(Buffalo, NY) Martin St-Louis’ post-game press briefing draws to a close when a playful voice comes from behind the scrum.
“Did the number 20 tonight make you think of another number 20? ”, we hear.
We turn around and here is the always funny Colby Armstrong, now an analyst, once a snarky player, who wore the 20 for the Canadian a decade ago. So his quip was today’s number 20, Juraj Slafkovsky, the name on everyone’s lips after the Canadiens’ 3-2 shootout victory over the Sabres.
“It was the first time he scored in a shootout, the first time he fought. A couple of firsts, but it’s not the first time he played physical and intense like that,” rejoiced St-Louis.
The CH coach should especially be delighted with the continuation of the experience of the great Slovakian with Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki. The search for a complementary winger for CH’s two offensive stars was one of the most difficult mandates for St-Louis this season. If you have a Canadiens jersey, skates and can breathe, you have a good chance of having played with Mr. Caufield and Mr. Suzuki so far.
After three matches, the addition of Slafkovsky as a complementary piece favored the duo. Certainly, their three-way results are not that stunning. At 5-on-5, according to Natural Stat Trick: 1-2 in goals scored and allowed, 72-70 in shot attempts, 15-15 in quality scoring chances.
But Slafkovsky, the very first pick in the 2022 draft, theoretically a future cornerstone of the team, appears transformed alongside the two sidekicks. He buzzed again all evening, found the passing lines towards Caufield and disturbed the opponent in the forecheck. He remains young and can make blunders, like the one at the end of the second period which caused chaos in Montreal, but overall, we are far from the faded player at the start of the season.
Slafkovsky’s name was on everyone’s lips, it was said. In fact, we lied and your complaints to the Press Council will be justified. The name Cayden Primeau was quite popular too.
That would be the case for any goalie who, like him, won by stopping 46 shots. But the context makes his performance impressive, because in his last start, on November 30, he was riddled with five goals, all on the glove side.
This time, he held his ground from the start and even triggered, in the second period, “Primeau, Primeau” from a crowd full of red sweaters. An eloquent demonstration for the dozen NHL recruiters on site, knowing that the Canadian will sooner or later have to trade one of his three goalies.
“We’re going to get two points with Primeau’s play and our numerical disadvantage,” said St-Louis. If we don’t take penalties… Especially at the start of the match. We took three in the first half. It allowed us to stay in the match.
“It was a big game for him. He was not happy with his last match. There, he didn’t [rebound]. He’s gone further than where he was before. »
Speaking of which, a third name was circulating in the corridors of the KeyBank Center: Jayden Struble.
Think about it: in four years at Northeastern University, Struble had 190 penalty minutes and scored just 9 goals. It would have been bold to bet that he would score his first NHL goal before visiting the dungeon, but that’s what he managed by redirecting a pass shot from Johnathan Kovacevic.
“It’s a crazy statistic,” he conceded. I try to be disciplined. I definitely don’t want to harm the team by taking penalties. So it’s going well, yes. »
It may be going well, but like Slafkovsky, like Primeau, he too has his ups and downs. At the start of the third period, the defensive duos were out of phase since Kaiden Guhle was still in the locker room. Struble therefore found himself with Gustav Lindström for the duration of a presence, and the two backs did not communicate properly to cover the always awkward Jeff Skinner. Result: a lonely Skinner in the slot started the Sabres’ comeback by scoring.
“I had just made a bad pass in the middle, which was not easy to control. And yes, there was a bit of confusion. So I was relieved that we won, because I felt guilty for that goal,” Struble admitted.
But St. Louis said it during its press briefing Thursday: its team is “learning to play hockey.” Which will inevitably come with moments like this.
The fact remains that this victory was mainly achieved thanks to better than usual performances from some young people. Quite the opposite of the triumph of October 23, still in Buffalo, which had been the work of veterans. But with Jake Allen who remained in Montreal, David Savard injured and several veterans slowing down offensively, this team needs the help of its young people. They answered the call on Saturday.
