2023-10-15 03:50:00
MONTREAL – “I would have liked to be able to say that I was the first goalie to keep him off the scoresheet. »
With his candor that we adore, Samuel Montembeault was transparent after the Canadian’s victory. The 26-year-old goalie was obviously talking about Connor Bedard who participated in the Blackhawks’ push late in the game.
“It got heated at the end, one post plus blocked shots from (Mike) Matheson and (Nick) Suzuki at the end, they weren’t afraid to sacrifice themselves. It was really a great team victory,” added Montembeault who was especially impressed by one facet of Bedard’s game.
“We see it, he has very good and quite a shot, but I remember when he moves up as a third attacker in the offensive zone. Then he’s good at finding the shooting lines in traffic. In the second period, I stopped him barely with the glove, he almost got me,” he admitted.
In the corner of the visitors’ locker room, coach Luke Richardson conjured up a response along those lines.
“He had some shots that just missed and that doesn’t happen often. He sees the ice so well and we have to find a way to maximize his talent, that will come with rehearsals,” noted the coach.
For Bedard, it was impossible to leave Montreal with a smile.
“It wasn’t good enough, we played hockey with more conviction in the third period. We would have liked to score more goals, we had our chances,” commented the gifted player who said he appreciated the boos from the crowd.
“I didn’t think about it before the match, I liked it. It’s a good sign, it makes the game fun,” he said, liking his first experience at the Bell Centre.
As for his teammate Tyler Johnson, he mentioned that his team played with too much individualism. Was this a message for Bedard?
Flowers for RHP
Besides Montembeault, Rafael Harvey-Pinard and David Savard played a crucial role in the result of this match. Among the Canadians, no one is surprised to see Savard counter the best opposing elements while making sure to spare no one, even Corey Perry, who absorbed quite a double-check from the Quebec defender.
For RHP, it continues to prove its usefulness. Very effective on the numerical disadvantage, he was behind Sean Monahan’s goal.
“He’s important all the time, he does a lot of things on the ice. You are confident when he is in the lineup, he can fill holes, play left or right, play on the disadvantage and on the power play. He is capable of doing everything,” praised Martin St-Louis.
“It seems like every game he manages to contribute in a different way. He did it in this shorthanded game with this important play. He goes hard in every game, we’re lucky to have him,” mentioned Cole Caufield with a comment that warmed Harvey-Pinard’s heart.
Number 49 could be happy with his evening.
“I lacked a bit of opportunism, but when you have chances, it’s a sign that you’re playing good hockey. It went well for 200 feet,” he replied.
“When you fail to count, you pass to the other,” added RHP with a smile.
And for a player like him who blocks several shots, he was pleased with the efforts of Matheson and Suzuki.
“It’s so important, I don’t know if the camera was filming our bench at the time, but everyone was jumping. We were happy that they stood up like this to save the game,” he noted.
“It was huge, they are pillars of our team and seeing them block shots, it inspires young people like me to do the same. We don’t know what could have happened without their efforts,” concluded Kaiden Guhle, who was another architect of this gain.
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