-Louis, never short of allegories in this brain teeming with ideas, well illustrated the young man’s decision-making after the match. “In the junior ranks, players attack the opponent more often instead of attacking space. In the National League, it’s more of a game chess, compared to the junior ranks where it looks like a game ladies. There are times in a match when you have to play checkers. But the game chess is much more important than the game ladies…”

Mailloux, 20 years old, didn’t just make bad plays. He was even much more impressive than during the rookie tournament. No player was used more for the Canadian: more than 21 minutes.

His advantageous size, 6 feet 3 inches and 220 pounds, allowed him to keep the opponent at bay. Veteran Tyler Toffoli, the first victim of one of his hard-hitting hits, will remember him. However, he tends to sacrifice effective positioning to achieve the spectacular check.

Mailloux has a lot of speed for such a strong player, a lightning shot and he is very confident in possession of the puck. His composure is astonishing for a young person of his age. With a two-goal deficit at the end of the match, we saw Mailloux increase the pace to try to help his team narrow the gap. This ability to rise up in moments of high tension cannot be taught.

This boy will be sent to Laval to learn. His ability to learn and integrate the lessons received will dictate the rest of his career. Those who achieve this usually find success in the NHL. Those who fail to correct the flaws in their game are condemned to the minor leagues.

Mailloux will also have to make better decisions in transition play. Too often on Monday, and in previous matches, his long passes failed. He must also achieve a greater number of shots on target. In the last minute of play, he sent two pucks into the bay window instead of hitting the net.

David Reinbacher less flamboyant

2023 first pick, fifth overall, David Reinbacher, 18, was less spectacular against the Devils. Despite the excitement of a first career game in a Canadian uniform, he didn’t try to do too much.

From his first presence on the ice, he made a push towards the opponent’s zone. Seeing a wall of white jerseys looming in front of him at the blue line, he lobbed the puck into the left corner to Alex Newhook, who was able to outrun his opponent and put the puck back in front of the net for a scoring opportunity. to mark. Reinbacher had just found an open space to send this puck.

Reinbacher was messy at times, also more in terms of execution than in his decision-making. But he placed a nice puck towards the net after accepting a pass from Alex Newhook to allow Josh Anderson to reduce the gap to one goal.

This young man will probably play the next season in Switzerland, where he will be able to refine his game. He still has a lot of learning to do too, although his understanding of the game is above average.

Quote of the day

McDavid had 153 last year. No player has had more than 170 since Mario Lemieux in 1996. Only Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky, six times, have reached this mark. Crosby’s career high is 120 points, achieved in his second NHL season.