NASHVILLE | Protect your advances. Although it is as obvious as the truth of The Palice, it is not a concept that is innate. Just like walking, running and speaking French – as Pierre Gauthier told us, in a moralizing tone, in another era – this can be learned.
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This is where the Canadian players seem to be at the collective level. Martin St-Louis is right when he says that his team is in the game much more often than last season.
The varlopes are becoming much rarer. Except that she stupidly misses out on ranking points by failing to hammer the last nail into her opponents’ coffin.
Getty Images via AFP
Thirty-five times this season, the Habs have been involved in a match where the outcome was decided by the margin of one goal. On 20 occasions he suffered defeat, including 10 times in tiebreakers. That’s more than any of the other 31 teams in the NHL.
Of these 20 losses, 12 times the Montrealers lost a lead. On six occasions, they even held a two-goal lead at one point in the match. Moreover, this was the case on Saturday in Tampa.
Too much nervousness
A worrying statistic, but one that could be worse. Of the 15 games the Canadian has won by a one-goal margin, five were after he blew a two-goal lead (on two occasions, he even squandered three-goal leads).
Thirteen times, therefore, the Canadian lost a priority by two goals or more. We are talking about 21% of matches. It is enormous.
It’s huge, but it’s the reality of young teams. And each opportunity sows additional doubt in the heads of the players. A little pressure from the opponent is enough to bring back a feeling of panic.
“We’re a little nervous in these situations,” admitted Kaiden Guhle to journalists on site in Tampa. Learning to win, learning to play with a lead, that’s what we have to do.”
“And we try to do it, it’s not like we’re not trying,” he added. Once we get that under control, I think we’ll be OK.”
Worst in the NHL
To help achieve this goal, the Canadian will have to avoid shooting himself in the foot by offering his rivals opportunities that should normally belong to him. Like shorthanded goals, for example.
The Canadian allowed his opponents to score a goal 11 times while he himself was on a power play. No team has done worse this season in the Bettman circuit. It’s quite a contrast with last year, when he allowed… three.
The Canadian lost nine of the 10 games in which this happened (he conceded two against the Wild on October 17).
Besides, it happened Thursday in Sunrise and Saturday in Tampa. Either way, this goal allowed the Panthers and Lightning to push the game into a tiebreaker.
On each of these occasions, it was an aborted play at the opposing blue line that led to this goal. Should the St. Louis men learn to play the clock and avoid risking these turnovers in the last portion of the game?
In any case, this type of goal allowed is certainly another irritant that the Habs will have to correct to move to the next level.
He will have a chance to remedy the situation on Tuesday in Nashville.