SAINT PAUL | Limited to a defensive role since arriving in the NHL, Jake Evans has been one of the big winners in the domino game created by injuries to Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook.
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For the eighth straight game, Thursday night against the Wild, the Ontario native will be at center for Sean Monahan and Josh Anderson. At the moment the recipe is enjoying some success. Since joining forces, the three players have scored six goals at even strength.
Photo Claus Andersen/Getty Images/AFP
“He plays well. “He’s in a better chair and taking advantage,” Martin St-Louis said after the team’s practice at the Xcel Energy Center. Plus, this line does a good job.”
“The boys are connected. They know where they are going. They read each other. They are very effective at pre-inspection. Everyone does their job, which helps all three,” he continued.
Evans has never complained about his fate, but talking to him we understand that he is happy to take on these new tasks.
“I have more opportunities to touch the puck. Sometimes your ice time will be reduced on a fourth line. “Sometimes you see that Action is almost understaffed,” he said.
Before adding: “I always had confidence that I could be that type of player. So if you get it [la confiance]you have to show that you can do the job.”
Good decisions
And so far his answer seems to satisfy his coach.
“I always knew he had more offense in his game than he allowed us to show,” St-Louis said. He makes good decisions with the puck. If there is nothing, he will put it in a good place for his teammate. When there’s something, he takes up space and is able to make plays.”
Although he wasn't a scoring player in the college ranks, he put up just over a point per game in his final three years at the University of Notre Dame.
“I don’t think I can be the guy who can make risky plays. But these touches bring a certain openness and give more confidence when executing certain plays.
And the combination with Monahan allows St. Louis to delegate two effective centers at the same time on important faceoffs.
Montembeault in front of the net
On the eve of that confrontation, St-Louis called his players into a manly, hour-long training session that emphasized special teams, counterattack defense and battling for the puck. Plan.
“The calendar does not always allow us to carry out this type of training. You should take advantage of that. “We wanted to work on certain details and recreate certain game situations,” described the Canadian head coach.
St-Louis will need everyone to beat the Wild at home, where the Canadian has failed to win in its last nine games. His last win was on March 20, 2011.
“That’s a statistic I didn’t even know. “But I experienced a similar situation when I was with the Panthers,” Mike Matheson said. It's been six years since we last won here. And we broke the streak. I hope it will be the same.”
It's up to Samuel Montembeault to stop the Wild's shots. After a difficult start to the season and a coaching change, the Wild pulled themselves together. He has won seven of his last ten games.