(Montreal) We are transported to the winter of 2021, that sweet time when a curfew governed our evenings. It was also the introduction of Dominique Ducharme as head coach of the Canadian.
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We tend to forget it, for the simple reason that the Habs season ended in July, with three Stanley Cup victories. But this introduction had been anything but peaceful.
After 13 games in 2021-2022, here we are again. With a 5-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, the Habs posted a 3-10-0 performance. The disaster in a league where it is agreed that a team excluded from the portrait of the playoffs in American Thanksgiving is in deep trouble. It happens in exactly 19 days, and you have to understand that with such a file, the CH will still be in catch-up mode when Joe Biden pardons a turkey.
“We went through this last year when Dom came in, but it ended up working for us. We know how we can play, I believe in our guys to make it happen, ”recalled Nick Suzuki.
You can understand Suzuki to believe it. Like us, he sees those moments of brilliance where this resembles that of last spring. Like this first period when the Montrealers pounded the visitors, dominating them 20-1 on penalties. Moments like Tuesday’s game, a 3-0 win over Detroit, a triumph that might have been one-sided had it not been for goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic.
And last year, Suzuki was there for the transition between Claude Julien and Ducharme. Appointed head coach on February 24, Ducharme had to wait until March 30 before seeing his team line up two wins in a row. Before the formidable launch of the series, the CH had known only one other winning series. The team’s record under Ducharme at the end of the season: 15-16-7.
Over two seasons, that gives a return of 18-26-7, or 18 wins in 51 games.
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, THE PRESS
David Savard, Jake Allen and Jonathan Marchessault
Except that between these results, there are the playoffs, a 13-9 record, a series of seven straight wins to allow Montreal to eliminate the Maple Leafs and the Jets. There has also been tangible progress in some very specific aspects of the game, for example 3v3 play in overtime. The Canadian lost the first five tiebreakers under Ducharme, who had to explain his strategy each time. The team ended up winning four in a row.
This is proof that by dint of patience, results can eventually materialize. It is to believe in the good sacrosanct “process”, the refuge value of coaches who see their team chain defeats.
“Our support and play in the defensive zone has really improved,” said goaltender Jake Allen. The center plays low, the middle of the rink is used more. Our zone trips are 10 times better than a few weeks ago. ”
“It’s important to be mentally strong, to believe in the process and not the results,” added Brendan Gallagher. You have to work and earn it. It won’t be easy. Nobody is going to feel bad for us, the opponents are going to try to keep us in our hole. We have to think in the short term. We are capable of it. ”
A hill to climb
The problem is that the Habs last year had a nice cushion in the standings, the result of a thunderous start to the season.
This year, it’s the other way around. CH already lives on credit. To amass the 95 points that typically secure a playoff berth, he now needs to play for .645 in the last 69 games. It’s the success rate, year after year, of the top five or six teams in the NHL. The Canadian, with his injuries, his offseason losses and his shady center line, is he part of this elite of the NHL? To ask the question, is to answer it.
And is the process getting that much better? Ducharme swears it does. After defending his team after Thursday’s 6-2 loss, he said he was encouraged by what he saw on Saturday. And despite the unflattering score, it was indeed a one-goal game until the Knights put two in an empty net.
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, THE PRESS
Brendan Gallgaher and Tyler Toffoli celebrate after the latter’s goal.
“At 23-7 on scoring chances, I would take that every night,” Ducharme said. Nine times out of 10, victory will come from our side. I think we deserved better. ”
Despite the encouraging signs they are seeing, there are also hints of fragility. A penalty means imminent danger; we saw it twice rather than a Saturday. Among the possible solutions? “We don’t hate where the throws came from. You just have to be able to block more, and have a stop or two more. These “more” saves should theoretically be more frequent with Carey Price in net. But he is still a few weeks away from a comeback.
