The Canadian | Like a little revolution in defense

Don’t worry, no one will say a word against Patrik Laine’s goals or against the balance within the attacking trios. And we won’t pretend that Jakub Dobes didn’t just have the best first two games of a rookie goalie in the history of the Canadian.

However, the small revolution that shook the organization during the club’s recent series of successes was mainly observed on the defensive level. And it is impossible to dissociate this upheaval from the arrival of Alexandre Carrier.

A first change in dynamic took place in this position at the start of the campaign. In a scholarly analysis published in mid-October, The Press had focused on three major changes within the brigade: the separation of the duo composed of Kaiden Guhle and Mike Matheson, the arrival of Lane Hutson as well as the fall of David Savard from the top 3.

(Re)read the article “Change of dynamics in defense”

Despite everything, a certain instability persisted, mainly due to the setbacks of right-hander Justin Barron. The coaches’ obvious loss of confidence in him forced the use of two left-handers on the right flank for several weeks – the only other right-hander available at that time being Savard.

Guhle therefore returned to Matheson’s right. However, even if he had enjoyed success on his opposite side last season, this time the young man seemed to be looking for his bearings, so much so that the two were reversed. Hutson was then moved to Matheson’s left.

However, there remained an obvious weakness at the sixth defender position. Jayden Struble has been in all kinds of trouble, especially on the right. And Barron never recovered. This is what prompted management to trade the latter to the Nashville Predators in return for Alexandre Carrier, also a right-hander, on December 17. Suddenly the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

Everyone has their place

The addition of the Quebecer to the lineup did not necessarily make the Canadian an elite club defensively. But for eight games, each member of this squad seems to have found a position in the organization chart suited to their profile and skills.

Thus, Kaiden Guhle was able to settle down for good on the left flank, where he is much more comfortable. And with his new partner Carrier, he forms a duo whose mandate is not mysterious. The two backs are fully capable of supporting the attack, but they first carry out tough defensive missions.

Matheson and Hutson also face strong opposition, but a look at the evolution of their assignments for faceoffs in defensive territory reveals a change in their usage.

During the first two months of the season, half of the five-on-five faceoffs involving Lane Hutson took place in the defensive zone. This proportion had already dropped significantly in the eight games preceding Carrier’s arrival in December, and the downward trend has continued since. The change is much more sudden for Mike Matheson.

The same Alexandre Carrier therefore allows Martin St-Louis to consolidate his top 4but also to reduce the responsibilities of the duo composed of David Savard and Arber Xhekaj.

“It’s a very good acquisition,” said the head coach again, Saturday evening, after CH’s victory in Colorado. He brings a lot of stability for our young defensive brigade. He is able to play against speed, he is very intelligent and very predictable; from the bench, I always know what he’s going to do. He’s a guy who plays a game strong and manages risks well. »

Kaiden Guhle added his voice to the praise. “We are playing very maturely at the moment, and he is greatly responsible for that. It’s really nice to have him, and I hope to continue with him, especially knowing that he’ll be here for a few years. » Carrier, in fact, is under contract with the CH until 2026-2027.

The main person concerned returned the flowers to his partner. In his eyes, their success comes from the fact that the two are “calm” defenders who communicate a lot with each other.

“He’s an excellent skater,” Carrier continued. This is what allows him to take away space from the players [devant lui]. He just had an incredible match [contre l’Avalanche]he used his stick well. He never panics, he stays in control and he is well positioned. »

Balance

We cannot attribute the Habs’ winning streak of seven wins in nine games to Carrier’s arrival alone, since it had already begun before he played his first match.

The figures, however, demonstrate an unprecedented balance.

In order to measure this balance without the club’s catastrophic start to the season skewing the data, we reviewed CH’s five-on-five performance over the last 16 games – the eight before Carrier’s arrival, and the eight later.

The offensive awakening is evident, while the number of goals per 60 minutes has exploded. However, the large gap with the number of anticipated goals, as well as the high conversion rate of shots into goals (10.95%, more than two percentage points above the league average) lead us to believe in a surplus which should correct itself over time.

Defensively, the revolution that we mentioned from the outset is obvious. The number of anticipated goals per 60 minutes has fallen by a quarter. The feat is all the more worthy of mention as the Habs have faced four top clubs in the meantime.

Finally, Martin St-Louis spoke of “stability”, but we could add flexibility to the list of tools he acquired with Alexandre Carrier. Against the Avalanche, he juggled his defensive pairings so that Kaiden Guhle and Mike Matheson, individually or together, were constantly taking on Nathan MacKinnon. Carrier was not left out, as he spent a little over 7 minutes on the ice against the most recent winner of the Hart Trophy. Against less than a minute each for Hutson, Xhekaj and Struble.

It’s starting to be a lot of words to talk about a defensive defender. Either. But it probably says a lot about the gaping hole that the second duo suffered from before its acquisition.