The reunion of a “real” first trio for the Canadian was supposed to be the main point of interest of this meeting. Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Sean Monahan were brought together in the same unit, at 24e match of the season. Well, some will say.
The buzz died down after two periods, one of which was very bad. In the final third, Joel Armia replaced Monahan to the right of the other two. And the most surprising thing about this story is that it wasn’t surprising.
The “real” first line was going nowhere. And Armia offered the best version of himself on Saturday, the one that would make him a crowd favorite if he was able to show it on a regular basis. That didn’t prevent the Habs from losing 5-4 in overtime to the Detroit Red Wings, but it brought back to the fore an existential question to which we will probably never find an answer. Because it is with Joel Armia as with the perpetual virginity of Mary: it is a mystery.
That he found himself on the first trio on Saturday was no coincidence. He was the best striker at his club. It was one of those nights where the puck seemed to stick to his stick and he seemed impossible to destabilize around the opposing net.
However, the fact that he found himself in the American League at the end of training camp was not attributable to chance. Because he had been the club’s worst veteran in camp.
The organization wanted to embellish his dismissal by citing the injury that had slowed him down. But upon his first call-up, he was scratched from the lineup 5 times in 11 games before being sent back to the minors. Obviously, we didn’t like his game.
However, he has just scored two goals in his last three matches. “He’s making the most of his luck since he came back here,” said Jake Allen at the end of the evening. He’s an NHL player. Right now he’s contributing on all fronts, and I’m happy for him. »
” Impressive ”
The fact is that Armia’s biggest admirers are sitting next to him. In training, he leaves his teammates speechless. But fans who watch games on TV or at the Bell Center very often do not have access to this side of the attacker.
“That’s the player he is,” Mike Matheson said of the silent colossus’ performance. He has so much strength with the puck, he controls it so well… He’s super impressive. »
“People say he doesn’t care, or things like that, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. He wants to be good every night. He puts a lot on his shoulders. »
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Justin Barron (52)
Everything is here. Armia has the talent and power to be a dangerous player. And Jake Allen is right: he’s an NHL player, not the American League. But at 30, he no longer inspires hope in many people outside the locker room. It’s hard not to scratch your head at the moments when his genius is expressed.
We can still retain the positive where there is any. Armia agreed Saturday night that his shorthanded play could become a source of motivation. Because in this phase of the game, this season, he is downright dominant.
While the Canadian’s numerical disadvantage sometimes resembles a missed basket, the Finn found himself on the ice for only one opponent’s goal in about 25 minutes, the equivalent of 2.38 goals per 60 minutes. This statistic places him among the best in the league in this regard. He is well served by his great range and sense of anticipation, and his presence particularly benefits Jake Evans, whose rate of shorthanded goals allowed is almost four times lower with Armia than without him.
“You have to find pride in everything you do,” said the big guy. And like scoring on a power play, succeeding in muzzling the opponent, it feels good. It gives you confidence. »
Mental challenge
Ah, that famous confidence… Matheson, Nick Suzuki and Martin St-Louis have all said about it how difficult the “mental” aspect of the game can be to tame.
“He has the assets to contribute as [samedi soir], summarized St-Louis. As a team, we chase consistency. The players also run after that. It’s a physical challenge, it’s also a mental challenge. »
It remains, again and again, Armia’s Achilles heel. He has no worse enemy than himself.
However, he will hardly find a better opportunity than the one presented to him today: that of playing on the main unit of his team. With Alex Newhook who will be out for 10 to 12 weeks, the cycle of experiments has started again among the attackers. No one will be surprised if Monahan gets his job back quickly. Armia can – and must – prove that he too can live up to this assignment.
At training camp, Martin St-Louis often repeated that the “options” were numerous within his top 6. Injuries limited them.
If it was just a question of talent, Joel Armia would be one of them. If he returns to the fourth line or, worse, to Laval, we will however know who will have to be held responsible.
It will be, yes, Joel Armia.
Rising
Jesse Ylonen
Starting from the fourth line, he obtained a promotion to the right of Christian Dvorak during the game. He played with enthusiasm and didn’t hesitate to take shots, which is not the norm in his case.
Falling
Brendan Gallagher
He and Ylönen crossed paths when Martin St-Louis reshuffled his lines. Gallagher, essentially invisible, found himself to the right of Mitchell Stephens. He was only allowed three appearances in the third period.
Quote from the match
I’ll be honest, I had no idea where the puck was.
Jake Allen, on the Red Wings’ second goal, confirming the impression of anyone who watched the game
In details
Allen (again) generous
You have to give Jake Allen where credit is due. After looking frankly vulnerable by giving up 4 times on the Red Wings’ first 15 shots, he kept his team in the game for the rest of the game. The fact remains that the veteran still gave a lot of goals. After just one period, it was already certain that this match would be his eighth, in ten starts this season, in which he would allow at least three goals. In fact, since the start of 2023, it was the 20e times in 27 starts. In other words, when Jake Allen is on the job, the Habs likely need four or more goals to win a game. If he took relative satisfaction in the point that his club managed to extract from the Red Wings, the goalkeeper admitted, after the match, that he had not loved his performance. He is now 0-5-1 in his last six starts and hasn’t won since October 28.
Well, but…
We were able to wipe the slate clean: after 27 consecutive unsuccessful attempts, the Canadian finally scored a power play goal, courtesy of Nick Suzuki, who beat Ville Husso with a wrist shot that was as powerful as it was precise. Neither the author of this goal nor his coach, however, had much positive to say about the CH’s prowess in this regard, because we certainly did not witness an execution clinic. The Red Wings even scored in the first twenty, while playing with a man less. The inefficiency seemed to reach a peak when the locals took advantage of 59 seconds of five-on-three play in the second period without even managing to get a shot on target. Martin St-Louis admitted that his men had a play in mind, but that they never managed to execute it, due to lack of the necessary opening. “At times, you have to know how to improvise. We could have done a better job,” he summarized. As for Suzuki’s goal, the coach noted that it felt “good” but that there was still “a lot of work” to be done.
Anderson’s Little Things
In the morning, Martin St-Louis had said of Josh Anderson that he had stopped trying so hard to score that famous first goal that didn’t happen, and that he seemed, in a way, liberated – we paraphrase. We had an example of this on the equalizing goal. After catching the puck in the slot, Anderson certainly could have pivoted and fired a shot. However, he had the presence of mind to look to his right, as Gustav Lindström rushed towards the net. He handed the puck to the Swedish defender, who scored. Without being transcendent, on Saturday, Anderson still managed to stand out, in particular thanks to his imposing physical presence around the opposing net. It will have to be converted into goals one day or another. But until then, the famous “little things” have their value. Like this pass to Lindström. You have to start somewhere.
Simon-Olivier Lorange, The Press