It didn’t have to be pretty, and given the lethargy the Montreal Canadiens were in, the victory that would help them get out of it one day, it probably wasn’t going to be the case. be.
The Canadian’s 7-5 win in Buffalo on Monday afternoon highlighted a whole host of legitimate concerns about this team, but it will cure a lack of confidence that had spread like a villain virus in the locker room.
The sequence of this game that could have the most significance for the future came in the last minute of the second period when Nick Suzuki scored twice in the space of 22 seconds.
The CH had blown two leads at that point – two leads that it had held for a total of 47 seconds – and was preparing to return to the locker room trailing 4-3. That’s really when the new top line, which currently sees Suzuki flanked by Kirby Dach and Juraj Slafkovsky, took matters into their own hands.
On offense, Martin St-Louis asked his men to be very careful in order to limit the number of turnovers committed at the offensive blue line. Hence the numerous discharges at the bottom of the territory. On the other hand, the coach wants them to maintain possession at the start when they take advantage of a surplus, and that’s what we saw from Dach when he entered the Sabers zone with around fifty seconds left. to do in the commitment.
He took the check entering the zone, but took care to pass the disc to Slafkovsky, who immediately handed it to Suzuki.
Without making life complicated, the Canadian jumped at the surplus opportunity that the Sabers offered him.
A few seconds later, Slafkovsky showed great intensity on the forecheck to be the first to recover a puck thrown in the offensive zone. He won his battle at the expense of Owen Power, then his pass to Suzuki allowed the captain to raise his arms for the second time in 22 seconds of play.
It’s not rocket science: if the Canadian wants to get out of the quagmire, or if he at least wants this season to take place under the sign of progression, his best young elements must take a significant step forward. That’s not what we’ve seen lately, but for Suzuki in particular, who admitted to finding it more difficult to act as leader when he’s in trouble on an individual level, this kind of moment could act as a pivot in the season.
But let’s wait and see. We must still keep in mind that the Habs lost the lead again when the Sabers scored two quick goals in the third period, and that we had passed the halfway mark before he scored a shot.
However, the Canadian really had to not want to give up and stubbornly refused the prospect of a seventh defeat in a row so as not to give in and instead continue to fight as he did.
And for that, he can thank his fourth line.
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Emil Heineman could become an interesting offensive weapon to allow the fourth line to contribute to the attack.
Photo : - / Ivanoh Demers
A good shooter on the fourth line
Lucas Condotta was recalled from the Laval Rocket when the Canadian decided to send Oliver Kapanen back to Sweden. He chose Condotta over a more productive winger, like Joshua Roy or Alex Barré-Boulet, given the team’s immediate need was at fourth-line center.
It’s only three games, but Condotta, Emil Heineman and Joel Armia were impeccable in their limited use.
When all three are on the ice, the action most often takes place in the opposing zone. This is a unit that relies on a sustained forecheck and tries to establish a circular movement when it has the puck. Nothing too elaborate, but devilishly effective.
Condotta, Heineman and Armia have spent 18 minutes together at 5-on-5 in the last three meetings, and the Canadian claims two-thirds of the shot attempts when they are on the ice. And their unit’s first goal couldn’t have come at a better time against the Sabres. Lane Hutson spotted Heineman well, and the latter had plenty of space to find a satisfactory shooting line.
Heineman has one of the best looks on the team, and if this trio continues to apply pressure in the opposing zone as it is currently doing, Heineman will have other opportunities to shoot and help the secondary production of the attack.
In brief
- Cole Caufield temporarily took first place in NHL scoring by scoring his 11th and 12th goals of the season, both on the power play. Several decision-makers involved in the international selections of the Four Nations Showdown attended the game in Buffalo given the general managers’ meeting in Toronto. Caufield gave Team USA CEO Bill Guerin something to think about. He is a weapon of choice on the power play (6 of his 12 goals have been scored with the man advantage), but he must convince Guerin that he is better in this regard than the many other triggers that the States have -United.
- This was a tough match for Mike Matheson and Kaiden Guhle. They shared some of the blame on two of the Sabres’ goals, and Guhle lost a puck behind the goal line that eventually led to another Sabres win. Matheson’s mistakes at the offensive blue line have been frequent recently. Monday, wanting to do too much to prolong possession while the Canadian was outnumbered, he had the disc stolen by JJ Peterka and it turned into a 2-on-1 descent. The Quebecer’s game did not has never been free of errors, but the ratio between what it costs and what it brings in is not as advantageous as last year.
- The Canadian can be pleased to have allowed only 18 shots to the Sabres. This is an encouraging result for a team which is trying by all means to tighten up its defensive game. His good overall performance, however, does not do a good job for Cayden Primeau, who did not do the job in front of the net. The 25-year-old goalie gave up 5 times out of 14 shots, the last on a backhand shot that he should have stopped. Head coach Lindy Ruff had pulled Ukke-Pekka goaltender Luukkonen after two periods because he wasn’t feeling well, and that may have inspired Samuel Montembeault to relieve Primeau after that fifth goal. An aggressive decision which demonstrated the coach’s desire to win the match. Of all the players who don’t seem to be improving at the start of the season, Primeau is perhaps at the top of the list, having now posted a goals average of 4.67 and an efficiency rating of . 845.
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