Islanders 3 — Canadian 4 (P) | When the defenders invite themselves to the party

We will understand Mike Matheson if he took a few wrinkles on Saturday afternoon. Whether it was after scoring in overtime, during the endless video review or in the post-match interview, he had, like Steven Seagal, a single facial expression.

A big smile.

“That was pretty cool. I was one of them [un partisan] not so long ago. I was sitting in the stands screaming. I remember the sections where I sat, we came maybe once a year. It’s the kind of time I have to pinch myself. »

The Quebec defender was one of the Canadiens’ heroes in a 4-3 win over the New York Islanders on Saturday afternoon. He added an assist on Kirby Dach’s goal – a superbly placed puck to allow a deflection – while Justin Barron also hit the target.

Matheson and Barron achieved what too few of their Montreal colleagues have accomplished this season: scoring a goal. With their two successes, the backs of the Habs have 14 goals since the start of the season. It’s worth them the 32^e and last in the NHL, behind Toronto, Pittsburgh and Vancouver (17 each). Let’s add that on their own, Erik Karlsson (17) and Dougie Hamilton (15) scored more often than all Habs defensemen combined.

Choose your time

Basically, the Habs are not full of resolutely offensive defenders. Matheson and Barron are the two most gifted in this regard, but the former has missed 34 games due to injury, and the latter has spent half the season with the Laval Rocket.

Then it remains to learn when to press the attack. After seven seasons in the NHL, Matheson understands better when he can compromise. In overtime, for example, the question arises less.

Barron, he was only playing his 22^e game in the Bettman circuit. He is therefore still learning to read situations, and he will sometimes get burned. But not during his goal, in the third period. When he saw Zach Parisé and Jean-Gabriel Pageau get stuck near the ramp in the CH zone, he cleared off and gave a loud cry to the bridge to announce that he was unmarked.

“I saw the check, they had two players caught in our zone and I was one step ahead of my guy. We had a two against two and I had a full zone in front of me. Dadonov made a great game,” he explained.

His explanation joined the remarks that Martin St-Louis would provide a few minutes later. The head coach often mentions that his players have to “get to the bases”, a way of emphasizing the importance of simple plays. But they can also attempt the circuit.

“Sometimes when a defender can support the offense, it’s a home run. If they are fresh, if they have energy, they have to go. They need to help us get a five-on-five power play, so that a two-on-two becomes a three-on-two. Sometimes you don’t have the energy to go and that’s okay. »

Savard in the shadows

Barron is therefore in full learning and his pairing with Matheson should not harm him in this regard.

That said, if Barron started the season in the American League, it was to polish his overall game. He was treated to a whole demonstration by David Savard.

The shaggy-bearded defender spent almost all of the overtime (3 min 55 s out of 4 min 38 s) on the ice, first at equal strength, then outnumbered. The downtime requested by the Islanders certainly allowed him to breathe, but his presence remains impressive. He was credited with two blocked shots, but his presence in the line of fire certainly deterred the visitors from aiming for the net a few times.

“If I was out of breath, I wonder how he was! underlined goalkeeper Samuel Montembeault. He blocked shots, and when he wasn’t blocking them, he was making sure I could see the puck coming. »

Barron will never become the type of erased defender that is Savard. They don’t have the same stature, the same strengths. But the Nova Scotian still believes he can improve by watching his Maskoutain colleague.

“The blocked shots might go unnoticed with what happened next, but it’s huge,” Barron said. He does it every night and it’s so important. There are several aspects of his game that I can take inspiration from. He was a mentor to me, and a good teammate. »

This is yet another reminder not to dump all veterans, at all costs, in a process of reconstruction.

Up: Josh Anderson

His association with Nick Suzuki and Rafaël Harvey-Pinard seems to do him good. His size served him well on Suzuki’s goal, as two rivals tried to take the puck away from him.

Down: Jordan Harris

Not an easy day at work for the rookie defenseman, although he finished it with a +1 performance. It was during his penalty that the Islanders scored their second goal of the game.

Match number: 4

Mike Hoffman now has four points (two goals, two assists) in overtime this season. That’s nearly 20% of his 21-point production.

In details

Endless suspense

What were you doing between 3:08 p.m. and 3:15 p.m., Saturday afternoon? If you were at the Bell Centre, you were waiting for the verdict on the overtime goal. Long minutes were needed before the referee announced that Mike Hoffman had entered the opposing zone legally by taking control of the disc with his skates. The goal review, requested by the NHL, seemed to take the Islanders by surprise, as players and coaches were in the locker room when the validity of the goal was questioned. “We were told to come back,” confirmed Bo Horvat. “It was disappointing twice,” added head coach Lane Lambert, referring to the goal itself and its confirmation. It was so long, in fact, that the crowd started booing the officials. To the displeasure of CH players. “We wanted to tell them to stop so that the referees don’t change their attitude towards us! “, has also told Mike Matheson, author of the goal. However, it ended well, even if the referee “scared” Samuel Montembeault by saying, in English, that the game was “onside”. “I thought he was going to say ‘offside’,” said the keeper. I was like, “Oh no…”

Romanov honored

To highlight Alexander Romanov’s first game at the Bell Center since his trade to the Islanders last summer, the Canadiens presented a first-period montage of the Russian’s best moments in the uniform. tricolor. The camera then focused on him and, behind a full visor, he grinned and waved to the crowd to show his appreciation. “It was really good, it reminded me of good memories, he said after the meeting. The energy and atmosphere at the Bell Center is incredible. I was happy to come back here. The third-period defenseman threw the spectators into an emotional conflict when he served a hard-hitting check, his specialty, to Josh Anderson, who found himself with all four irons in the air. Nobody was injured on the spot, so no resentment. Romanov is also a new dad. He assured that the little family was doing well and finding their bearings. The Press inquired about the quality of his sleep with a newborn. All smiles, Romanov replied that he could not complain.

Bruises for RHP

The awakening is likely to be painful for Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, Sunday morning. He blocked five shots. Since this statistic was compiled in 2005-2006, only 16 performances of five shots blocked or more by an attacker have been reported for the Canadiens. And we could certainly remove the name of Mathieu Dandenault, present five times, since he played both in attack and defense in the same meeting. Beyond the number on the match sheet, it is also the situations in which Harvey-Pinard found himself that commands admiration. In the second period, he had to retreat momentarily to the locker room to chase away the pain. From the next presence, he blocked another shot. “I remember seeing two or three in the ankles, noted Samuel Montembeault. He is not afraid, he goes in the lines of fire. “There is a big difference between being a young man who plays hockey and being a hockey player,” said Martin St-Louis. Harvey-Pinard is a hockey player. I’m not surprised he blocks throws like that. »