Penguins 4 – Canadian 3 (TB) | A lesson from Crosby

It’s the tradition during the warm-up period: the fans, often the youngest, crowd around the bay windows and put up their posters there in the hope that a player will offer them a puck or, better yet, a stick.

The messages are often humorous, like this one Wednesday evening at the Bell Center: “Who needs Crosby when you have Slafkovsky? »

We don’t know if Sidney Crosby has the eagle eyes to read this sign, which was behind Samuel Montembeault’s net, but in any case, he made this fan swallow the joke by making himself the catalyst for a victory 4-3 by the Penguins over the Canadian.

This is not a criticism of Juraj Slafkovsky, mind you, who played a very decent match despite a few blunders here and there.

Except that in the battle of former first draft picks, the one from 2005 dominated across the board. His record: two goals, one assist, another shootout goal, 60% on faceoffs, 22 minutes on the ice. In Crosby’s world, 36 is the new 26.

David Savard knew the number 87 well having faced it during numerous editions of the Clásico Columbus-Pittsburgh (it is possible that the supporters of the two teams do not use this expression).

Savard and Mike Matheson had the mission to face Crosby, a confrontation that Martin St-Louis scrupulously respected. Here, according to Natural Stat Trick, is the time Crosby spent against each Canadiens defender at five-on-five.

• Mike Matheson: 15:37
• David Savard: 14 min 37 s
• Johnathan Kovacevic: 1:16
• Kaiden Guhle: 1 min 16 sec
• Justin Barron: 1:03
• Jayden Struble: 0 min 28 sec

However, at five against five, Matheson and Savard accomplished their task, even though Savard was rarely as involved offensively as on Wednesday. Crosby scored two points on the power play. And the one at five against five? It was one of the moments during the 76 seconds where he found himself facing Guhle, a play where he rushed on the young Canadian defender, who took too long to restart the attack.

“I probably wasn’t ready,” a defeated Guhle admitted after the match. This can’t happen. It’s my fault. This can’t happen. »

In the not-so-distant future, Guhle will become CH’s trusted man for this type of duel. But that day has not yet arrived. And apart from exceptional talent, it is very rare for such assignments to fall to 21-year-olds.

The sacrosanct puck

On this specific play, Guhle should assimilate the lesson quickly. But there was one, more global, valid for all the players in red, that St-Louis wishes to instill with this performance from the Nova Scotian.

In its press briefings, St-Louis often emphasizes the importance of managing the puck well, depending on the match situation. Earlier this week, he gave the example of plays that may or may not be attempted, depending on the score and the timing of the game.

It’s this part of Crosby’s game that St. Louis admired.

“It’s 3-3 in the third, and there aren’t many turnovers in his game. He sends [la rondelle] often in the background. He’s a star player, he’s a great example to help us better manage the game. There game won’t always give you space. I think we did a good job of not giving too much space. But when Crosby doesn’t have that, he respects what the game told him. He’s been mature for a long time. These are great examples. »

His words echoed what Savard said a few minutes earlier in the locker room. “It’s rare that he gets stuck with the puck, that he makes turnovers. He makes the players around him better. That’s why he can still play at this level, that’s his way of seeing the game around him. »

The fact that Crosby came away with three points from a game where he was neutralized 5-on-5 by his main rivals says a lot about his level of discipline. This isn’t just a lesson for the youth, mind you: Erik Karlsson spent his first period distributing pucks to Montrealers.

But the young core of the CH has an interest in assimilating the lesson, which will ultimately only cost one point in the standings rather than two.

Rising

Sean Monahan

It looked a lot more like the October Monahan than the November one. He notably prepared a scoring chance for Josh Anderson on a silver platter, but we’ll let you guess what happens next.

In details

The five-man attack is getting out of hand (for the Penguins)

As unlikely as it may seem for a team that has, on its first wave of power play, three future Hall of Famers, the Penguins were, until the beginning of the week, one of the worst teams in the NHL with an extra man. The portrait changed suddenly, with four goals in two matches, including two scored against CH. After the meeting, Kristopher Letang was careful not to speak of a “click”. “The problem is that we judge the numerical advantage by the goal that is scored, and not by the play for two minutes,” analyzed the Quebec defender. You can have a lot of chances, but hit the post or be the victim of a good save. Then the confidence goes down, it plays in your head; you don’t play well, you force plays, you freeze. We went back to basics and simplified things. » Head coach Mike Sullivan, for his part, felt that the work had only just begun. “These guys have the ability to reach another level, and we’re going to help them get there.” »

It was Anderson or Stephens

A total of 24 shooters were needed in the shootout to find a winner in this match. As expected, it was Jansen Harkins who closed the debate on 12^e round. If this darling of poolers was able to score the winning goal, it was because Josh Anderson was unable to beat Alex Nedeljkovic a few seconds earlier. In reality, Martin St-Louis had designated 10 other attackers as well as defender Mike Matheson before choosing Anderson. In other words, unless you went with a defender, there was only Mitchell Stephens left available. Poor Josh… Nedeljkovic, moreover, seemed shaken following contact with Christian Dvorak a few laps earlier. He spent a long time with sports therapists, and he finally continued the session. He was thwarted by the next shooter (Sean Monahan) and appeared inconvenienced. He was quite angry at having given in, he explained afterwards. “It was just a scratch,” he said, smiling. It’s easier to take it lightly when you win, you might say…

Still the defenders on the scoreboard

The Canadian’s attackers once again concluded their evening without any goals at five against five on Wednesday. Sean Monahan scored on the power play; otherwise, at even strength, David Savard and Jayden Struble had given their club a 2-0 lead, each time while the CH fourth trio was on the ice. “In our philosophy, and especially with the way the game evolves, we attack a lot with four, sometimes with five players,” noted Martin St-Louis. We ask our defenders to support the attack, they are part of our concepts in the offensive zone. I think it’s positive. » It certainly is. On the other hand, when we know that the Habs are one of the least productive teams in the NHL at five on five, and that their defenders are among the best in terms of goals scored, that says a lot about the strike force among the attacking group.

Simon-Olivier Lorange, The Press