“After a win likewise, it can’t go wrong! »
It would be difficult to sum up the match better than Rafaël Harvey-Pinard did on Saturday. Especially since he did it in 11 words, pronounced with the smile of the one who had scored the first goal of his career at the Bell Center a little earlier.
Everything was however in place for a massacre in order. Already overwhelmed by injuries, the CH had learned in the morning that Cole Caufield would no longer play for the season. With the visit of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the duel was unequal as possible. On paper, at least. Because it was the locals who ended the evening in jubilation, after a 3-2 victory in overtime. As all the pundits had predicted, it was Rem Pitlick who scored the winning goal with a blistering shot.
This victory, in game number 1 of the 36 that the club must play without its star scorer, was not perfect in its execution. But it was symbolically for a team whose players, no offense to abacus enthusiasts, must come out alive from three months which risk often being arid – we are polite.
Above all, the way in which the CH skaters and their goalkeeper stuck together directly echoed their coach’s call. Replacing Caufield, assuming that it is possible, would not go through “one guy, or two, three or four, but everyone”, he had warned in the morning. He was heard.
Josh Anderson was promoted to the first line somewhat by default, and he responded with a performance that explains a bit why NHL general managers are inquiring about his availability under Kent Hughes. We saw him physically involved, dominant in puck protection, intense as possible.
Little inclined to talk about himself, Anderson instead praised the high level of competitiveness of his entire team, which “worked hard”. It was, in his eyes, “encouraging”. It is for everyone, in fact.
Neglected
This victory was also that of the underdogs. In Saturday’s roster, five players have played with the Laval Rocket this season: Justin Barron, Rem Pitlick, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, Alex Belzile, Jesse Ylönen. If it wasn’t for his one-sided NHL contract, you can bet Michael Pezzetta would have been in the band. At the risk of insisting, it was hard to imagine that the Flannelette would hold its own against its old rivals.
However, all the players listed in the previous paragraph have appeared well. Barron is struggling offensively, Pitlick did not seem dropped on a first line. Ylönen stood out less, but he exploited his shot on the power play.
Those who especially caught the attention, however, are Harvey-Pinard, Belzile and Pezzetta, together for a good part of the match. The first, apart from his goal, has everything to please his coach. “He’s got NHL habits,” Martin St-Louis said of how he “handles himself on the ice,” describing him as “a guy you can trust on both sides of the rink.” .
After five years to gravitate in the organization, Alex Belzile now goes without presentation in the Habs locker room. His teammates and coaches know what to expect from this primarily American League forward. However, let’s go to our notes to check how many shot attempts the Auston Matthews trio had obtained after two periods when the Quebecer was on the ice: zero. In the second period, the CH support unit completely handcuffed that of number 34 of the Leafs.
This is all the more impressive since Belzile had played the night before in Laval and had only been notified of his recall on Saturday morning. Countering a talented player like Matthews, “everyone does it together”, he analyzed after the meeting.
“You have to take time and space away from him, not let go of him for a fraction of a second. Every time he had the puck, we put pressure on him quickly. And it works. »
Matthews and his band came back to life in the third period, but they came up against a Samuel Montembeault in great shape.
Casually, the latter has just signed his fourth victory in six games. A good player, he said of his teammates that they had “taken out their work boots” starting in the second period. He could have included himself in the lot.
“I look through my training, and I can’t find a guy who didn’t give everything he had, rightly praised Martin St-Louis. We weren’t perfect, but when we made mistakes, there was a guy who covered. And Sam had a great game, he was covering the last mistake all the time. It takes that to win. »
What seems so simple may be a lot more complicated some nights over the next few weeks. From Tuesday, for example, against the Boston Bruins. Sometimes it will go well, sometimes not so well. Nevertheless, after a match like Saturday’s, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard is right: it can’t go wrong.
Rising
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
David Savard
An obscure hero of a considerable collective effort, he spent just over 22 minutes on the ice and blocked 6 shots, in addition to obtaining an assist on the winning goal.
