In the great story of the Canadian, Casey DeSmith holds an unusual note. He may be the organization’s only player to have competed in the CH Golf Tournament without ever putting on the uniform for a game. He didn’t even have time to spend a day at the team’s camp.
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“I enjoyed my thirty days in Montreal,” said DeSmith with a smile on his face in the opposing team’s small locker room at the Bell Centre. I grew up a Canadiens fan. I was happy to meet Carey Price at the golf tournament, he was one of my role models as a child. I remember my visit to the locker room and the training center. I didn’t play there but I will always remember it. »
“I didn’t keep anything as a souvenir of the Canadian, but they gave me a team jersey before the game,” he continued. My father will be very happy. I have my number 29 on my back. But I know I would never have worn that number with the CH because it belonged to Ken Dryden. On the other hand, I think it’s something special because I chose 29 when I was younger because of Dryden. »
DeSmith was acquired along with Jeff Petry as part of a three-team mega deal with the Penguins and Sharks that included Erik Karlsson as a key player, and traveled to Vancouver on September 19, just before camp began.
Kent Hughes, not wanting to deal with four NHL goaltenders, Jake Allen, Samuel Montembeault, Cayden Primeau and DeSmith, traded him to the Canucks for Tanner Pearson and a 2025 third-round pick.
32 stops
On the Canucks’ only visit to Montreal this season, Rick Tocchet played the emotional card by giving DeSmith the go-ahead shot! There was no tribute video documenting his thirty days with the organization, but the Masked Man from New Hampshire emerged with a 5-2 victory.
DeSmith, a 32-year-old veteran, has played his role as an assistant with the Canucks very well since the start of the season with a record of 4-0-1.
He blocked 32 shots against CH, saving his best shots in the third period.
Mike Matheson and Arber Xhekaj both scored goals in the third period.
A question of consistency
Martin St-Louis reiterates that consistency is still key for his young team. He wants to see the same level of performance, commitment and emotion from one game to the next.
After an emotional 3-2 overtime win against the Bruins in a charged atmosphere, the Habs didn’t replicate the same formula against the Canucks.
The CH no longer had as much energy and willingness to fight as the day before. The excuse of fatigue is invalid as the Canucks were also playing a second game in two nights after a visit to the Maple Leafs in Toronto on Saturday.
A dispute
In this game, Jake Allen allowed three or more goals for the third time in a row (there were two no-goals). But we can’t blame him for this setback against the circuit’s best offense earlier in the year.
As for the attack, Juraj Slafkovsky knocked on the door a few times and scored ten shot attempts, including six on goal. This is an encouraging sign. But the Slovakian has to learn to land his shots faster. There’s always that tiny split second where he hesitates.
On the left wing of Christian Dvorak and Slafkovsky, Cole Caufield got two shots for the third straight game. In three games at this new position, the number 22 has only taken three shots at five-on-five.
In the second period, Tocchet and the Canucks won after an offside goal by Christian Dvorak. Caufield was well ahead of Slafkovsky entering the territory. It was the third time this season that Caufield was in the middle of a lost challenge because of an offside call after a goal.