Samuel Montembeault risks finding himself in spite of himself in all the major sports bulletins in North America over the next few days.
Trevor Zegras scored twice – including an absolutely spectacular net at his expense, after he relieved Cayden Primeau after 20 minutes of play – and the Canadian lost 5-4 to the Anaheim Ducks , Thursday night, for the Montrealers’ first game at the Bell Center in six weeks.
“There wasn’t much to say in the first period, then in the second it ended 2-2. There was the goal from Zegras, then the second goal where we could have reacted better… But we always thought we could come back to that game, and we missed a few at the end, ”said summarized head coach Dominique Ducharme in videoconference.
Twice Jake Evans, Artturi Lehkonen and Laurent Dauphin rocked the ropes for the Canadian (8-27-7), who hadn’t lost to the Ducks on home rink since 2014.
Along with Zegras’ brace, Sam Carrick, Cam Fowler and Troy Terry found the back of the net for the Ducks (22-16-8), who bounced back after suffering a 4-3 shootout loss the day before against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Primeau was pulled from the game for the fourth time in seven starts, after conceding three goals on just seven shots. Ducharme said he made the decision after consulting with his goalkeeper coach, Éric Raymond.
“We saw (the signs). We have seen them. It is certain that Éric pays more attention than me to that behind the bench – I have a lot of things to manage – but we saw it. I thought we had a good first half, but we were trailing 0-3. Above all, I didn’t want our players to give up, I wanted us to come back, and I wanted to give them a boost energy,” Ducharme said of his decision to replace his goaltender.
Ducharme, however, refused to say if he would give in to the pressure to return Primeau soon to the school club, the Laval Rocket, so that he could polish his game.
“Right now, we’re in a situation where we don’t really have a choice. We’ll see for the weekend. Already, we have to make sure that Sam can play, but these are the options we have for the moment, ”he summarized.
Montembeault, who is recovering from a minor upper body injury, came on as a backup early in the second period and completed the game with 13 saves.
At the other end of the rink, Anthony Stolarz stopped 36 shots. He had suffered defeat in his three previous starts, including his last on January 14 against the Minnesota Wild.
Carrick, captain of the San Diego Gulls of the American Hockey League, opened the scoring by beating Primeau on a breakaway at 8:14 of the first period. It was only the Ducks’ second shot in the engagement.
A four-minute penalty imposed on Dauphin — a high stick to the face of Ryan Getzlaf, who did not return to play after the incident — then tipped the game in favor of the Ducks.
Fowler doubled the visitors’ lead with a powerful slap shot from the blue line into the top corner with 4:48 left in the period. Then, less than two minutes later, Terry made it 3-0 with a quick one-timer. It was then the third goal conceded by Primeau in just seven shots.
Montembeault came on as reinforcements after the intermission, and the two teams traded a goal each in just 10 seconds. After Evans’ one at 1:15, Zegras scored a Michigan-style net — check out the video replays, they’re worth it — to make it 4-1.
Small consolation for the CH, Lehkonen reduced the gap to two goals by hitting the target with a one-timer from the enclave halfway through the second period. It was his first goal on special teams this season. Zegras, however, returned to the charge late in the engagement to give the Ducks 5-2 control.
Evans cut the deficit to 5-3 at 1:24 of the third period, then Dauphin redeemed his first-period error by backhanding Stolarz on a penalty shot with 5:58 to go. The Bleu-blanc-rouge however ran out of time to complete the comeback.
The Canadiens will continue their eight-game home stint with the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night before facing the Columbus Blue Jackets the following day.
Locker Room Echoes
Defender David Savard had a lot of empathy for young goaltender Cayden Primeau, who is struggling these days.
” It’s not his fault. We need to block more shots in front of him, make a better job behind him. We put him in a difficult position. We have to get back to work and support him in that. It sucks that it happens in two games in a row (to be kicked out of his net), but we have to work even harder and block more shots in front of him to help him. »
Samuel Montembeault paid tribute to Trevor Zegras for his spectacular second-half goal.
“It was impressive, because it happened so quickly. I saw him put the puck on his paddle, but I didn’t believe he was going to go around so quickly, and he beat me to the other end… He’s such a spectacular player, who is able to release a move like this every game. It was a great goal, and we have to tip our hats to him. »
Jake Evans believes that his double is partly explained by the fact that he darkens more at the opposing net.
“Collectively, we have to go to the net to generate scoring chances. When you’re having trouble scoring, this is probably the best way to fix it. Sometimes you get lucky bounces that way. For me, it’s been hard to score lately, so I want to cut towards the net more, and Rem (Pitlick) has made some great plays (on my goals). »