Led by a night long remembered by members of his fourth line, the Canadian sold his skin dearly against the Detroit Red Wings.
• Also read: CH: Build on the positive
• Also read: A departure for Jake Allen
• Also read: Red Wings: Moritz Seider describes himself as an even more complete defender in his second season in Detroit
But despite bouncing back three times thanks to two goals from Rafaël Harvey-Pinard and one from Michael Pezzetta, the Habs were beaten 4-3 in overtime.
It was a Robby Fabbri goal scored midway through that engagement that put an end to hostilities. A disappointing ending considering Rem Pitlick had been handed a golden opportunity just seconds earlier to give the Montrealers victory and avert the bad luck of that damn powder blue jersey by appearing alone in front of Ville Husso.
Fabbri netted on the raise, taking Canada’s record to 0-5-1 with his not-so-great casual attire.
It’s a shame, because this setback overshadowed the excellent work of the team’s supervisors.
” It doesn’t surprise me. These two guys are hockey players. These are guys who show up and work. They don’t take anything for granted and they deserve what happens to them. »
The first star
At the end of the game against the Boston Bruins, Martin St-Louis had thus praised the work of Harvey-Pinard and Alex Belzile, who, although recently remembered, held up well against the best formation in the circuit.
On Thursday evening, the two Quebecers did not prove their coach wrong. Accompanied by Michael Pezzetta, they formed the most threatening trio in the home camp.
Harvey-Pinard was rewarded by participating in his team’s three goals. After being an accomplice to Pezzetta’s goal, he thwarted Husso twice in the top of the net. The first time, he pushed the boldness by doing it while outnumbered.
Belzile, meanwhile, had two assists, bringing his total assists to four in three games since his recall.
Faced with such a production, the Canadians’ head coach didn’t hesitate to send them into the fray more often than usual.
Also used in overtime, Harvey-Pinard went on the ice for 4:07, the second-biggest night of his young career.
In the end, unsurprisingly, he was voted the game’s first star. He therefore returned to the rink, but contented himself with a matter-of-fact wave to the crowd.
“It’s like a childhood dream that I can’t quite achieve. You can’t be happy after a loss,” he once said in the dressing room.
The return of Jake Allen
After recovering from a right hand injury that meant he was inactive for nearly three weeks, Jake Allen had expressed a desire to see action in a game ahead of the Stars Weekend long break.
He was therefore back in front of the Canadians’ net after watching Samuel Montembeault score the previous eight starts.
The perhaps somewhat rusty 32-year-old goalkeeper gave up on Michael Rasmussen’s first shot.
After that he held the position in good manner. He eventually parried 37 of the 41 shots he faced.
The New Brunswicker has reserved his best saves for Lucas Raymond and Joe Veleno. He stopped the first with a grandiose lateral movement. He frustrated the second with a mitt stoppage. There were two saves early in the third period in a 3-3 draw.
Jonatan Berggren and Oskar Sundqvist were the Red Wings’ other scorers.
What we noticed…
BLOODY NOSE
Derek Lalonde and his players had a lot to say to officials after Rafaël scored Harvey-Pinard’s first goal from a man down. In the sequence, Lucas Raymond was forced to retire to the bench after getting Mike Matheson’s bat on his nose. Apparently, the referees determined that the Canadian’s defender involuntarily reached his opponent at the end of his swing to clear the puck.
ROOF, THE MACHINE GUN
Archive photo, Martin Chevalier
Kirby Dash made no friends in the Red Wings camp by violently beating Michael Rasmussen with a gesture bordering on the legal. From the first seconds of the second period, Andrew Copp wanted to make him pay for his gesture. The Red Wings forward was the target of a series of straights.
EDMUNDSON ON THE KEY
Once again, Martin St-Louis opted for a formation with seven defenders. A strategy that proved profitable when Joel Edmundson was forced out of the game before the end of the first period with a lower body injury. The number 44 has only made three appearances on the ice.
OH CANADA
It had been a while since Tyler Bertuzzi had played a game in Canada. As the only NHL player to refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19, he was banned from crossing the border. His last game on Canadian soil was on February 29, 2020 in Ottawa. He has missed 31 games this season due to various injuries.
+
Harvey Pinard
The Canadians’ three members of the fourth line deserve some of that honor due to the intensity they displayed throughout the game, but there’s no mistaking Rafaël Harvey-Pinard as the main receiver of the three CH goals
–
Mike Hoffman
Although he was on duty for more than 20 minutes (20 min 33 sec), he was sometimes flabby. A couple of times he hit the brakes instead of making a check to get the puck a second in the third period but Customs Officer Husso said no
First period
1-Det: Michael Rasmussen (9)
(Without help)3:54
2-Mon: Michael Pezzetta (3)
(Harvey-Pinard, Belzile)5:54
Punishment: No punishment
second period
3-Det: Jonathan Berggren (8)
(Larkin, Seider) AN-3:56
4-Mon: Rafael Harvey-Pinard (2)
(Roof, Savard)DN-6:57
5-Det: Oskar Sundqvist (7)
(Kubalik, Seider)13:30
6-Mon: Rafael Harvey-Pinard (3)
(Pezetta, Belzile)18:39
Penalties: Copp (Det) (maj) and Dach (Mo) (maj) 0:05, Wideman (Mo) 3:29, Anderson (Mo) 6:38, Walman (Det) 15:12
third period
No goal
Penalty shootout: Rasmussen (Det) 18:56
renewal
7-Det: Robby Fabbri (4) (Rasmussen, Seider) 2:36
Punishment: No punishment
Shoot the net
Detroit 10-17-11-4-42 Montreal 5-10-6-2-23
Guardian:
Det: Ville Husso (G, 17-11-5) Mon: Jake Allen (PP, 10-16-2)
Numerical advantages:
Det: 1 in 2, Mon: 0 in 2
Referee:
Chris Schlenker, Francis Charron
linesman:
Caleb Apperson, David Brisebois
HELP:
21 105