DENVER | It is no coincidence that the Canadian offered such a sustained performance in his 2-1 victory against the Colorado Avalanche.
• Read also: The Canadian slows down the Avalanche’s winning streak
• Read also: Suzuki beats its points record!
“It’s certain that we wanted to win it for him, it was an important comeback for us, he’s a leader and it’s a victory for him,” confided Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, who said the same thing than his other teammates who spoke to the media.
“It’s great to have him back, we missed him. We tried to do the work while he was away and he gave us energy. We played for him, he’s been through a lot over the last ten days,” said captain Nick Suzuki.
It is therefore obvious that the return of St-Louis after an absence of ten days galvanized his troops.
“I think it’s our biggest win of the season given the circumstances. I’m really proud,” said the main person, who said he was happy to be there.
Defensive effort
The Canadian was able to limit a team that was operating at more than four goals per game to just one goal during its nine-game winning streak which ended with this defeat. Already, that’s an achievement.
Samuel Montembeault, who stopped 27 pucks, praised the collective effort in front of him because it wasn’t always easy, but the job was done.
“The guys were really dedicated tonight. In the first period, there were chances on both sides and it went from one side to the other, but from the second onwards, the guys stood up and played excellent hockey.
“We had good sticks, we were able to block shots and they did a great job when we sent pucks to the blue line, they were coming out all the time.”
Raise your game
The Canadian once again showed poise against an excellent team. The Avalanche are third in the Western Conference and sixth overall, and have been a steamroller since the start of the month.
How do we explain that a young team that is still learning a lot is able to offer such performances?
“We raise our game against good competition, it forces the guys to be focused because if that’s not the case, we’re going to get demolished,” argued Nick Suzuki.
Rafaël Harvey-Pinard also believes that the team is aware of the challenge that faces it in such circumstances.
“The sense of urgency, for 60 minutes, the guys are focused because we know we don’t have to give them a lot for them to score.”
A record for Slaf
Elsewhere, Juraj Slafkovsky wrote his name in the team’s record book with his assist on the first goal of the match scored by Nick Suzuki.
Aged 19, he became the teenager to have collected the most points in a season with 40. He thus surpassed Mario Tremblay’s mark.
This assist also allowed him to extend his streak of games with at least one point to eight. For him it is a personal brand.