Senators 4 — Canadian 3 | Both value the process

(Gander, Newfoundland) Even after a defeat, we can always count on the spontaneity of Juraj Slafkovsky to make the gallery laugh.

Guillaume Lefrancois
The Press

Thursday morning, at the end of training, Brendan Gallagher said that the CH players had spent their Wednesday evening bowling, where, he said, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard was the best player, and Juraj Slafkovsky, the worst.

Fast forward to Thursday night. This same Slafkovsky, after a painful meeting on Tuesday, had regained his air of young first. Battles won in the corners, breakthroughs between the defenders, an anthology of successes for the great Slovak.

Slafkovsky comes to the podium after the game. So where does he find trust? “Certainly not bowling!” “, he launches. Hilarity follows.

Even Martin St-Louis found a way to laugh, after what was a seventh loss in seven preseason games. Asked about the heaviness of the defeats, he protested. “We won the shootout, so I’ll go with that! “, launched the coach.

Indeed, the Canadian won in the shootout sequence, which was already planned before the game, thanks to a nice goal from Rem Pitlick. But at the end of the 60 “real” minutes of the game, it was the Senators who triumphed, at the count of 4-3.

As we can see, the mood was not one of defeat. After all, the players spent the day signing autographs everywhere they went, for this match organized as part of a competition that the village of Twillingate won in 2020. Even those who were left out were solicited. Harvey-Pinard, to name only him, was challenged in the stands, during an intermission, to sign a vest, because that’s obviously what happens to bowling legends.

It was that kind of environment. A game played in a municipal arena of some 1,000 seats, a proximity as we rarely see in the NHL.

And there were indeed positive elements for the Canadian. Slafkovsky’s game was one. Gallagher’s outfit, too. After an atrocious 2021-2022 season, the veteran is displaying the energy of a 19-year-old rookie in camp. He set up Kirby Dach’s goal in the second period, earning a third point in three preseason games.

Gallagher started last season with just two points in nine games, and clearly he doesn’t want to be caught there.

Dach meanwhile may have played his best game of the camp. And 20-year-old defenseman Kaiden Guhle continues to look like a mature player for the NHL.

The problems

The problem is that we are starting to feel recurring problems that could undermine this team along the way, which means that everyone is predicting the bottom of the rankings.

It starts with youth. Slafkovsky’s ups and downs, game after game, are a reminder of the challenge of consistency for an 18-year-old.

Young, the defensive brigade will be. With Joel Edmundson injured, Michael Matheson and Chris Wideman left out, it was only David Savard and, forcing a bit, Madison Bowey as veterans. The young people who were entitled to one more audition all showed beautiful flashes, but also moments that they “would like to see again”.

Speaking of recurring problems, one wonders to what extent goalkeepers will be able to repair the mistakes made in front of them. Whether it’s Primeau, Jake Allen or Samuel Montembeault, no one has yet played with confidence.

St-Louis is different from many coaches in the NHL, but where he joins them is in the importance he places on process over results. What he still did after the meeting.

“We are improving in our concepts, our ideas. We are very competitive. We fight, we have energy. We are robust. What is missing is a victory. But we see that we are able to play in this league even when we don’t have all our guys. When we have all our guys, it will help to get results. »

It is true that any coach at the helm of a team that has lost its first seven preseason games would also prefer the process. It’s normal, it’s a way to prevent players from becoming discouraged and ceasing to be receptive to the message.

“We always want to win. But during the camp, we want to build our game for the season. We are taking steps in the right direction. There are always things to fix. But if we compare to the start of the camp, we are progressing, ”assured Dach.

We’ll have to talk about it again when the matches count in the standings, but for now, the message from St-Louis is getting through. It is already, for him, part of the battle that has been won.

Up: Christian Dvorak

A good match in the shadow of his two colossi wingers. He created the turnover leading to Kirby Dach’s goal and his good work in the backcourt also led to two Senators penalties.

Down: Otto Leskinen

A misreading of the play led directly to an overplay on the Senators’ second goal. Martin St-Louis used the defender profusely, but he finished the night at -3.

The number of the match:.851

That’s Cayden Primeau’s save rate in four preseason games this fall. He certainly pulled himself together after a difficult start to the match, but it is hard to see how he forced the CH management to think twice before sending him to Laval at the end of the camp.

In details

A try to forget

In the absence of Nick Suzuki, Martin St-Louis can test different combinations to find a center for Cole Caufield. Might as well forget Thursday’s. The small winger skated with Rem Pitlick and newcomer Sean Monahan. However, the three players concluded the meeting with a performance of -3. In fact, they were on the ice for all three of the Senators’ 5-on-5 goals. The three sidekicks only totaled five shots, and it didn’t click much more on the power play. St. Louis said Thursday morning he expects Suzuki to be ready for the start of the season. If he’s not, St. Louis might have to juggle his units again.

A disturbing player

For years, Brady Tkachuk has been spicing up the clashes between the Canadiens and the Senators. But the Habs didn’t necessarily have a player who bothered the opponent like Tkachuk knows how to do. If he ever goes and establishes himself in the National League, Arber Xhekaj could be that player. He is already making a host of friends in the Ottawa camp during this camp. It started at the rookie tournament, where Senators prospect Angus Crookshank said his team didn’t “have a lot of respect” for him. Now the big number 72 has dropped the gloves in the last two games; this time, he came to defend Kirby Dach, tackled by Austin Watson. Then, in the last moments of the match, Xhekaj and Tkachuk, precisely, were looking for trouble on the ice. That said, Xhekaj will have to learn to play discipline, as he picked up two other minor penalties in this game, for a total of four in five games. If he wants to make his place in the NHL, the penalty kill will have to be part of his strength, and it is physically impossible to be in the penalty box while playing shorthanded.

It works for Stützle

Senators head coach DJ Smith dismantled his first line to experiment. He justified his decision by saying that he knows very well what Brady Tkachuk, Josh Norris and Drake Batherson are capable of when put together. He will no doubt be reassured by what he has seen; should Norris ever be absent, Tim Stützle has shown that he too can develop cohesion with the two wingers. It is indeed he who prepared the goals of Batherson and Tkachuk in the first period. And it was on a presence with Mathieu Joseph that he obtained the penalty shot on which he scored. In short, even if it has clicked for the young German with Alex DeBrincat and Claude Giroux so far, he is perfectly capable of generating attack with other linemates.

They said