Panthers 5 — Canadian 1 | Perfection or nothing

It wasn’t supposed to be a goalie story. Until it becomes one, without it really being one. But let’s not get lost.

Cayden Primeau had a, let’s say it politely, ordinary evening. Five goals allowed, all on the glove side, leave a bitter taste in a goalie’s mouth. His fixed gaze in the locker room said it all. He hadn’t looked good and he knew it.

The American can nevertheless hardly be the only one to blame in the clear defeat of his club by a score of 5-1 at the hands of the Florida Panthers on Thursday. His teammates, as proof, were quick to defend his performance.

“He played very good hockey for us this season,” recalled Brendan Gallagher. There’s not much to say. It will be correct. »

“The rotation with three goalkeepers is not easy,” added Johnathan Kovacevic. I have all the confidence in the world in him. He’s a solid guy. »

The main person concerned was, unsurprisingly, more critical. The repeated goals from the same side “played in his head a little”, he admitted. “It’s not ideal. […] This is unacceptable, but I’m going to learn from it and just move on. »

A goalkeeper who is not in his right mood happens, even to the best. So yes, Primeau will recover.

The problem is that the Canadian cannot afford to see his goaltenders have a bad game, probably not even an ordinary game. Because if the masked men have been getting their teammates out of trouble since the start of the season, the elevator doesn’t come up very often. If ever.

All models for calculating expected goals say the same thing: at five against five, Montreal goalkeepers have saved, game after game, from half to one goal per 60 minutes. When you remember that this team has won eight of its ten victories by the margin of a single goal, you realize that its position in the standings could be even worse.

In terms of attack, the skaters do not do their goalkeepers any favors. Here they are at 27^e league rank for goals scored per game, even at 28^e five against five. The numerical advantage has not hit the target on its last 23 occasions, in more than 40 minutes of work with at least one more man.

On Thursday, the Panthers gave the Habs two entire power plays in the first half of the first period alone. History has taught us: it was not successful.

Burden

The worst part was that the Canadian looked pretty good after 40 minutes, despite falling behind 1-0. The spectacle was not exciting – really not, in fact – but for a club which had returned during the night from a long journey, and against an opponent better endowed in terms of talent, there was nothing embarrassing .

“We played our style, and even if it didn’t show on the scoreboard, we were probably the best team on the ice,” said Brendan Gallagher.

Martin St-Louis saw the same thing. “We played a good match,” he said. From the start, there were no passengers. We were there. The effort was there. […] It’s sad to lose, but I’m proud of my team the same. »

Lucid, however, he conceded that his troops had not been “opportunistic”. “It made a bit of a difference. We could have entered the third period with the lead. »

That didn’t happen. Again. In these circumstances, goalkeepers have no choice but to be perfect.

Cayden Primeau’s colleagues also stumbled earlier this season. Jake Allen has been generous to the Los Angeles Kings, Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning. Samuel Montembeault was not phenomenal against the Minnesota Wild and, more recently, against the St. Louis Blues. So it happens.

These matches, however, had one common element: CH, as a group, was not very good collectively. So, the fact that the goalkeeper was not phenomenal did not change much in the fate of the team.

When it’s tight, the margin for error for Montreal goalkeepers no longer exists. The elastic, already stretched as tight as possible, breaks.

None of the Habs’ goalkeepers belong to the elite of their profession. However, the three have an obligation to be flawless, otherwise their team will probably not win. It’s a heavy burden to bear. And it’s also a bit unfair.

Rising: Jake Evans

With at least two good chances to score, he was one of the rare attackers to be visible throughout the evening.

Down: Cole Caufield

It didn’t seem to click for his trio, and the maverick frankly didn’t cause anything transcendent. He collected an assist thanks to a nice pass to Johnathan Kovacevic on his goal… and it wasn’t all bad.

The number of the match: 4

Johnathan Kovacevic has scored four goals in his last seven games. He had scored three during the entire last season.

In details

Another trooper falls in combat

Alex Newhook seemed destined to get injured in this match, and it ended up happening. It all started in the first period, when he stumbled along the boards in the neutral zone after being disturbed by an opponent’s stick. Upon his return to the bench, the striker retreated to the locker room for a few seconds before rejoining his team. The same kind of scenario occurred a few minutes later; he seemed shaken, but continued to play. It was at the very beginning of the third period that Newhook suffered one too many falls. Braked by Sam Reinhart while trying to get to the net with the puck, he slipped and his foot came into contact with Sergei Bobrovsky’s side of the net. His leg seemed to buckle beneath him. Unable to put weight on his left leg, Newhook needed help from teammates to get off the ice. He did not return to the match. The Canadian confirmed after the match that his attacker had suffered a “lower body” injury and that he would be evaluated by doctors on Friday.

Josh Anderson ‘is back’

Josh Anderson was one of the Canadian’s best players in the defeat. In the first period, the big forward caused two penalties, including one when Gustav Forsling tripped him on a breakaway. A penalty shot could have been awarded to him, but the referee opted for a minor penalty, despite the protests of the CH player. Anderson was involved throughout the game, although he finished the night with a —2 record and no shots on goal. So statistics don’t tell the whole story. His coach, Martin St-Louis, summed up his attacker’s work quite simply; “Josh is back,” he said. He fought hard, he’s back. » Anderson still only has two measly points, assists, in 23 games this season. We also felt a slight frustration at the very end of the match, when the team was trailing 5-1 and he decided to drop the gloves in front of Jonah Gadjovich. The Habs player had the upper hand in a fight that lasted almost a minute. Asked what he thought of his striker’s decision, St-Louis was evasive. ” I don’t know. I’ve never been in a situation like this personally, so it’s hard for me to comment, but I think Josh has come back,” he summed up.

These power play problems

The refrain about the Canadian’s difficulties on the power play continues. The Habs started the match with two power plays in the first ten minutes, but were unable to score the first goal. Martin St-Louis had also made changes within his units, notably removing Josh Anderson from the first wave and adding Alex Newhook. Without success. “It’s still new. We couldn’t work on it [mercredi contre les Blue Jackets] », Noted St-Louis, also highlighting the excellent numerical disadvantage of the Panthers. They haven’t allowed a goal short of a man in their last six games. Ultimately, CH did not score in 41 min 24 s with an extra man in its last eight games. “I wouldn’t say it doesn’t click,” said Nick Suzuki. We had a lot of good chances. […] It just didn’t fit. We had a good game plan, I thought we executed it pretty well. But we have to find a way to score. »