Predators 3 – Canadian 6 | Montembeault gave himself a gift

(Montreal) The reality is obviously that this season is not easy for anyone. But there are still some for whom it is even less easy than the others.

Simon-Olivier Lorange
Press

(Re) read the match summary See the match summary

One would have to be very ungrateful not to be happy for Samuel Montembeault, whose Habs 6-3 victory over the Nashville Predators was his first in the Montreal uniform.

The life of the Quebecker has not been a long quiet river since October 2, when the Canadian claimed him on waivers to assist Jake Allen in the absence of Carey Price.

His first start with his new team took place in Buffalo, the place of a 5-1 collapse which had made head coach Dominique Ducharme say that his men had “got their hands on the stove.”

Seventeen more days passed before he saw any action again. It was in Anaheim, 24 hours after CH again made a fool of him in Los Angeles. New mixed performance from his teammates, new defeat.

Two more weeks were needed before he was given a departure. In the meantime, however, he had come to relieve Allen twice. The first, he entered the game in a 5-0 deficit against the New York Islanders. The second was after Allen was taken out of the game in Detroit with a concussion last Saturday. That night, it was Montembeault who struggled, quickly giving two bad goals.

He logically inherited the net the next day in Boston, and helplessly witnessed the collapse of his teammates in the third period. Cayden Primeau, two years his junior, won the next two games, but his last, against the Penguins, turned into disaster. Once again, Montembeault played the relievers.

In short, there was nothing trivial when he told reporters after Saturday’s game that this victory “is really good”.

“It’s fun to come and talk to you with a smile on your face,” he added.

Confidence

Often over the past few weeks, the Canadiens’ players and coach have said how much their team deserves a better fate. That the effort expended was not reflected in the defeats that accumulated over and over again.

The same could be said of Montembeault. Nobody sees in him the reincarnation of Georges Vézina. And everything indicates that he will never win the trophy of the same name.

But the job he kills, in a routed team whose first two goalkeepers are injured, is too honest for him not to have a minimum of success.

He was also the maker of his own happiness on Saturday. Because if his teammates were able to forge a 5-0 lead, before seeing the Predators reduce the gap in the third period, it is thanks to the brilliance of their masked man.

Montembeault stood in front of the 15 shots and 7 quality scoring chances of his opponents in the first twenty, which allowed the Habs to conclude this period in advance for only the seventh time in 20 games.

Aware that his team does not “score a lot of goals”, the young man took pride in giving this cushion to his teammates. And they (finally) returned the favor by letting off steam on a Juuse Saros that has seen better days.

In short, everyone gave themselves a gift, starting with Montembeault to himself.

In the desert crossing that represented the first quarter of the CH season, it was often a question of confidence. This one draws its source from several places, in particular from rewarded efforts.

This is true for Artturi Lehkonen who scored his first goal since the National Day. It is also true for Ryan Poehling who transformed into Brett Hull the time of a presence. And it may be even more so for Montembeault.

“When you start to doubt, it’s never good,” Dominique Ducharme recalled. Knowing why we are successful is also important. Sam works hard every day to keep improving. To see a youngster like him being rewarded with a victory like that, it is a surplus of energy and confidence to continue. ”

The main concerned, he had all in all the celebration sober in the circumstances. He said he was “happy to [sa] progress ”and the work accomplished in training with Éric Raymond, goalkeeper coach.

“When I have the chance to play, I give the best I have. ”

Asked about his last emotionally charged weeks, he replied that he was “just happy to be here in Montreal”. To “play in front of his supporters”.

Several of his friends and family members were at the Bell Center to see him at work.

“It was really fun,” he concluded.

This is not the kind of phrase we heard often in November 2021. It would have been a shame to miss it.

In details

The Coldplay effect

The informed music lover will have noticed that the Canadian, for some inexplicable reason, has chosen to change his arrival song this season at the Bell Center. Thus, since October, the players of the Canadian made their entry on the ice of the Bell Center to the sound of Bulls on Parade, of Rage Against the Machine, a nice piece, of course, but not something that brought luck to the local club, obviously. Well, on Saturday night we brought back the classic Coldplay Fix You in the early evening, and the result was instantaneous: Artturi Lehkonen, who hadn’t scored since around 2001, scored his first goal of the season, Ryan Poehling regained his magic, and the Canadian followed up with one of his best performances of the season, crossing the five-goal mark in a game for just the second time. With all this, we assume that Fix You could regain its place in regular rotation on the turntables of the Bell Center. “All credit goes to Joel Edmundson,” said Brendan Gallagher. He’s the one who texted the band to say we should go back to that song. “

Poehling on fire

We can probably say that Ryan Poehling is a player of streaks: either he does not score, or he scores three on the same night. This time, Poehling didn’t get a hat trick – he had to settle for just two goals – but he did manage both of those inside goals in just 37 seconds. They are the two fastest goals by a single Canadiens player at home since Joé Juneau, who scored two goals in just 35 seconds on March 6, 2002, in a game against the Boston Bruins. “I’m just trying to put pucks in the net. The more you put in, the more chances these pucks have to end up in the net, ”he explained.

Finally a goal for Lehkonen

It had been a while since Artturi Lehkonen had managed to put a puck in a net. In fact, the Finnish striker netted his first goal in 25 games on Saturday night. His previous goal went back to the June third round series against the Vegas Golden Knights, when he scored the winning goal in the famous “Saint-Han” game in a jubilant Bell Center. The Bell Center was not as hot on this Saturday night in November, but Lehkonen still welcomed the goal with joy. He could have added another a little later, but his stick broke just as he was about to attempt a shot. That’s good to say. “Of course it feels good to finally score, it’s been a long time… It’s a big weight that has just been lifted from my shoulders. “

They said

Rising

Ryan poehling

Of course, there are his two goals. But most of all, he played with energy and speed. He did well replacing Christian Dvorak in the first and third periods.

Falling

Cole caufield

A much more hushed match for him on the offensive side, oddly enough, than in the stinging defeat of last Thursday.

The number of the match

72%

That’s Nick Suzuki’s success rate on the face-off circle, despite an ordinary performance in the third period (2 in 7). He was perfect in the second intermission (11 in 11).