Canadian 2 – Flame 1 | Taste does not matter

The end of draws in the NHL has been covering sports pages ten times a year for over 15 years with “tastes of victory” or “tastes of defeat” draws.

Simon-Oliver Lorenz
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The Canadians’ narrow 2-1 victory over the Calgary Flames can be classified as those “taste” games. To see the duo of Shia Weber and Ben Chiarrot fighting against the first line of the opponent in the first twenty, one ess predicted a prediction of defeat. With a 1-1 mark in the third period, the overtime scents became clear. Finally, the Hobbes can say they are sitting with two points in the stands. However, he did not make dinner.

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We should give this team what it deserves: it was a lot less painful than last Wednesday. “Slightly better”, qualified Dominic Ducharm. However, he “did not think we could say we stole it.”

There seems to be absolutely infinite complexity about beating fires this season. In the last four games against them, since Daryl Sutter came to power in a very tough and methodical manner, only 90 of the Canadians’ shots have reached the opposing net. This is an average of 10 less per game (32.5 vs. 22.5) than CH’s cruising speed this season.

The penalty shootout statistic is flawed, but in this particular case, it is bright. It betrays how difficult it is to reach the Montreal Forward Flames Net and get quality shots.

Hence the question arises: if this situation is repeated on Saturday night, why did the Canadian miss out on the victory?

“We didn’t give up,” Shia Weber said. We had cracking moments, but we stuck to the game plan and found a way to win. ”

However, this does not mean that the structure has not been tested. It costs a lot more for 30 turnovers to receive fires as a gift. The CH players worked hard to spend less time in their zone, a recurring sin of past meetings, but leaving the territory was not so much fun. At one point, you wondered if the defenders challenged themselves to send as many inaccurate passes as possible in the middle of the snow.

However, and it is important to underline it broadly, Dominic Ducharm’s men stand out. The Canadian often proved that he could miss this kind of match. Only in recent weeks have we seen the prize formula at the start of the game, where matches have started right, but escaped along the way and brutal, corrections are in order.

Cheating on these scenarios and escaping from five of the previous seven games, signing a narrow victory, can do good, not so elegant, but especially against a tough opponent.

Some good, some less good

From this success, we remember the performance inspired by the trio of Nick Suzuki, Joel Armia and Tyler Tofoli. The two goals of this unit showed how effective this team can be when it is right.

Second, above all, in the “50-50 battles” that Ducharm often spoke of, the Army won over Christopher Tanev, and over Mark Giordano on the Tofoli Net.

“This is a great example of what needs to happen,” Weber said. We talked a lot about our desire to make these games a success. And it works. ”

In the radius that something went wrong, it is impossible to emphasize the difficulties of the experienced group – not the big one here, the veteran of the veterans.

Much ink has been written about this, but Weber is not what he once was. His more or less dynamic duo with Ben Chiarot‌ opposed Johnny Goudrow, Elias Lindhomme and Matthew Takachuk. The two Canadian defenders were indebted to Jake Allen for protecting their buttocks as it quickly turned around them.

When asked about his nights above the minimum, Weber smiled and focused on the “big win” and “work” to start the next day, this time against the Ottawa senators.

With less than five weeks to go, Ducharm recalls that the Chiarot still “has to find its bearings.”

Head coach Eric Stall escaped more about that. After seven games, the portrait was clear in his case and it was not to his advantage. Since coming with the Canadian, he has yet to fall on the ice for any of his team’s goals at 5 against 5. His huge legs do not slow down Corey Perry’s work, which is almost invisible since he was transferred. .

“It brings us invisible things,” Ducharm said. He will help us ”. Fortunately, the obvious thing is that it’s hard to argue indefinitely that Jake Evans is chomping at the bit in the stands, except for the extreme turn.

When asked about the looming internal competition in the defensive lineup, Ducharm said he expects his players to be “every game” and “things change quickly”.

With the compressed end of the calendar, the analysis grid will have to apply to all its men. Did they play 50 or 1,200 NHL games.

Growing

Joel Army

One of the matches with velvet hands on the fin. The connection with Nick Suzuki worked the whole evening.

Falling

Eric Stall

We don’t like to be persevering, but the veteran is a real snuffer for all three of them. Both attack and defense are difficult for him.

Match number

38

That’s the number of games Tyler Tofoli needed to reach the 20-goal mark. This is the fourth fastest crop for hobs since 1990. During this time, Gilbert Dionne was the most influential, scoring 20 goals in 34 games in 1991-1992.

They said

With details

Kulak right… Meanwhile?

The return of Ben Chiarot has the potential to change the game within the third duo of Canadian defenders. Brett Kulak and Alexander Romanov returned after a tandem at the start of the season. Aside from Dominic Ducharm preferring to see Romanov from his natural side on the left, Kulak found himself on the right, and he has been much less visible since arriving in Montreal. Ducharm briefly estimated the number 77. “He’s a good skater, his adjustment went very well,” the head coach said. The two did not dominate, but were on the ice for both Montreal goals. Kulak got help on the first goal of the game, but it was a simple throw-in. His case will be interesting because the ability to play right will ensure that Joan Merrill and Eric Gustafson complete their detention next week to retain their place in the team.

A mess for the flames

In the third period the fires were hot. They are already clinging to thin hopes of making the playoffs, and Noah Hanifin saw a retreat to the locker room after being given a hard time against the gang. Hanifin finally returned quickly and was more afraid than sad. In the morning, Daryl Sutter explained that Hanifin’s progress had inspired him to form a “super duo” with his two best defenders, Mark Giordano and Christopher Tanev. In doing so, Sutter was able to compare Giordano to a more loyal partner than the young Rams Anderson, who was facing his ups and downs. “I do not think so [Giordano] Cover by hand, but he had to cover Anderson’s back a little more, ”Sutter argued. Giordano had a good game until he lost to Tyler Topoli on the winning goal.

Is always neutral

Hubs Power Play is officially neutral. The arrival of Alex Burroughs, the coach responsible for the five-sided attack, had an immediate effect when the COVID-19 season at CH was interrupted, scoring four goals in its four games. Pause. From? According to the Natural Stat Trick, two goals in 27 attempts, just 31 shots in 52 minutes. On Friday, Hobbs was white on two occasions and received three shots in four minutes. Josh Anderson had the best chance at the end of the first period, but Jacob Markstrom seemed to miss his shot as he lay down. Otherwise, in the second power play, the lack of options was evident when Jonathan Drouin circled twice before joining Tofoli at a very good angle. The Canadian will not train before the Saturday game and will therefore have to find solutions in the video.