Habs News: NHL, Montreal Canadiens, Artturi Lehkonen, Alex Burrows, Laval Rocket, Trois-Rivieres Lions, Martin St. Louis
ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA | LAVAL, QC. — On Saturday, the Canadiens began a five-game Canadian road trip with a 2-1 victory against the Ottawa Senators.
“We deserved [to win] this game. It would have been nice for us to separate the result a bit more. We got very good chances. I found that we came to work today, we did our job. The guys played their game, they did their job. It’s fun to see. There’s a good atmosphere. This is what winning does, and I’m happy for them,” Martin St. Louis said postgame.
Andrew Hammond obtained his second start in a Canadiens uniform, and his first start in Ottawa since being traded in 2017. “For the most part, I think we kept them on the outside, made my job very easy. A great game to play behind them,” said the 34-year old following his 26 save performance.
The victory extended Montreal’s win streak to five games. It took the Canadiens 20 games to register five wins this season, and then 30 games to win another five games.
“It’s nice, but we just want to keep it going. It’s been enjoyable coming to the rink the last couple of weeks. We want to keep those good feelings going. Guys are working hard,” Brendan Gallagher said. “We’ve been through so much here since the start of the year, it’s just nice to see smiles on the guys faces.”
“Winning games is way more fun than losing,” Artturi Lehkonen said. “We’re trying to stay on top of guys, force other teams to make mistakes. We’re getting a bit of swagger. Confidence is huge in this league.”
The Canadiens returned to Montreal after the game, and will fly to Winnipeg following Monday’s practice.
Lehkonen Trade Value
Artturi Lehkonen was named the first star of Saturday’s match with his sixth career multi-goal performance. The Finnish forward has scored nine times this season, ranking him third on the team trailing Josh Anderson and Nick Suzuki.
“He’s a guy that plays the right way, and takes care of the team. Defensively, he’s an excellent hockey player, offensively he sees the game well. It’s fun to see him rewarded with goals, because it gives him confidence. A player like Lehkonen will never cheat offensively without taking care of his defensive play. Lehkonen is a leader in that department,” St-Louis said after the game.
There has been multiple reports that teams have been calling Kent Hughes to make a deal to acquire the forward. Lehkonen was ranked 21st in the latest edition of TSN’s trade bait list published on Wednesday. The Daily Faceoff lists Lehkonen as a candidate to be this season’s equivalent of Blake Coleman or Barclay Goodrow. Tampa Bay acquired both players in separate deals near 2020’s trade deadline. The Lightning sent first round picks to New Jersey and San Jose for their acquisitions.
Lehkonen will be a restricted free agent at the conclusion of the season. Playoff teams looking to add a responsible bottom-six forward that can also play on the penalty kill will be reaching out to Hughes before trade deadline.
Power Play Struggles
Despite the current five-game win streak, the Canadiens power play continues to struggle. On Saturday, Montreal was not able to capitalize on their four opportunities and took a total of three shots on goal with the man advantage.
“Obviously we need to get that going. It’s nice that we’re able to win games and haven’t had the run support from the power play,” St. Louis prior to puck drop in Ottawa. “Between the coaches and Alex and I, we sit down and watch, and we’re tying to give the guys some thoughts. At the end of the day, they just got to play free out there, and do the best they can. I think they’ve done that, we just haven’t scored.”
In the last 10 games, the Canadiens power play has scored once in 29 opportunities. Alex Burrows is responsible for this unit, and may be held accountable for the lack of success at the conclusion of the season.
Rocket Split Series
On Friday, the Rocket began a homestand of seven games in 11 days. The Senators were at Place Bell for a pair of matches over the weekend. In the first game, Laval held Belleville to 20 shots on goal on their way to a 4-1 victory.
“If you play well defensively like that, you going to have a lot of chances to win. We blocked a lot of shots on the penalty kill, we kept them to the outside for the most part, (Cayden) Primeau made some good saves, and we had some timely goals,” Jean-Francois Houle said post game.
On Saturday, Laval had a 3-0 lead with 10:18 remaining in the third period before collapsing and allowing four unanswered goals to Belleville. The 4-3 loss snapped the Rocket’s nine game win streak at Place Bell.
“It’s tough to explain. It happened very fast. They had chances, they were opportunistic, and we didn’t do what we can do in our zone, and that’s what cost us the game,” Rafael Harvey-Pinard said postgame.
With the two games being played in less than 24 hours, it was surprising to see Cayden Primeau obtain both starts. “The players play with confidence in front of him. He only received 20 shots [on Friday], and was busier today. I think he’s a young goalie that has a lot of energy and I think it’s a good challenge for him to play two consecutive games,” Houle explained the decision.
The Rocket also have Michael McNiven and Kevin Poulin on their roster. With Primeau expected to receive the majority of the starts until the end of the season, playing time will be limited for the two other goalies.
Lions Lose Big
The Newfoundland Growlers were at Colisee Videotron over the weekend for a three-game series against the Trois-Rivieres Lions. On Friday, the Growlers scored two power play goals on their way to an easy 6-1 win.
“It doesn’t help when you can’t kill penalties and indiscipline. It’s always the same players that kill the penalties and it’s always the same players that make the mistakes. At some point, they’re going to have to wake up. We didn’t even look like a team in the same league. What will it take? These are the same mistakes that we’re still making. I hope there’s a bit of pride in the room,” Eric Belanger said about his team’s performance.
On Saturday, the Lions bounced back scoring three power play goals in a 3-2 win against the Growlers. “I’m happy with the guys, that’s for sure. It’s a team victory where we needed everyone. It was a playoff game. When I see a game like Saturday and compare it to the day before, I don’t want less than what they gave on Saturday. They showed me that they could do it. This is the bar they have set themselves. I want to see that every game,” Belanger said.
The Growlers dominated the Lions 10-3 on Sunday in a game that featured 129 penalty minutes. Trois-Rivieres’ goalies have stuggled as of late, allowing 24 goals in the last four games, and forcing Belanger to pull the starting goaltender three times.
“It would have taken stops on the first three goals. As a goaltender, you have to analyze your game. The difference was there. We needed stops and we didn’t get any,” Belanger said postgame.
The Lions host the Adirondack Thunder on Wednesday night.
(Quotes courtesy of Le Nouvelliste)
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