Maple Leafs 2 – Canadian 4 | The “warrior” responds

(Montreal) Many Canadiens fans will want to erase July 7, 2021 from their memories. It was the night the Tampa Bay Lightning ended the Canadiens’ unexpected run to the Stanley Cup final.

As Lightning captain, Steven Stamkos received the Cup first. After his lap, he went to see Victor Hedman, slipped him a few words. Then, Hedman paraded with the trophy, before heading towards David Savard, who was waiting for his turn. If Savard was waiting like this, it was because Stamkos had come to tell him that he was next, even if the Quebecer had only three months of seniority in Tampa.

It was Dominic De Blois, Savard’s agent, who told us the story last summer. However, on Saturday, in the Canadiens’ 4-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs, Savard offered the kind of performance that explains why his teammates love him so much.

He scored a goal and an assist, and came close to scoring a brace when he forced goalkeeper Erik Kallgren down on his stomach. He has only one blocked shot on his record – a Morgan Rielly shot late in the second period – but has literally lifted his teammates on the bench in the process. You could hear the sticks banging on the bench despite the crowd roaring at the same time. He spent 22 minutes on the ice, including 4:28 against the NHL’s top power play. In fact, during the Leafs penalties, he simply did not return to the bench.

In short, our English-speaking friends would say that he was in “dumb mode”. In the words of Paul Byron, it gave this.

“He played so well. It’s hard to play against a team like that, which has speed, which is strong and aggressive. He plays very well, he came back strong after his injury. He’s a warrior, that’s why Tampa wanted him last year and that’s why they won with him. »

Change of identity

Savard arrived in Montreal full of good intentions, like everyone else last summer.

However, since his arrival, he had a difficult start to the season personally, a catastrophic start collectively, he suffered an ankle injury, saw the GM who hired him get fired four months later. And of course, he played in an empty Bell Center.

As inspiring as it is, Saturday’s win won’t fix anything listed above. The atmosphere of the series that reigned in the old rue De La Gauchetière may have made you forget the evenings behind closed doors. But the Habs were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs this week. The team is still at risk of ending the season with one of the worst records in its long history. No one will soon forget this incredible 2021-2022 campaign.

But the CH is also trying to lay the foundations for the next season and Savard hopes to find his account there. It starts with the new head coach, Martin St-Louis, who has a certain affiliation with his former head coach in Columbus, John Tortorella.

“Martin is similar to Torts. He had it a long time [comme entraîneur]. I spoke to Torts when Martin arrived. The style is similar, you have to be aggressive everywhere. The way his system works, it fits well with my game of recent years. It was easy to adapt. »

The coach is one thing, but the GM, Kent Hughes, arrives with a philosophy at odds with that of Marc Bergevin. The latter is the one who acquired, over the years, Shea Weber, Ben Chiarot, Joel Edmundson and Savard. All defenders heavy, robust, painful to face, according to what is said.

Under these circumstances, Savard could have wondered about his place in the future of this team.

” Not necessarily. I can still play fast with the puck, it’s not necessarily just the skate that makes you play fast, he pleaded. I will adapt to the system to see where it will go, if they decide to keep me for my contract!

“I hope to stay, I’m good here. We had a difficult start to the season, but we can see how talented the group is. We can compete against any team and I want to be part of it. »

This game started with a look to the future; two hours before the face-off, the Canadian confirmed the hiring of Jordan Harris, a defender whose skating skill St-Louis had praised a few hours earlier. The match ended with a shower of praise for a big defender as robust as he was bearded. We could almost interpret it as a reminder that it takes everything to make a world. And a defensive brigade.

In details

Allen busy, Kallgren a little less

It’s rare to see a game with 51 shots on one side and 18 shots on the other, but, surprise, that’s exactly what we saw on this festive Saturday night at the Bell Center , in front of a packed house of 21,105 spectators. The 51 shots came down to Jake Allen, while at the other end, Maple Leafs goaltender Erik Kallgren faced just 18 shots in his fifth NHL game. “My job is to simply stop the puck,” replied the Canadiens goaltender. It can be tough at times too, an 18-shot night, but I got over 50 shots and it’s my job to stop them. For his part, Martin St-Louis did not hesitate to throw flowers at his goalkeeper. “It is certain that during the same games, against the good teams, your goalkeeper, he must be your best player, affirmed the Montreal coach. And tonight, Jake was our best player. »

Drouin wants a second medical opinion

The rumor circulated Saturday night that Jonathan Drouin’s season would already be over. Not so fast: according to what the Canadian said at the end of the evening, after this 4-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Quebec striker is instead seeking a second medical opinion about his injury , in the hope of being able to avoid an operation and also, perhaps, to attempt a final return to the game this season. In the immediate future, Drouin must continue to isolate himself after coming into contact with a person carrying the virus of the COVID-19. Recall that he aggravated a right wrist injury during last Monday’s game at the Bell Center against the Boston Bruins. Drouin had just taken part in his first two meetings since January 20 before having to forfeit again.

No Pitlick, No Pezzetta

Saturday night’s game at the Bell Center got off to a bad start for the Canadiens. Quickly, Tyler Pitlick had to return to the locker room after being hit above the head by defender Ilya Lyubushkin. Then it was the turn of Michael Pezzetta, who left the rink throwing his stick out of spite on the way to the locker room. After the game, Martin St-Louis confirmed that the two players were not going to be able to take off with the rest of the club for Sunday night’s game in New Jersey. Another forward, Jesse Ylonen, was recalled from Laval late Saturday night. The coach did not seem overwhelmed by the events, despite the reduced numbers on Saturday evening. “You have to compose with the cards you have on hand,” he explained. That’s what we did [samedi soir]. When there are 10 attackers who are available on the bench, there is no longer anyone complaining about their playing time! »

They said

Rising

Paul Byron

With a goal and an assist, he has five points in his last four games. Add to his exploits good work on the penalty kill and a crucial game that led to the goal – finally disallowed – by Christian Dvorak.

Falling

Joel Edmundson

Let his partner for the day, William Lagesson, have time to unpack his boxes. Edmundson also had his struggles and the Leafs had 12 quality scoring chances against him, five-for-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.

The number of the game

139

Jake Allen has faced 139 shots in his last 3 games. If he does have Sunday off in Newark, he won’t have stolen it.