Samuel Montembeault did not hide it. He has repeated on several occasions that he would like to defend the net for the Canadian team which will take part in the 4 Nations Showdown in February at the Bell Center and TD Garden in Boston.
We understand it to hope. Since Canada no longer develops Martin Brodeur, Roberto Luongo or Patrick Roy, the race is on. With 10 days to go until the formation is revealed, it is certainly time for tough decisions within the team’s staff.
Everything will be taken into account: past successes, performances since the start of the season and the bond of trust between the managers and the players in the fight.
MARTIN ALARIE / JOURNAL DE MONTREAL
Last night, Montembeault had one of his main rivals in front of him: Adin Hill, 2023 Stanley Cup champion and goaltender of the Golden Knights, led by Bruce Cassidy, one of the coaches of the Canadian team.
Poor Sam! He ate a sincere one. He surrendered five times out of 25 shots, with the locals on their way to a 6-2 loss. Martin St-Louis put an end to his ordeal after the second period.
That’s pretty much the definition of “adding insult to injury.” »
Left abandoned
“It wasn’t his fault. A goal from the opposite side, a goal with the slot open, a two against zero. Even the goalkeepers who will be at the four nations tournament could not have stopped that, listed the Canadian head coach. I felt bad for Monty. And I told him. »
The decision to send Cayden Primeau in front of the cage for the last 20 minutes of play was the right one, even if Montembeault has little to reproach himself for.
He made a blunder on the fifth goal, that of Keegan Kolesar, by being unable to completely control Zach Whitecloud’s shot. But, at that point, it wasn’t going to change anything in the match.
The truth is that the good guy from Bécancour was abandoned by his teammates when he needed them the most. Some big names on the team were guilty of costly and avoidable turnovers.
“We didn’t help him at all,” admitted Kirby Dach. The number of times he helped us by standing on our heads… We owe him one. »
Dach, himself with a soft pass, blindly, out of the zone, Juraj Slafkovsky, with an unnecessary high-risk play at the Golden Knights blue line and Alex Newhook, the victim of an intense withdrawal from Tanner Pearson , allowed the visitors to open the valves with three goals in just over two and a quarter minutes.
While Montembeault was being martyred, Hill was put to the test only eight times.
Deserved boos
The Canadiens players retired to the locker room to the boos of the crowd. With good reason.
“The boos, we deserved them,” said St-Louis, bluntly
Besides, it’s hard to believe that Montembeault didn’t do something wrong when he returned to the locker room after the second period. Let’s hope, at least, that his friends got away cheap.
The Habs scored twice in the third period. Courtesy of Emil Heineman, on the power play, and Jayden Struble (two goals on which Brendan Gallagher obtained an assist).
Bravo for the renewed life, but it is likely that the Golden Knights, who, by the way, were playing a third game in four nights, already had the lead over the Flyers, their next opponents.
