The Canadian | At peace with protocol

C’était assez évident par sa simple présence devant les caméras, et Dominique Ducharme l’a ensuite confirmé : Jake Allen effectuera son retour au jeu ce mercredi, à Washington, contre les Capitals.

Guillaume Lefrançois
La Presse

Allen a subi une commotion cérébrale, le 13 novembre, quand il a été victime d’une violente collision avec l’attaquant des Red Wings de Detroit Dylan Larkin.

« Le jeu est tellement rapide, ce l’est trop pour s’arrêter et se tasser. Je ne pense pas que c’était intentionnel, il voulait foncer au filet et si j’avais été dans ses souliers, j’aurais fait la même chose », a assuré Allen.

The case of the New Brunswicker, however, demonstrated the usefulness of the NHL concussion protocol, as it ensures that he felt good instantly, despite the force of the impact.

“I knew that if I stayed stretched out, I would be taken out of the game. But independent observers [de la LNH] did their job and took me out of the game. Looking back, it was the right thing to do. While doing the tests, there were things that were wrong. ”

In fact, Allen has had some experience in this area. He said he believed he was “the first goalie to be removed from a game due to concussion protocol” when he was playing for the St. Louis Blues.

We were unable to corroborate the information. According to injury reference sites, it was Allen’s first concussion diagnosed in the NHL. Even going through the reports of games where he didn’t play the full 60 minutes, it seems it was still linked to performance, to an injury to his deputy.

Either way, that’s just a small detail, and Allen has had some interesting comments about his perception of this protocol. The initiative sometimes makes players grumble, who obviously don’t like leaving a strength match. But it’s the job of independent NHL evaluators to make sure.

“It’s been there for a long time, the players understand that it’s part of the game and they do it for our safety, our health. It can be frustrating to have to be absent in the middle of a game. But looking back, I’m grateful, because maybe I would have just tried to play despite it. They’re doing it for the right reasons, health comes before hockey, ”Allen said.

The goalkeeper even clarified that he had to remove a good part of his equipment to carry out the test, “because there are balance exercises”, he explained. “But it’s for the right reasons,” he repeated.

Without Kulak

Allen will return to the game, and Cédric Paquette is approaching a comeback. Ducharme, however, assured that Ryan Poehling would remain in the center of the fourth line even if the Gaspésien is ready. “Cédric can play on the wing,” Ducharme recalled.

What good news for the Habs in the infirmary, then? Not so fast. Absent from training on Monday, Brett Kulak made a cameo appearance on the ice on Tuesday, then retired to the locker room. It will ultimately not be the trip of three games in four days that the Montrealers will make in Washington, Buffalo and Pittsburgh. Kulak is injured in the lower body.

His absence should therefore allow Mattias Norlinder to continue his hearing. The Swede again formed a duet with David Savard in training. The absence of Kulak could also spell the end of the experience of a formation of 11 attackers and 7 defenders, which Ducharme deployed on Saturday.

Kulak has 5 assists in 20 games this season and is posting a -5 rating. He averages 16:22 per game.