Falling
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Jordan Harris
It often went fast in front of him, especially when the Leafs’ big guns were in action. Painful turnaround on the second opposing goal.
The number of the match
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Rafaël Harvey-Pinard facing two players from the Toronto Maple Leafs
5
It’s a bit curious given the season he is having, but the Canadian has already defeated five different teams twice. You see us coming: the Toronto Maple Leafs are part of the lot.
They said
A Saturday night at the Bell Center against Toronto, a game like that brings a lot of confidence to the group. I’m really proud of the boys.
Martin St Louis
My hats off to Jean-François Houle and the Laval Rocket coaching staff. All the players we have called up are helping us keep the train going. They bring something to the team, they don’t just plug a hole.
Martin St Louis
I’ve played against the Maple Leafs before, and [leur club-école de la Ligue américaine] has the same style: a very offensive team, but if you spend time in their territory, they don’t like it. It was a great challenge to play against the best players in the world.
Alex Belzile
Honestly, it’s a hard moment to describe, I had chills all over my body. It’s a little guy’s dream to score a goal at the Bell Center, plus against the Leafs on a Saturday night. This is a very important moment for me.
Rafael Harvey-Pinard
Before extra time, Alex [Belzile] told me on the bench: “It’s Pitlick who will score the winning goal.” When he scored, I couldn’t believe it! I’m going to have to ask him more often for his predictions.
Rafael Harvey-Pinard
[Samuel Montembeaut] has been amazing. He works so hard, he gives us a chance to win every night.
Josh Anderson
I think we had our chances, but sometimes that’s hockey. The Canadiens have a young team, and I think their players saw they had a chance to win the game at some point, and they took the chance.
Mark Giordano
The Canadian scored his first goal in the second period and then we felt that they were going full throttle. It doesn’t matter who is in the lineup, it’s a team that gives us very good opposition every time.
Auston Matthews
It is this first goal that gave them life; before that, we had our chances… But we must pay tribute to them, they played very well.
Sheldon Keefe, head coach of the Maple Leafs
In details
Tough night for the Leafs…
It’s funny because in the morning, Sheldon Keefe, coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, had indicated that even without Cole Caufield, the Canadian could still bet on good players. Perhaps he meant Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, Alex Belzile and Michael Pezzetta? Because these are the three who took part in the equalizing goal of the Canadian, the second, scored by Harvey-Pinard. After the game, Keefe was asked if the Leafs hadn’t underestimated all these beautiful people a little… “Our play in the first period does not suggest that we underestimated anyone, replied the Toronto coach. We had chances but you have to give them all the credit, they got here and they played really hard. Auston Matthews, who was on the ice when Harvey-Pinard scored, didn’t really feel like discussing the goal in question. “It was chaos in front of our net and they scored,” said the star striker.
Another punishment for Dach
During the third period, Kirby Dach received a holding penalty. It could be just a simple detail, but it is not: this gesture turned out to be the 18e minor penalty received by the attacker since the start of the season. It also makes Dach the fifth-most punished forward in the minor infractions department this NHL season. “I didn’t like that he took that penalty,” explained coach Martin St-Louis. It’s a penalty in the offensive zone as in the previous game. He’s good with his stick, he catches a lot of pucks and that’s what we want to see. But sometimes a player can also snag an opponent’s gloves, something like that. The margin of error is very small on this. Kirby, when he plays emotionally like that (Saturday night), he becomes a lot more dangerous on the ice. As a coach, you have to be careful and manage that. Kirby knows that these punishments are not acceptable. »
Tough night for Samsonov
Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov seemed to have a pretty busy game in net for the Leafs. He was jostled, he was jostled again and again, he even lost his mask during the match, in short, the 30 shots of the Canadian in his direction probably ended up wearing out his man. Samsonov also showed up in the visitors’ locker room at the end of the evening with the look of the one who had had his sneakers full. “It’s not easy to come and play here and the Montreal fans are very loud,” he explained slowly. Their goalkeeper, Montembeault, was very good. As for the collision in front of his net which shook him a little, he assured that it was nothing serious.
Richard Labbe, The Press