The Canadian excels in a cursed category

Arber Xhekaj has won over many fans in Montreal so far this season. Whether it’s the way he defends his teammates, his charisma as a guy who’s been playing in the NHL for 10 years, his life journey that led him to work at Costco during the pandemic, all the reasons are good for become attached to the mustachioed rookie.

Guillaume Lefrancois
The Press

To these reasons for liking him, we must add the pearls he brings out in interviews, like this one: “I always say that the shots you don’t block hurt more than the ones you block. »

Blocked shots are an essential theme at the start of the Canadian season. A funny theme, because it’s a statistic that is, as Joe Bocan sang, paradoxical [note : la chanson ne portait pas sur les tirs bloqués].

The paradox of blocked shots is that the statistic, however honorable it may be for each individual who thus exposes himself to pain, is not flattering from the collective point of view.

Savard leads by example

In every Habs game so far, a player bravely throws himself in front of a puck, eliciting the same reactions each time. At the Bell Centre, applause from the crowd; on the road, banging on the bench to encourage the teammate in question.

Wednesday, against the Vancouver Canucks, it was Brendan Gallagher who sacrificed himself in front of a shot from Tyler Myers. A minute later, Kirby Dach gave CH a 3-0 lead. On November 5, against the Vegas Golden Knights, Christian Dvorak turned into a lightning rod, inspiring Juraj Slafkovsky to emulate him later in the game. Slafkovsky got off with a visit to the locker room.

“It’s part of hockey. You have to block it. D-Vo blocked three shots during the game. If I can help the team in this way, so much the better,” said the Slovak after the duel against the Golden Knights.

Joel Edmundson has been doing just that, blocking shots, since his return. After five games he is already 79^e in the NHL with 21 blocked shots. If he stays healthy, he’ll be in the top ten before long.

“We love blocking shots, we know it gives guys energy, especially when you see Big Dave blocking a shot. The attackers too, we saw them block with their knees, their ankles, ”says Edmundson.

“Big Dave” is not our colleague at the desk David Courchesne, but David Savard, 2^e in the NHL for pucks blocked by skaters (51).

In the first game of the season, in Toronto, the maskoutain colossus was hit by nine pucks. Might as well say that he set the tone.

“He’s so good at it, it looks like the puck is attracted to him,” notes Jordan Harris. When you see older guys like him and Eddy [Edmundson] do it, you ask yourself: what excuse will those who don’t do it have if the veterans do it? »

The paradox

A team that blocks a lot of shots is theoretically a team that spends a lot of time in its area. Last year, the eight teams that led the NHL in blocked shots missed the playoffs. This season, the CH comes to 7^e rank in the circuit (before Sunday games).

Savard, brave as he is, ranks among NHL players in shot attempt ratio (Corsi). This means that the puck is more often on the opponent’s paddle, a consequence that comes with the mandate to face the best opposing lines.

But these players evolve for a coach who values ​​this aspect of the game. “It’s part of a winning culture, to do everything to prevent the other team from scoring,” said St-Louis, questioned on the subject last week.

Savard confirms.

Savard, on the other hand, played under John Tortorella in another life. The same Tortorella who, when he was hired by the Canucks, announced that the Sedin twins would henceforth block shots.

Without asserting that St-Louis was directly inspired by its former coachSavard acknowledges that even in Columbus, “Torts” still valued blocked shots.

“Otherwise, he was going to let you know, let’s say,” said Savard modestly. It’s important to him, he thinks it’s part of the culture of a winning team and since Martin arrived it’s been the same. »

Nobody wants to make a direct link, but the evocation of a “winning culture”, both by St-Louis and by Savard, speaks volumes. Everyone lives in the same boat.