In his last four matches, the Canadian has won three times. Coincidence or not, Kaiden Guhle and Mike Matheson have changed sides since the victory in Buffalo on November 11.
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Guhle has returned to his natural position on the left, while Matheson is now a lefty who plays on the right, something that hasn’t happened to him often since arriving in Montreal.
A situation that did not bother the two defenders, even if they simply learned about it by looking at the board displaying the formation in the locker room.
“I didn’t ask why. It’s our job to say OK,” Matheson recalled Thursday at the end of a quiet training session in the middle of a week without a match in which Patrik Laine participated for about an hour.
“I don’t know why the coaches made this change, maybe they wanted to provoke something because the club wasn’t doing so well at that time. I don’t know if it will stay like this for long, but it’s going well,” said Guhle, whose right hand is still suffering from the throw by Evan Bouchard, of the Edmonton Oilers, on Monday.
In this 3-0 victory, playing on the left certainly helped Guhle score the second goal, completing a nice passing play with Cole Caufield and Jake Evans.
Matheson ready to take off
If the two backs did not receive an explanation, assistant coach Stéphane Robidas did not hide that the objective was to simplify the task of the young 22-year-old Albertan, who often faces the best opposing trios.
“Defensively, it wasn’t necessarily a problem, it was more with the puck. Sometimes playing on the other side brings complications for some players. We thought that with his incredible skills, Mike would adapt well,” explained the head of the backs at the CH.
“We thought it could give him a boost of energy,” he added about Guhle, also specifying that Matheson is now better positioned to shoot one-timers.
“Personally, I don’t mind playing on the left or the right, but on the left is my natural side, that’s where I learned to play. I don’t need to think too much, because I’m already in the right place,” Guhle emphasized.
Mike Matheson against the Oilers on Monday.
Photo Martin Chevalier
Bad experience for Robidas
During his time in the NHL, Robidas was a right-handed defenseman who also experimented with switching sides.
“It didn’t go so well! he admitted with a burst of laughter. I am able to understand why I was having difficulty and my job as a coach is to try to guide them.
Less respect for the opponent
For Guhle, the Canadian’s recent successes cannot be explained by this change in position. It is rather the collective game which is the proof of everything.
“I think we respected our opponents too much, we didn’t put enough pressure on them, we waited to see what they were going to do and they made us pay for it. We are more aggressive, more compact and on the same wavelength. Now, we have to show consistency and do well for 2-3 games,” underlined number 21, two days before the clash against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday at the Bell Centre.