“At 3-10 it’s completely different. If we were close to .500, that would change everything. But it’s hard to accept, we see all the teams in front of us and we know we have a good team, admitted Allen. It’s hard to accept, but we have to end our stay at the house on the right foot. You have to recharge your batteries tomorrow and arrive on Monday with the right attitude. But it takes courage to get there, to come up with the right attitude, because it’s easy to fall to the other side. ”
In details
“Horrible” first period
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, THE PRESS
Robin lehner
It will come as no surprise to anyone, but in the Golden Knights camp, the analysis of the first period was not the same as among the Canadiens’ fans. After 20 minutes of play, the CH had fired 33 shots, of which 20 hit the target. The Knights responded with a meager shot on target over five attempts. Knights are starting to get used to shaky baits. In their previous four games, they had conceded 15, 8, 13 and 16 shots in the first period. But this time it was worse than anything. Goalkeeper Robin Lehner spoke of an “unacceptable” departure. Head coach Peter DeBoer, meanwhile, used the word “horrible”, adding that CH could easily have taken the lead by four or five goals and put the game out of reach. Apparently, we used words that sounded during the first intermission, and things turned around after the visitors had elapsed a penalty very early in the second period. DeBoer attributed the subsequent rise to the “character” of his men.
Five-on-four unlock
The Knights arrived in Montreal in the midst of a surprising famine: in their first 10 games of the season, they had not scored any power-play goals, despite 19 chances to do so. What could be better than a visit to Montreal (see the following capsule) to remedy this? The only two penalties the Canadian received, excluding the minor doubles, gave his golden opponents as many goals. Smiling, Peter DeBoer quipped that it “meant more” to journalists than to him. Defender Alex Pietrangelo, who collected two points in this phase of play, however confirmed that his team are finally reaping the fruits of their efforts and wanted this performance to propel his team into the future. The Knights’ power play, he said, “is not good enough for the talent we have in this locker room.”
From bad to worse to four against five
Of course, there are extenuating circumstances. Pietrangelo’s shot deflected onto Jeff Petry. And Dylan Coghlan’s slipped behind Jake Allen as Keegan Kolesar completely obstructed the keeper’s view. “We do not hate where the throws came from,” tempered Dominique Ducharme, believing that his shorthanded specialists deserved better. Go for that. It remains all the same that short of a man, the situation of the CH is not improving, quite the contrary. After Saturday’s meeting, the team languished in 30th place on the circuit with an appalling success rate of 66%. Expressed differently: each time the Habs receive three penalties, they allow a goal. Ducharme insisted that, structurally, his unit was not totally dysfunctional. However, “at the moment, in the 50-50 situations, the puck does not touch the outside of the post, it touches the inside and goes into the goal”. As well say, now there, that the “puck does not roll” for his team, which is not wrong, mind you. But that does not explain such a low return on
They said
In the second period, before the penalty [à Ben Chiarot], we were in control. They took advantage of their chances. I think we deserved better.
Dominique ducharme
We have to find a way to score the next goal. We worked harder than everyone except their goalie. I put myself in this category: we have a chance to score, we must take advantage of it.
Brendan Gallagher
It’s hard to say to keep your spirits up these days. If we look at our last three games, we can really see that things are going in the right direction. We have to find a way to win. We have to tap into our reserves and find ways. […] We must win. We can talk as much as we want, we must take action.
Jake allen
No one likes to lose and it happens to us too often. We’re trying our best. The atmosphere is different compared to when things are going well. There are times when it’s not the joy in the locker room. It doesn’t help to be stuck in a hole. We try to stay positive.
Nick suzuki
The way we started the game [prouve] that we were focused on today, not on what happened in the past month or what is to come in the next five months. What we control is the present moment. And we will continue to do the same thing. We’re gonna practice Monday and get ready for [le match de] Tuesday, and make sure we have a good start and even a better game.
Dominique ducharme
We fought adversity and we held on to stay competitive. Each point [au classement] in fact, we can’t get out of the race so early, it’s too hard to come back. We have to find a way to stay in the game and everyone has to contribute. This victory gives us the opportunity to identify what needs to be done next.
Robin Lehner on the challenge of winning without the many injured forwards
Lehner is an incredible goalkeeper, we just had another example. But we can’t let him do all the work every night.
Alex Pietrangelo
Rising
Joel armia
He announced his colors from the start by stealing one puck after another from the Golden Knights. That said, as for his team, concrete results are long overdue.
Falling
Cedric Paquette
On his return to play, he was guilty of an offensive zone penalty that allowed Vegas to score what turned out to be the winning goal.
The number of the match
10
Christian Dvorak has been on the ice for 10 opponents’ goals in the last 2 games. On Saturday there were 2 shorthanded and 2 in an empty net, so there are extenuating circumstances. But it’s been several presences where he returns in good shape to the bench …