Three goalies to one net is never ideal, but Jake Allen says it’s not that bad either.
Allen will be making his second start of his season Saturday night at the Bell Center, when the Washington Capitals visit. His first start was in the first game of the season on October 11 in Toronto. It is a long break, but not as long as that experienced by Cayden Primeau, the other member of this trio with Samuel Montembeault, who is still waiting to play a first match this season.
In short, as we sometimes write on Facebook: it’s complicated.
“But that’s the situation and we have to accept it,” replied Jake Allen on Friday in Brossard. Since we learned the news during camp that we were going to start the season with three, I think we were able to accept it and learn to evolve in this environment.
“It’s no one’s fault, and we’re all here to try and do the best we can for this team. Cayden wants to go in the net too. But I would say that we find the right ways to be effective in this situation. So things are going well so far. I think this is a first for all of us, but we have to adapt. »
Martin St-Louis does not see it as a problem.
“It’s early in the season, but so far it’s going well,” said the coach of his three goalkeepers. We will have to play a lot of matches in a short time soon and we will see how we will manage that. »
The soon in question will arrive soon enough, because next week, the Canadian has four games on the schedule. This will perhaps be the opportunity to give Primeau the net, but for now, Martin St-Louis does not want to reveal anything.
We guess that it is not only during matches where patience is required for the two goalkeepers who do not play; this is also the case in training.
“There are days when one of us can go to the second rink here (in Brossard) to face shots instead of having to wait for our turn on the back,” added Jake Allen. So things have gone well since the start of the season, and we are trying to deal with the situation as best we can.
“For me, I’m just trying to find my rhythm, find the net again and be able to give good performances to the team. We’re going to have more games on the schedule soon so it’ll be a little easier to get there. »
Besides, Montreal being Montreal, we had to ask a few questions about this otherwise ordinary start to the season, a conclusion that our great expertise allows us to draw after only three games.
On this subject, Cole Caufield didn’t really like a question about this season being perhaps a little like the previous one (“no”, he replied, when asked if this season was like the previous), and he displayed an air of optimism when asked about the club’s troubles on the power play.
“It’s a team affair,” noted the striker. It’s not anyone’s fault, you just need to stay away from the penalty box. We have a very good five-on-five team, so… it takes less punishment for us to play five-on-five. »
It couldn’t be clearer.
Kaiden Guhle jumped on the ice in Brossard Friday morning, but alone, and before everyone else. The young defender, injured during Tuesday evening’s match at the Bell Centre, is still being evaluated on a day-to-day basis, according to what the club’s management was kind enough to let know. For his part, forward Christian Dvorak, sidelined since the start of the season following knee surgery, skated with the rest of the club, but his return remains planned for November.
Alexander Ovechkin comes here with no goals on his record, and we can guess he’s not happy. “He’s always dangerous, no matter when you have to face him,” noted Jake Allen. It doesn’t matter if he has one shot or 10 shots per game, you always have to watch him, it doesn’t matter! »