Stop there! Stop there! The Canadians are here! Who doesn’t remember this refrain from the glorious era of the Habs? The one where the Montreal team collected Stanley Cups and regular season championships?
For several weeks, the Canadians have been there… but not in the same place. Are you following me? They are there in the sense that they are in the game. But they come up short.
Photo Martin Chevalier
This was again the case Saturday evening, during the visit of the Maple Leafs. Just like during its two stops in Florida, Martin St-Louis’ troops sold their skin dearly, but lost by a goal. This time, on the count of 3 to 2.
“They won, but we didn’t get beaten,” declared the Canadian head coach after the match.
Linguists will say that this sentence does not make sense, but the essence of the point holds water. The Habs gave nothing to the visitors. Auston Matthews and his two linemates were erased by the Canadian’s first unit and the duo composed of Kaiden Guhle and Mike Matheson. The latter walked the playing surface for 28 mins 12 s.
“He was the best player on the ice,” said St-Louis about Matheson, the game’s first scorer. He was everywhere. It should have had a star. »
Some will say that Toronto was without Mitch Marner, who suffered a lower-body injury on Wednesday when he blocked a Bruins shot. True, but if the Leafs’ balance is this fragile, it sucks for the playoffs.
Suzuki against the best
If the Canadian’s first line was so dominant against that of the Leafs, it’s because Nick Suzuki did a masterful job of ensuring that his teammates could put their stick on the puck as quickly as possible. He won 14 of his 20 faceoffs. A winning percentage of 70%.
“Nick loves tough confrontations. He wants to beat the best player on the opposing side. And by playing against the best, he became what he is today. I’m so comfortable when he’s on the ice,” said St-Louis.
Blanked from the scoresheet in seven of his last eight games, Juraj Slafkovsky also stood out by setting up his team’s two goals. On that of Alex Newhook, scored in numerical superiority, he managed to lose two roofers a few seconds before making his pass.
This isn’t the first time we’ve talked about it, but seeing the Canadian’s young team being in the game game after game against big names is something encouraging.
“We don’t play perfect matches, but we are combative. It’s nice to come to the arena. We continue to move forward. We are here,” said St-Louis.
Damn pandemic
In the NHL, there is little that arouses passions more than a Saturday clash between the Maple Leafs and the Canadiens. The oldest rivalry in the history of the circuit.
This first visit from the Leafs in just over 13 months kept its promises. Already a few hours before the meeting, the city center was taken over by pedestrians dressed all in blue. Spies, present at the Peel Pub, told me that they had felt quite a minority in this tide of City-Queen color.
Even the interior of the Bell Center was less red than usual, the fans of the Leafs and the Canadiens answered blows for blows all evening. It’s good because there is a Habs logo in the center of the ice, because at certain times, it would have been difficult to accurately determine which team was the home team. Especially when John Tavares gave the Leafs the lead for good midway through the third period.
To think that the pandemic deprived us of this atmosphere, exhibiting 1000, during the 2021 series.