(Seattle) Winning is good. But that is far from enough, especially for a club whose disastrous start to the season has left them low in the division standings.
In that state of mind, the Canadian returned to work on Monday in Seattle. Last Saturday’s inspiring performance against the Detroit Red Wings did some good. Brendan Gallagher said smiling is easier on ice. The atmosphere is more relaxed. But the Hab is still only 1-5-0.
“We can rejoice in the victory, but it is just a victory,” the striker summed up after training his team.
We must preserve the good and build upon it. And understanding the work that was necessary [pour gagner]Because we don’t want to fall back into the pit. ”
“We put ourselves in this situation, and now we have to catch up,” warned coach Dominique Ducharme.
To catch up, wins must be accumulated regularly. The stack must be high. Because in the last five full seasons of the NHL (82 games), the last team qualified for the playoffs, in the Eastern Conference, it needed an average of 97 points in the standings. To reach this total, the Hab must, from now on, have 62.5% of the available points – a cruising speed that only the leading teams are able to maintain over the course of an entire season.
For Jake Evans, the priority, in the short term, is to “move forward” by wishing for that “snowballs” success.
The club’s recent past indicates a tendency to effectively recover from an unfortunate streak. On 14 occasions, from 2016-2017 to 2020-2021, CH suffered four to eight consecutive losses. Nine times, he responded with at least three wins in the next five matches.
On the other hand, the “snowball” does not take suddenly. Only 5 of 14 losing streaks have been followed by back-to-back wins.
Double-edged
The fact remains that this first victory of the season, which was so dearly achieved, “we needed it,” David Savard admitted.
Against the Red Wings, the game of strength produced one last goal, and four different players scored their first goals of the season. There are a lot of elements that can restore the eroded confidence of a team that is not asking for the best.
Now the Canadian is on the West Coast for a four-game trip, which begins Tuesday in Seattle against very small Kraken.
The players unanimously agreed that this type of trip is the perfect excuse to unite the group, especially after the 2020-2021 season that deprived them of this level of socialization. In addition, they will receive a nice visit on Tuesday, where Shea Weber will come to greet his teammates.
However, these long stretches of road can be a double-edged sword. And Brendan Gallagher is in a good position to find out.
Radio Canada journalist Alexandre Gascon asked the veteran if he remembers the devastating impact three thaws in California in October 2017 had on the rest of the season, one of the worst in the club’s history.
Gallagher replied with a smile on his face that he remembered “every year, every experience”. “It’s part of the learning process,” he said. Travel can be beneficial or it can go the other way. We’ll meet good teams and play in hard-to-win arenas. ”
It is difficult to contradict him on this last point. In the last 10 seasons that have seen Canadians travel to the Golden State, Montrealers have gone 4-14-3. They haven’t won in San Jose since November 23, 1999. Nick Suzuki was at the time 3 months old, while his mother Romanoff was pregnant with little Alexander and Cole Caufield was not yet pregnant.
“It’s going to be tough,” Gallagher warned. But it will be a good experience for the group. ”
The meeting between Canadians and Kraken will begin at 10 p.m. Quebec time.
