The Canadian | Was caning the exception?

(New York) It was a gray Thursday off that awaited the Canadiens players in Manhattan. In a city unusually quiet due to Thanksgiving, the elements conspired to encourage the average athlete, looking for rest, to admire the Chicago Bears paralyzed as the seconds ticked by on the clock.

Speaking of bears, it’s been almost a week since the Habs looked like a team in hibernation. It was last Saturday, at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights, a 6-2 whose feeling was even worse than the score, if such a thing is possible.

Three days later, during his pre-match press briefing, Martin St-Louis was categorical. “It has to be a one-off [une exception]Vegas. I’m not going back. I don’t go back on these actions that help the other team. We are moving forward. We need to tighten up immediately. »

If St-Louis spoke of an exception, it was because this setback came at the end of a series of defensive performances that were much more assured than what their team had demonstrated in October. However, the performance of Montrealers in their two matches since suggests that the head coach’s wish seems to come true, with three points out of a possible four, and six goals allowed, including one at three against three.

Toronto’s turning point

The CH’s new lease of life is obviously not attributable to a single factor. The crushing 6-3 loss suffered in Washington on Halloween and the subsequent punishing training generated an initial defensive tightening. The wins weren’t piling up any more, however, because the team was lights out offensively.

Another turning point came two weeks ago. On November 10, the day after a sixth defeat in a row, the Canadian trained in Toronto, a session focused on creating an attack. Attack usually means fun at practice, but on this day the players seemed to be having about as much fun as a guy getting suppositories at a gift exchange.

During this same training, St-Louis separated the inseparable Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, and the next day, the Habs won 7-5 in Buffalo. There have been plenty of line changes since, with Suzuki and Caufield reunited, but that triumph in Buffalo started Montreal on a seven-game stretch in which they are 4-2-1.

The improvement is obvious. In terms of goals allowed, the Habs come in 19th^e NHL rank since November 10; the team then occupied 32^e and last row of the circuit. Montreal was 31^e as for the ratio of shot attempts at five to five; he is 14^e Since. Shorthanded, CH formed a mid-pack team; he is 2^e since November 10.

The same dunces

Individually, the trends are not yet clear.

Suzuki and Caufield, with seven points each in seven games, produce offense at the rate expected of them, although we note that Caufield achieved this despite reduced usage time (16:27 per game).

In less offensive roles, Jake Evans (two goals, two assists) and Joel Armia (four assists) added fuel to the mill. In Evans’ case, it’s simply the continuation of an unusual offensive season, with him having 11 points in 22 outings. Note that he succeeds even though he is, once again this year, the most used forward in the NHL on the penalty kill. Let us also note the successes of the numerical disadvantage units highlighted above.

In defense, the sequence allowed Arber Xhekaj to raise his profile. The Hamilton colossus played barely 10 minutes in the 7-5 victory in Buffalo, but he has exceeded 15 minutes four times in his last five games, even spending 19 minutes on the surface on Wednesday.

On the other hand, those who drag their feet remain the same. Even though they have a few points, Juraj Slafkovsky and Kirby Dach are -4 in the last seven games. Slafkovsky was -4 in the only loss to Vegas, which means he has a zero rating in the other six games, in which his team has an excellent 4-1-1 record.

These successes will be put to the test this weekend. The Habs will first meet the New York Rangers, a team in the middle of a storm (four defeats in a row), but which remains full of attacking talent. The Bruins will await CH in Boston the next day, having won three of their four games since the dismissal of head coach Jim Montgomery. Joe Sacco’s interim is going better, so far, than that of Antonio Barrette.