Since his arrival in the National League, Nick Suzuki has played each of the Canadiens’ 346 games. He was also at his post for the 32 playoff games that Montreal played, in 2020 and 2021. Like Guy Mongrain at the helm of Charivarihe is loyal to the post.
Is his Iron Man streak in jeopardy? Nothing in his game indicates this. In Saturday’s loss, he spent more than 23 minutes on the ice and remained productive; he scored a goal to extend his streak of games with at least one point to 10.
That said, there were three absent from Sunday’s practice at the Bell Center: Suzuki and his wingers, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky. If we focus on the specific case of Suzuki, it is because he missed a third session in a row, after the morning training on Saturday and the session on Wednesday, before the flight to New York. The start of this series of absences coincides with Tuesday’s match against Anaheim, during which he blocked a shot from Frank Vatrano, not without suffering.
It was Slafkovsky’s first absence this week, and Caufield was missing for a second day in a row, although he played Saturday night.
“We manage the calendar. They play a lot, they have a lot of ice time. The season is long. We manage their energy,” said Martin St-Louis simply.
In a rarely seen schedule arrangement, the Habs held training relatively early for the day after the match (10 a.m.) and will have Monday off. There was nothing punitive about the schedule related to Saturday’s game; the session was planned even before the defeat at the hands of the Washington Capitals. From 9:45 a.m., players flocked to the surface, giving themselves every chance to leave early and enjoy a Sunday with family.
St-Louis took the opportunity to emphasize defensive work around the net, devoting high-intensity exercises to it. After Saturday’s game, the head coach deplored the coverage errors which allowed the Capitals to score four goals. “The matches speak to you, so we came to work today”, simply said the coach.
St-Louis has ensured that its players understand very well what is asked of them. “There’s nothing in the system that guys don’t understand,” he insisted. “So they must be more alert? asked a colleague. ” Yes exactly. »
The training ended with a good session of skating without a puck. Nothing punitive here either, assured St-Louis. “We’re going on leave for a day and a half. »
In one of the exercises, Joel Armia made another demonstration of his great talent. Opposed to Michael Pezzetta in a fight in the slot, the Finn essentially “rolled” over the body of his rival to escape, barely giving himself time to return to the axis of the defender posted at the blue line. The latter shot, and Armia scored by deflecting the puck.
PHOTO WENDELL CRUZ, USA TODAY SPORTS ARCHIVES VIA REUTERS CON
Joel Armia (40) during Thursday’s game against the New York Rangers.
For the past month, Armia has possibly been playing his best hockey in a Canadian uniform, even if his offensive production remains modest (3 goals, 3 assists in his last 13 games). On Saturday, he was also rewarded with two assists. The second was added later, since Alex Newhook’s goal had first been announced without assistance.
At training camp, Pezzetta recalled that he was capable of playing shorthanded, in order to spend more time on the ice.
Spending 45 seconds in this situation in his first match of the season, then 28 seconds in his second, he was then excluded from this phase of the game. The ostentatiously haired winger, however, continued to show interest in this assignment.
I attend all the penalty kill team meetings, just to be aware and ready if my chance comes. We’ve had some injuries, so if one of our guys gets punished, I’ll get a chance and I want to show them I can get the job done.
Michael Pezzetta
We understood that these meetings are essentially open to all. “For the power play, you wait to be invited. If I went there, I think the guys would ask me what I’m doing there! joked Pezzetta. But on the downside, almost the whole team is there, because you never know what can happen. And it’s just before the general team meeting, so it’s easier to attend. »
With the departure of Sean Monahan and the injury to Rafael Harvey-Pinard, the opportunities present themselves a little more. Last week against Dallas, he spent almost two minutes on the ice shorthanded. Then, 59 seconds against the Anaheim Ducks. He certainly would have gotten an extra round or two on Saturday, especially in the first period when Armia, a permanent member of these units, found himself in the cell. Except that the duo of Jake Evans and Brandon Gignac was never able to return to the bench, the Capitals scoring after 55 seconds, in what was their only power play of the game.
In any case, Pezzetta obviously did well to attend the meetings. ” If you want [écouler] punishments, you’re better off being in the meetings ! But that doesn’t guarantee that you’re going to do it,” recalled St-Louis.