NEW YORK | Sometimes a team loses a match and says they deserved a better outcome. In the case of the Canadian who lost 4 to 3 against the Rangers, this is absolutely true.
The Canadian showed a lot of character, especially in the third period by coming back to tie the game 3-3 with less than six minutes to play.
But all those efforts proved in vain when a four-minute high-sticking penalty was assessed to Kirby Dach for a clumsy move in the offensive zone with less than three minutes remaining. What had to happen happened, the locals won in the last minute of play.
And Martin St-Louis, who often addressed the officials throughout the meeting, was furious. But the worst anger, that dull anger where the person seems calm and in control while they are boiling inside.
He made sure to get his message across without embarrassing himself during his press briefing which lasted 70 seconds and in which he repeated six times “I loved our match, but I won’t speak referees.”
Trio of special occasions
St-Louis was right not to digest what had just happened because its team played with confidence, especially in the third period when it set the tone for almost every exchange.
The first line was particularly inspired, with Cole Caufield closing the gap to 3-2 and Nick Suzuki tying the game on a magnificent pass from Lane Hutson who, just before, had won a battle at the blue line against Will Cuylle, leaving with the puck with the agility of a ballet dancer.
It was also a cruel result for Kirby Dach, who watched the outcome alone in the penalty box. His move was very clumsy, but otherwise, he played one of his best matches of the season. Solid with the puck and physically involved.
Alex Newhook didn’t appear on the scoresheet, but he played some inspired hockey with Caufield and Suzuki. St-Louis is finding a nice balance among its trios.
More difficult
If Martin St-Louis railed against the work of the officials, it’s because the Rangers scored three of their four goals on the power play, including the first of the game with a two-man advantage.
Just before the Rangers’ third goal, Josh Anderson was sent off for roughing, a penalty we’d call questionable at best. We can also see a double failure by Chris Kreider against Josh Anderson who was never punished. Anderson told one of the officials his thoughts while St. Louis did the same. Éric Charron and Kelly Sutherland did not have an easy match.
The Canadian’s Achilles heel will therefore have been playing shorthanded, despite having been one of his skills since the start of the season.
Before the meeting, the Canadian was at 7e rank in the NHL with an efficiency rate of 84%. However, things are going less well on opposing ice rinks with an efficiency standing at 78.9% for the 17th.e league rank. That pretty much sums up what happened at Madison Square Garden.
Sous tension
There wasn’t a lot of love between these two teams and that obviously goes back to the 7-2 thaw suffered by the Canadian at the Bell Center last month.
It’s not so much the score that the Habs players haven’t digested, but rather the vicious check by Jacob Trouba against Justin Barron in a third period where the match was over. The Canadian defender then missed a few games due to an upper body injury that we suspect was a concussion.
Josh Anderson threw down the gloves to Jacob Trouba early in the match.
Getty Images via AFP
Josh Anderson took charge of Trouba in the second minute of the clash in a furious fight and the small blows continued to abound. There was this check finished a little too well by Arber Xhekaj at the expense of Alexis Lafrenière who was hit in the lower body and whose presence was then limited for several minutes.
It got out of hand at the end of the second period when Kirby Dach was roughed up after a close shot on Jonathan Quick. All the players got involved, Juraj Salfkovsky being particularly active with a sleeper hold on Will Cuylle. Hockey like in the days of Eddie Shore.
