Finally some internal competition among the Canadiens’ attackers

The order in which a head coach registers his lines in the locker room and in which he deploys them in training is never trivial, nor the result of chance.

There is always an intention, and players cannot help but acknowledge it.

Martin St-Louis refused to call the fact of bringing Kirby Dach and Juraj Slafkovsky together in a fourth trio completed by Joel Armia a message.

But here, the unsaid speaks louder.

It goes without saying that Dach and Slafkovsky have too much talent to be called fourth-line players with the Canadiens. But by doing so, St-Louis warns them that if their performance, Tuesday night against Utah HC, were to resemble what they offered recently, their usage time would be equivalent to that of a fourth trio.

The ball is in their court to get more.

It must be said that the recall of Joshua Roy gave the head coach ammunition to send such a message. The Quebecer found himself to the left of Jake Evans and Emil Heineman, a unit that, under other circumstances, could itself have resembled a fourth line.

St. Louis was hesitant to answer whether it had seen enough internal competition within its forward group since the start of the season.

But here we are going to have some!however, he exclaimed.

And it’s not over yet.

Patrik Laine, for whom contact is now permitted in training, could soon return to the game, even if St-Louis did not seem too optimistic to see him in action this week. Add to this possible return that of Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, and the Canadian will finally have the cards to exert pressure on less efficient players.

This is a condition sine qua non so that the CH succeeds in its transition to a team that learns to win.

Until now, and this is the story of a good part of his reign behind the bench, St-Louis did not have the assets at its disposal to strengthen its grip and really move from words to action in the management of its staff.

He wanted to hammer nails, but he didn’t have a hammer.

That’s about to change.

It’s up to them to do more

Placing Dach back in the center was inevitable given the upcoming return of some wingers, just as it was obvious that Lucas Condotta was destined to suffer despite his good work. The latter was also returned to the Laval Rocket on Monday afternoon.

The Canadian will need to know, at the end of this season, if Dach is capable of occupying the second center position in the long term. Given that his time on the wing did nothing to boost his confidence, it had come to the point where it was better to put him back in his position and let him sort out the role we see for him down the road.

In Slafkovsky’s case, his costly turnover on the Vegas Golden Knights’ third goal on Saturday illustrated that he had not learned the lessons of a similar blunder made the previous weekend against the Columbus Blue Jackets .

St. Louis not only wants to see harder work from the big Slovak, but also better decision-making. And also don’t start a match with too fixed an idea of ​​what you want to accomplish in the match. Slafkovsky must maintain the alertness of mind to respond to what the action requires him to do.

For the moment, his game is down compared to what he displayed in the second half of last season, whether in terms of speed of execution, quality of decision-making or level of concentration.

The same diagnosis applies to Dach, who is trying to reconnect with the player he was in the second half of the season… 2022-2023.

You don’t have to be too hard on yourself when you’re doing everything you’re supposed to do, St-Louis agreed. Sometimes matches are difficult and life will be unfair. But I don’t feel like they’re doing everything they can, so… it’s up to them to do more.

The Canadian is entering the second quarter of his season. The execution was dismal in October, it was better in November without the results being there, and the hope of righting the boat will remain. But in the middle of a collective game which is not yet mastered, which it brandishes one evening and which it escapes the next day, the Habs must ensure for the rest of its season that Dach and Slafkovsky get back in the saddle .

Several players from the current edition will no longer be with the team when the Canadian is competitive, but it is expected that Dach and Slafkovsky will be fundamental elements.

It will be a challenge for St. Louis to bring them back on the right path, and the latest decisions suggest that the time for a strong approach has come.

An opportunity for Roy to seize

After being shut out in four straight games with the Rocket, Joshua Roy had his third three-point game this season in Laval, Saturday night, against the Belleville Senators. The skater from Saint-Georges-de-Beauce has 16 points in 17 games in the American League, but it is not only his offensive production that allows him to enter the Canadian locker room with renewed confidence.

I think it’s a lot of my pace during games, with and without the puck. I am more involved physically and in the defensive zone. This is really the biggest gap that was observed during my camp, and this is what I did in Laval.

It showed because I had a lot more chances to score and I was a lot more involved. It helps a lot.

Let’s remember that, in the days following Laine’s injury, Roy had been seen as a potential candidate to occupy a position on the second line. However, his poor training camp, combined with the good performances of Heineman and Oliver Kapanen, had taken him out of the equation.

Today, it’s his turn to prove himself worthy and to encourage teammates to some introspection.

Roy has a great opportunity to restore his image with the Canadian, but the window could quickly close if he is not convincing.

The CH was authorized to extend Harvey-Pinard’s fitness stay in Laval by two games, but the latter will have to rejoin the National League roster on Saturday. If Harvey-Pinard shows up with the knife between his teeth and Roy doesn’t break anything by then, there will be no free pass.

It is high time that the players on this team put pressure on each other and force themselves to get the best out of themselves.