(Seattle) A win is good. But this is far from enough, especially for a club that a catastrophic start to the season has left low in the standings of its division.
It was in this state of mind that the Canadian returned to work on Monday in Seattle. Last Saturday’s inspired performance against the Detroit Red Wings did some good. Smiling is easier on the ice, said Brendan Gallagher. And the atmosphere, more relaxed. But the Habs still only have a 1-5-0 record.
“We can rejoice in the victory, but it’s just a victory,” summed up the striker after training his team.
“We must retain the good and build on it. And understand the work that was necessary [pour gagner], because we don’t want to fall back into the hole. ”
“We put ourselves in this situation, now we have to catch up,” warned head coach Dominique Ducharme.
To catch up, the victories will have to pile up with regularity. And the pile will have to be high. Because in the last five full seasons of the NHL (82 games), the last team qualified for the playoffs, in the Eastern Conference, needed an average of 97 points in the standings. To reach this total, the Habs should, from now on, get their hands on 62.5% of the available points – a cruising speed that only the leading teams manage to maintain over an entire season.
For Jake Evans, the priority, in the short term, is “to move forward” by wishing that success “snowballs”.
The club’s recent past indicates a tendency to recover effectively from an unhappy streak. On 14 occasions, from 2016-2017 to 2020-2021, CH suffered four to eight consecutive losses. Nine times, he responded with at least three wins in the next five games.
On the other hand, the “snowball” does not take suddenly. Only 5 of the 14 losing streaks were followed by back-to-back wins.
Double-edged
The fact remains that this first victory of the season, so dearly acquired, “we needed it”, admitted David Savard.
Against the Red Wings, the power play finally produced a goal, and four different players scored their first of the season. So many elements that can restore the eroded confidence of a team that does not ask for better.
The Canadian is now on the West Coast for a four-game journey, which begins this Tuesday in Seattle against the very young Kraken.
The players are unanimous: this kind of trip is the perfect pretext to unite a group, all the more so after a 2020-2021 season which deprived them of this level of socialization. In addition, they will receive a nice visit on Tuesday, as Shea Weber will come to greet his teammates.
However, these long stretches on the road can be a double-edged sword. And Brendan Gallagher is in a good position to know it.
Journalist Alexandre Gascon, Radio-Canada, asked the veteran if he remembered the devastating effect three thaws suffered in California in October 2017 had on the rest of the season, one of the worst of the history of the club.
With a smile on his face, Gallagher replied that he remembered “every year, every experience.” “It’s part of the learning process,” he continued. Travel can be beneficial or it can go the other way. We will meet good teams and we will play in arenas where it is difficult to win. ”
Difficult to contradict him on this last point. In the last 10 seasons that have seen the Canadiens travel to the Golden State, the Montrealers have gone 4-14-3. They haven’t won in San Jose since November 23, 1999. Nick Suzuki was then the ripe old age of 3 months, while mom Romanov was pregnant with little Alexander and Cole Caufield was not yet conceived.
“It will be hard,” Gallagher warned. But it will be a good experience for the group. ”
The meeting between the Canadian and the Kraken will begin at 10 p.m. Quebec time.