Predators 2 – Canadian 1 | Five hundred and fifteen attendances later

Even with all the best will in the world, we wouldn’t really know how, or why, to thoroughly analyze a 2-1 loss to the Nashville Predators on a rainy Sunday evening in December. We will therefore not dwell on these two points that the Canadian will never see again.

In this context, it could seem lazy, even opportunistic, to look into the case of the Habs’ only point guard. That’s still what we’re going to do.

Jake Evans scored a more or less glorious goal in the second period. In the opposing zone, he recovered a puck that he had just lost, before beating Juuse Saros with a backhand shot. No need to look for this success in the end-of-year charts: it won’t be there.

This goal, however, had two merits. First, he reduced the gap by half, at a moment when the CH seemed more or less inspired. Then it ended a 26-game scoring drought for Evans. Since he scored the very first goal of the season on October 11 in Toronto, in his first appearance on the ice, he will have spent 515 appearances shooting blanks. It’s long.

If we are interested in the case of the man who is only playing his fourth full season in the NHL, it is because he has found himself in the center of an offensive trio for several days. A situation that he has rarely had the chance to experience since his debut at this level.

His status has never left any ambiguity. For three years, no forward from his club has played more than him shorthanded. In the same interval, only Nick Suzuki was called upon for more faceoffs in defensive territory.

Regardless, in almost complete anonymity, Evans maintained an average of 0.37 points per game, the equivalent of around thirty points over a full season. It’s not phenomenal, but it’s comparable to Brendan Gallagher’s production. However, the latter never plays on a numerical penalty, and Evans, never on a numerical advantage.

Promotion

This season was no exception: from training camp, number 71 wisely took his place on the fourth line, with a rotation of more or less productive wingers at his side – especially less.

During the recent trip to California, however, Martin St-Louis began to do what he had rarely done until then: “cut” his bench. Jesse Ylönen and Michael Pezzetta started skipping turns late in the match. Tanner Pearson and Josh Anderson too. Jake Evans instead obtained auditions in the top 9. And when Alex Newhook fell in action, Evans moved up two levels, first playing the third, then the second line full-time. Here he is at the center of Sean Monahan and Josh Anderson for four games, and the result, without being transcendent, is nothing embarrassing for him. Time will tell if he can play this role in the medium or long term, but for now, it seems to suit him.

“He’s the kind of player you rarely see on the scoresheet, but he brings a lot of things, especially on the disadvantage, with his speed,” said David Savard. He doesn’t mind paying the price for the team. When we see a guy like that being rewarded, it always makes us smile. »

“I see him in training, and he has some skills,” added goalie Jake Allen. In this league, you never know when you’ll get your chance. He gets the best out of it. »

Ups and downs

Not very talkative by nature, especially in front of the cameras, Evans was content to say that his experience in this position, so far, has been punctuated by “ups and downs”.

“You face better opponents, you play a little more, we expect more from you offensively,” he listed. I try to improve my game, to maintain confidence. »

Does he feel the pressure to produce, especially in a context where his two current wingers are far from being on fire? “Above all, I want to help them,” he clarified. I think I was put there to help them defensively. My goal is to give them the puck and allow them to do their job. »

Let us insist: it is only because we take the trouble to talk about him that Evans’ experience in the top 6 is miraculous, although the unit had a strong match on Sunday. At five against five, his trio’s record (three goals scored, two allowed) is boosted by an exceptional save rate from the Canadian’s goalkeepers. It should be noted, however, that Josh Anderson is neither better nor worse with him than with all the other center players with whom he has played this season.

And casually, here is Evans at 9 points, his best career harvest after 28 games. His differential of +6 also places him at the top of his club.

It will never win him the Hart Trophy. But it is nevertheless to his credit. Especially within the Canadiens from 2023-2024. And even more so after a 2-1 defeat on a rainy Sunday evening in December.

In details

A position posted in the top 9

Late Sunday evening, the Canadian announced that Tanner Pearson will miss four to six weeks due to an “upper body” injury. The veteran winger was hit near the left hand Saturday in Buffalo by a puck and left the game at the end of the first period. With only 3 points in his last 22 games, Pearson was not exactly showing his best form. The fact remains that with the exception of a demotion here and there, he had his permanence within the top 9 offensively. This means that a temporary third-line forward position is now posted on the CH bulletin board. Jesse Ylönen was entitled to the first interview on Sunday, but at the end of the second period, his compatriot Joel Armia replaced him alongside Christian Dvorak. While waiting for the return of Rafael Harvey-Pinard, everything indicates that the two Finns will fight for this position. The stakes are still considerable, knowing that Martin St-Louis often makes his fourth line skip tricks when his team has to make up for a deficit.

Savard makes his presence felt

Basically, the absence of Pearson only rebalances the balance of power between crippled players and healthy players, since the infirmary had just lost a patient in David Savard, who returned to play on Sunday after seven weeks of absence. Savard was entitled to his usual workload for his return, i.e. 20 min 10 s on the surface. “I didn’t feel that bad. Sometimes, I was out of breath because the game shape is hard to reproduce,” admitted the Maskoutain. Savard quickly fell back into his old habits; he led the team with five blocked shots. The colossus was also credited with a hit, but the game was far from ordinary. It was a check against Filip Forsberg, deep in Montreal territory, which allowed the CH to recover the puck and restart the attack. Eight seconds later, Jake Evans scored the only goal for the men in red.

Little support for Allen

With all that, poor Jake Allen hasn’t won since October 28th. His performances have certainly been uneven during his seven-game losing streak. In November, for example, its efficiency rate was 87.6%, a figure to avoid unless you own an interest in Finabanx, but we digress. On Sunday, Allen showed his good form, stopping 30 of the visitors’ 32 shots. And on one of the two goals he allowed, there were four skaters between him and the original shooter, Filip Forsberg. But the Canadian only scored one small goal, which is becoming a recurring theme for Allen. Among the 50 goalkeepers who played at least 10 games, the New Brunswicker comes in 44^e rank for offensive support. CH only offers him 2.42 goals per match.

Guillaume Lefrançois, The Press