(Raleigh) The Canadian continued his learning the hard way Thursday night at the PNC Arena.
Posted at 9:51 p.m.
Updated at 10:34 p.m.
Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen each had a goal and an assist as the Carolina Hurricanes defeated Montreal 4-0.
The Canadian has never been in the game and there was no miracle like Tuesday, when he came from a three-goal deficit before finally losing 7-4 to the mighty Florida Panthers.
Martin St-Louis’ troop lacked cohesion and once again committed many turnovers. However, St-Louis believes the experience will prove beneficial to his troupe.
“Even though we lost, we got better as a team because we went through something that we can’t replicate in practice,” St-Louis said. They (the Hurricanes) put so much pressure on everyone. To improve your management of this pressure, you have to live with it, you have to go into the trenches.
“I’m happy that we play games against teams like that. It allows us to see what these teams bring, what to remember and what to bring in our concepts, in our progress. Even in defeat, there are positives. »
Jake Allen struggled like a devil in holy water and made 40 saves in front of the net for the Canadian (18-39-11), who has only one victory in his last six outings (1-3- 2).
Andrei Svechnikov scored twice for the Hurricanes (45-15-8), who have not lost in regulation in their last six games (4-0-2). Tony DeAngelo and Jaccob Slavin each had two assists and Frederik Andersen stopped 32 shots.
Forward Tyler Pitlick was back in action for the Canadiens after missing two games with an upper body injury. Mathieu Perreault gave him his place in the training.
The Canadiens will play their next game on Saturday, when they visit the Tampa Bay Lightning.
An unequal duel
The Hurricanes got a two-on-one attack in the opening moments of the game and while they didn’t take advantage of it, it was a sign of things to come.
The local players quickly took control of the game and they opened the scoring after 3:48 of play, on the power play. Posted in the enclave, Aho deflected a discount disguised as a Teravainen shot into the back of the net.
Jake Evans obtained the Habs’ first good scoring opportunity after more than 12 minutes of play. He appeared alone in front of Andersen, who made the save.
Meanwhile, Allen was alert in front of the Habs net. He had to react quickly when Paul Byron made a blind pass behind his net. It wasn’t his teammate Justin Barron who was there to pick up the disc, but rather Martin Necas. Allen, however, fixed the gaffe by frustrating Necas.
The Hurricanes managed to widen the gap before the end of the first period. Svechnikov redirected a throw-in from Slavin to the front of the net in goal with 12 seconds left in the period.
Things did not improve for the Canadian after the intermission. Allen was vigilant to stop two close-range shots from Derek Stepan.
Allen was helpless at 3:43, however, when Teravainen fired a one-timer from the slot.
The Canadian did not help himself thereafter, scooping three minor penalties in quick succession. He did, however, manage to limit the damage against the Hurricanes’ formidable power play.
The referees evened things up in the third period, penalizing the Hurricanes three times. The Canadian, however, had trouble getting into opposing territory and he was unable to make things a little more interesting by closing the gap.
St-Louis replaced Allen with an extra forward with 4:42 to go, but the Canadian’s efforts were in vain.
Svechnikov delivered the knockout blow by scoring in an empty net with 1:45 to go.
Locker Room Echoes
David Savard admitted that the Canadian had a hard time dealing with the pressure applied by the Hurricanes.
“We knew they were going to play like that. They are aggressive all over the ice. The defenders are putting pressure on us and we don’t have much time on breakouts. We made adjustments that allowed us to go out easier and give fewer shots. But in the first half, they dominated us completely. »
Jake Allen walked back his penalty for delaying the game in the second period, when he removed his mask as a strap had come loose.
“It’s something that happens a lot now across the league. […] The regulations should be clarified. I understand that if the puck is around the net, the referee won’t want to stop play and you’re going to have to keep playing even if you’re not comfortable. The referee told me that if the puck was not in a danger zone, I could remove it. The puck was on the blue line, I didn’t think it was a dangerous situation. »
Nick Suzuki acknowledged that the three straight games against the Panthers, Hurricanes and Lightning was a good test for the Canadian.
“It allows us to see where we are compared to the best teams in the league. Since ‘Marty’ happened, it’s kind of like a new season for us. We are playing better and our style of play has changed. We show that we can compete with the good teams, but they are at the top of the table for good reasons. These teams find a way to win. We must succeed in doing the same. »