It’s not just life that is fragile and hanging by a thread. The confidence of the Canadian players too.
The end of the third period against the Flames, when the Habs were trying to end a short three-game losing streak, is a good example.
With a slim gap of one goal to defend, Samuel Montembeault’s teammates fell back on him, hesitating between chasing the puck carrier and blocking access to the slot.
Martin St-Louis didn’t quite have the same reading of the situation: “I don’t think there was any hesitation in this sequence. A bad decision, yes. But no hesitation,” he maintained.
Result: Matt Coronato tied the game with less than three minutes remaining in the third period. The young Flames player did it again in the seventh second of overtime, confirming the Canadian’s 3-2 defeat.
Interesting combination
This heartbreaking setback came to overshadow the work of Montembeault. The Bécancour doorman had a good evening in his body. He stopped 32 shots.
It also threw into oblivion the release of the newly formed second trio of Alex Newhook, Jake Evans and Juraj Slafkovsky.
Combining vigor, speed and robustness, the three friends threatened Dustin Wolf’s net on several occasions. According to the naturalstattrick website, they had 10 scoring chances.
It’s only one game, but Martin St-Louis may be onto something good.
Even though the coach had given him more offensive responsibilities, Evans has done well in what has been his bread and butter thus far. During the only presence of the team in numerical inferiority, he brilliantly spotted Joel Armia, allowing him to make it 2 to 1.
Good old Gally
By tying the score in the second period, Brendan Gallagher scored his fifth goal of the season. In doing so, he took second place among Habs scorers, behind Cole Caufield’s 10.
We don’t really know if this is good news. We have to believe not considering that Montrealers occupy 23rd place in the goals scored column.
But hey. Let’s not spit in the soup. It’s true that we’re not yet a quarter of the way through the season, and it would be surprising if he maintained such a pace. However, for a guy who we thought was finished and who still seemed out of breath last season, the 32-year-old veteran is doing pretty well.
Not to mention that he is a work example for his teammates. Moreover, honorable mention to Oliver Kapanen and Armia, who skillfully prepared this goal by taking the puck out of the corner of the ice.
Dvorak, the good student
Working in the faceoff circle is a rather difficult art to master: like macramé, playing the recorder for a second-grade child and activating the turn signal for a Montreal motorist.
But we must believe that the lessons of Marc Bureau, transmitted Monday morning in Brossard, were quickly assimilated. Particularly by Christian Dvorak who finished the match with a success percentage of 74% (14 in 19).
We’re talking about a guy who until now had barely won 48.9% (46 out of 94) of his duels. Enough to deserve a strawberry-scented sticker.
