“Wide is a team guy. You need players like him. He thinks more about the logo than the name behind the jersey. »
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Wide is Chris Wideman. The one who spoke was Martin St-Louis.
In the stands for the final two games against the Lightning in Tampa Bay and the Senators in Montreal, Wideman returned to the roster due to the injury to Justin Barron. When he returned to the game, the 32-year-old defender led his team’s attack with a goal and two assists.
“Chris is a good pro, a very good hockey player,” recalled St-Louis. He is a beloved guy in the locker room. He does good deeds on the ice, but he also behaves in the right way. »
For this visit to Newark, St. Louis had chosen to rest Jordan Harris to trust Wideman and Kale Clague. The two defenders thanked him for this vote of confidence with each a goal and assists. Both Wideman and Clague collected three points in a single game for the first time in their careers.
Understand, not accept
Although he hadn’t played in the last two games, Wideman never complained about his fate. He swallowed the pill by understanding the decisions of the organization which wanted to offer auditions to Barron and Harris, two defenders who will be part of the future of the team.
“I don’t know if accepting is the right word,” St-Louis said. I prefer to say that he understands the situation. There is not a player who will say that he accepts that. If you accept it, it becomes difficult to progress. I don’t expect to see him happy when he comes out of training. I don’t want him to accept it, but to understand. That’s what he did. »
In St. Louis’ eyes, Harris probably took notes watching Wideman on the ice against the Devils.
“Wideman remains calm. He’s not a big defender. But he can create time and space with the puck. He reads the game well, he makes good passes. For a guy like Jordan, he’s a good role model. Like Wide, Jordan is not very big. He can watch Wideman. He can always learn. In the locker room, on the plane, you try to see how he reacts. »
bad second
The CH signed a fairly convincing victory, but it was far from perfect. In the second period, the Devils completely dominated their rivals with 15 shots against only seven.
Jake Allen easily won his duel against Andrew Hammond.
“We made way too many turnovers in the second period,” said St-Louis. In the second, we weren’t there at all. »
Despite a median period to forget, the Habs hit the target once in the second, just like the Devils.