Habs News: NHL, Montreal Canadiens, Martin St. Louis, Patrick Langlois, Jordan Harris, Nick Suzuki, Laval Rocket, Trois-Rivieres Lions
ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA | LAVAL, QC. — On Saturday, the Canadiens were down by a goal against the Lightning with 2:18 remaining when Jesse Ylonen scored to tie the game and force overtime. With no winner decided after 65 minutes, Nick Suzuki netted the clinching goal in shootout to give Montreal the 5-4 shootout win.
“We fought, we got calls that didn’t go in our favour, but we continued. I’m proud of the team. A big part is how [Jake Allen] played, and how our defencemen exited with the puck, and battled in our zone. A big team win,” Martin St. Louis said post game. The coach felt that they outplayed the Lightning when playing even strength. Tampa Bay scored twice on the power play, and once short handed.
“I thought all 20 guys played a good game. We were supporting each other all over the ice, especially the young guys. It’s not an easy team to face. They’re on the top of the league for a reason,” Joel Edmundson said.
Rem Pitlick was slotted on the first line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield for the first time this season. The trio were the forwards with the most even strength ice time for Montreal. Pitlick and Caufield capitalized on a 2-on-0 opportunity to bury the puck behind Brian Elliot.
#Habs Cole Caufield scores goal on 2-on-0 vs #Lightning
Assists: R. Pitlick@AllHabs @RocketSports #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/MWx3dj1yqK
— Chris G (@ChrisHabs360) April 3, 2022
“I really liked what that line looked like tonight. A little bit of everything, you got some poise, you got a shooter in Cole, you got some smart players on the ice together, and I thought they were excellent,” St. Louis evaluated.
Return to Tampa
Despite the Canadiens and the Lightning being on the opposite side of the standings since the first day of the season, the three matchups between last season’s Stanley Cup Final participants have been close games. All three games finished with a one-goal differential, and two matches needed more than 60 minutes to determine a winner.
Saturday marked Martin St.Louis’ first appearance in Tampa Bay as coach of the Canadiens. Traditionally, when players face a former team, they put money on the board as an incentive to win. The CBA forbids coaches from doing so.
“It will never be about me. It’s about the team, the Montreal Canadiens. It’s not about Martin St. Louis. I know I played in Tampa for a long time, but today’s message wasn’t to play harder because Martin was in Tampa,” St. Louis said.
Regardless of his message, the players knew it was a special game for their coach. “He told us not to make it about him, he doesn’t care at all about all that. In the locker room, we wanted to get the win for him and [Vincent Lecavalier],” Edmundson said. “He didn’t want to make it about him, but we definitely did.”
Saturday’s game also marked Patrick Langlois‘, assistant to the equipment manager, 2,500th professional game.
Jordan Harris Debut
After joining the team in Florida on Monday, Jordan Harris made his anticipated NHL debut on Saturday. The defenceman pinched in offensively on his first shift and it nearly led to a goal.
#Habs Jordan Harris gets a chance on his first shift in the NHL@AllHabs @RocketSports #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/ZQOPvQARiI
— Chris G (@ChrisHabs360) April 2, 2022
“I was a little nervous,” Harris said postgame. “Everyone was super helpful on the bench. Communicating, helping out with different plays, and just talking through it all.”
Edmundson said that Harris impressed everyone in the dressing room, and couldn’t tell that it was his first NHL game. The veteran added that Harris was asking a lot of questions in order to get better.
“I was pretty happy with the things I showed in my game. It’s rarely a perfect game out there. I felt pretty normal for the most part,” Harris evaluated his own performance. He added that the speed and intelligence of the players was the biggest difference noticed in his first NHL game.
“Loved his game,” added St. Louis when asked about the rookie. “His skating is so effortless, and I thought he was engaged, and he gave us some really good minutes.”
St. Louis rewarded the 21-year old with a shift during the overtime. “He played three-on-three at university, and played four of the five minutes. I know he’s able to play three-on-three, he knows about the details, and possession. The NHL is a different level, but it’s an experience for him that he earned with his five-on-five play, and he looked very comfortable, so I wasn’t afraid to send him on during three-on-three.”
Another learning experience for Harris occurred in the second period, when he was penalized for remaining in the play after losing his helmet. Unfortunately for the defenceman, the Lightning scored on the ensuing power play.
Rocket Swept in Abbotsford
The Rocket concluded a four-game road trip with a doubleheader against the Abbotsford Canucks on the weekend. On Saturday, the Canucks led 3-0 through 20 minutes, and never looked back on the way to a 6-1 victory.
“I find that the score doesn’t reflect the game. We didn’t play bad. We won battles, and we had a lot of scoring chances. I tip my hat to their goalie, he did a good job. I don’t think 6-1 reflects tonight’s game,” said Xavier Ouellet.
Jean-Francois Houle echoed the captain’s comments. “In the first period, we had a lot of good scoring chances, [Danick] Martel had a breakaway, we had three two-on-one’s, their goalie made big saves. They did take a 3-0 lead, but if we would have scored on one or two of our chances in the first period, it would have been a different game.
On Sunday, the Canucks broke a 1-1 tie with 4:27 remaining in the third period and added an empty net goal to win 3-1 and sweep the double header.
“It was an excellent effort. I found that we played really well, it was our best game of the road trip. We had many good chances, and their goalie made key saves,” Houle said.
The Rocket collected three of the possible eight points during the road trip. They travel back to Laval on Monday, and begin a three game homestand on Wednesday against Rochester. Forward Lucas Condotta is expected to join the team for practice on Tuesday after signing a professional tryout with the club on Friday.
(Quotes courtesy of 91.9 Sports)
Lions Continue Homestand
The Trois-Rivieres Lions concluded a sequence of five home games in six days with a triple header against the Reading Royals on the weekend. On Friday, the Royals broke a 1-1 tie with four unanswered goals on their way to a 5-1 victory.
“The Royals simply worked harder than many of our players. You see why they’re first place in our division. If you want to beat a club like this, you have to work, and not commit 22 turnovers,” Eric Belanger said post game.
On Saturday, the Lions outshot their opponents 37-19, but finished on the losing end of the 2-1 match. “We deserved to win, I can’t ask my players for more. We couldn’t get the puck in,” said Belanger. “It’s rare that I speak to the players in the locker room after losses, but I had no choice today. I think it was important that I tell the guys that there are a lot of positives to take away, even if we lost. I wanted them to know that I’m proud of them.”
On Sunday, the Royals came back from a two-goal deficit in the third period to send the game into overtime. In the sixth minute of the overtime, Julien Nantel scored on a breakaway to give Trois-Rivieres 4-3 win.
“We ended the game with five defencemen. The credit goes to the players. They played big hockey. We had to dig deep into our resources. The next two days off will be appreciated,” Belanger said.
Trois-Rivieres concludes the homestand with a match against the Cincinnati Cyclones on Wednesday. The Lions currently hold the fourth playoff spot of the North Division.
(Quotes courtesy of Le Nouvelliste)
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By Chris G., Senior Writer
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