There is nothing more valuable to a player than earning the respect of his teammates. Since last year, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard has convinced not only his coaches and team management, but also his colleagues.
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Cole Caufield, who scored two goals in his first two games this season, paid Harvey-Pinard a great compliment after the 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks in Saturday’s local opener at the Bell Center.
“It seems like he manages to do different things every night,” Caufield noted of Harvey-Pinard. He always does good things. We’re lucky to have him.”
“It’s fun to hear that from Cole,” replied No. 49. “We don’t necessarily give each other compliments like that, but it warms our hearts. “I always want to give 100% and I did that against the Hawks.”
Harvey-Pinard was one of the best players on the ice on Saturday night. He was always in the middle of things.
He had three chances to score in the first two periods of the game. Unable to outsmart Petr Mrazek, he finally got on the scoresheet by throwing to Sean Monahan for a shorthanded breakaway.
Like Caufield, Martin St-Louis also had a smile on his face as he described the play of his tireless winger.
“He is always important for our team,” recalled the head coach. It does several things on hold. He is a player you can bet on. He can fill many gaps and play multiple roles. It can be used on both the left and right wing and on both the power play and the penalty kill. If you need a man to answer a line, he can do that too.”
A game of dominoes
In the first two games of the year, Harvey-Pinard skated on the left wing of the fourth line alongside Jake Evans and Jesse Ylönen. If we wanted to make a relatively easy bet, we would bet that he won’t stay on the fourth line forever.
Against the Hawks, Harvey-Pinard finished the game with a 100% Corsi. To put it simply, we summarize this advanced statistic as he was not on the ice for any of the opposing team’s shot attempts in five-on-five play. Conversely, he and his teammates had twelve shot attempts in the five-on-five system.
Given the uncertain health of Kirby Dach, who injured his lower body in the first third on Saturday evening, CH risks postponing pieces of its puzzle. Alex Newhook could play center to replace Dach.
In the event of a position change for Newhook, Harvey-Pinard could risk filling a gap. The Arvida native could move to the second line with Sean Monahan or Newhook at center and Juraj Slafkovsky on the right side.
A first for Pearson
As the author of the second goal against the Hawks, Tanner Pearson scored his first goal in a CH jersey. It was also the first goal for the 31-year-old winger in almost a year.
Getty Images via AFP
After multiple surgeries on a wrist, Pearson had not reached the goal since October 28, 2022.
“I was happy about the goal, it felt good,” said number 70. “I don’t know if I was emotional after that game, but I can confirm that I felt good.” Above all, I felt Happiness. I had a big smile on my face.”