Game Day Notebook: Ryan Poehling Begins To Fit With Canadiens

Article content

Heading into Wednesday’s game in Washington against the Capitals (7 pm, SNE, RDS, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM), Ryan Poehling had scored seven goals in the 34 games he had played for the Canadiens.

Article content

Five of those goals came in two games.

Poehling had a hat-trick and added another shootout goal in his NHL debut on April 6, 2019, a 6-5 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in the final game of the season at the Bell Center.

Poehling started the next season with AHL’s Laval Rocket and has admitted he didn’t handle the demotion well. In his next 32 games with the Canadiens after his NHL debut, Poehling scored just two goals, before scoring twice in last Saturday’s 6-3 win over the Nashville Predators at the Bell Center.

The 22-year-old forward spent all of last season with the Rocket, posting 11-14-25 totals in 28 games, and also started this season at Laval, posting 3-3-6 totals in seven games before being called up. by Canadians.

Article content

Poehling will play his seventh straight game for the Canadiens on Wednesday night and has scored three goals without assists.

“When I got here (this season), I felt like: Hey, you know what, do what you can and have fun with the experience,” Poehling said after the Canadiens held an optional morning skating Wednesday at Capital One Arena. . “Even without the goals, the coaches have stressed to me that I have been playing very well and I have to keep doing those little things and that’s when the goals come. I’m just building on that and it’s been fun so far. “

Head coach Dominique Ducharme said that while some games have been better than others for Poehling, he is gaining consistency in his game and progressing well. Poehling was unhappy with his performance in training camp and Ducharme said the team also thought they could have done more. Ducharme added that Poehling showed up at camp in good shape and it wasn’t that he wasn’t working hard enough. The coach said Poehling was skating well in training camp practices but didn’t carry over to preseason games, adding that it was probably a matter of confidence and feeling comfortable.

Article content

Poehling now plays like he’s more comfortable.

When asked if he feels more like he belongs in the NHL now, Poehling said: “Yeah sure. Now more than ever, 100 percent. In the past, it was like I got up and felt like a rental and this and that. And now this time, I was like: Just play your game and have fun with it and enjoy the ride. So I think just doing that and playing more relaxed and realizing that it’s not the end of the world if something bad happens. So I think I’ve done a good job so far. “

Wednesday’s game will be Poehling’s first in Washington, but he’s been at Capital One Arena before.

“My first game that I saw when I signed my contract and came to the team was in Washington, so I was able to watch it from the press box and it was a great experience,” he said. “So it will be fun to be on the ice tonight and play.”

Article content

Allen returns to goal

Jake Allen will be in goal for the Canadiens against the Capitals after missing the last four games with a concussion.

Allen is 4-8-1 with an average of 2.78 goals against and a .905 save percentage.

Brett Kulak did not travel to Washington and will not be on this three-game road trip due to a lower body injury. Forward Cédric Paquette, who has missed the last six games due to injury, is healthy and ready to play.

Ducharme wasn’t ready to announce his lineup after the other optional morning skating, other than saying he could go with 11 forwards and seven defenders, as he did for Saturday’s win over the Predators. He added that Paquette, Michael Pezzetta, Mattias Norlinder and Sami Niku would be game-time decisions.

Article content

“Obviously, you want to be on the ice, you want to perform, you want to help the team win,” Paquette said. “Injuries happen. You just have to be ready when you return and have the great mind, be ready when they ask you to return to the ice. That’s what I’m going to do tonight. “

This will be the first game between the Canadiens and the Capitals since February 20, 2020, when Montreal won 4-3 in overtime on a goal from Ben Chiarot.

This is America’s traditional Thanksgiving eve home game for capitals.

Article content

A bumpy road

Heading into Wednesday’s game, the Canadiens were 5-13-2 and 1-7-1 on the road. The Capitals were 11-3-5, 5-1-3 at home and 6-1-1 overall in their last eight games.

“We need to be better on the road,” Ducharme said in an understatement. “I think we have been better at home. You play at home, you are in your environment, you have your family in the stands or whatever. You feel the energy of the crowd. But along the way it’s all about the will and willingness to dig deep and show character. I think individually a lot of our guys haven’t been playing good road hockey. So it falls to all men and if you put it together, I think it will have a collective impact. “

Alex Ovechkin of the Capitals has scored in each of his last two games against the Canadiens and has six goals in his last five games against them. Ovechkin has 33 career goals against the Canadiens, the most of any active player in the NHL. Heading into Wednesday’s game, Ovechkin ranked third in NHL scoring this season with totals of 15-15-30, behind the dynamic Edmonton Oilers duo of Leon Draisaitl (18-18-36) and Connor McDavid (12 -20-32).

Article content

Capitals goalkeeper Ilya Samsonov has shutouts in each of his last two games and is 6-0-1 this season with an average of 2.11 goals against, three shutouts and a .924 save percentage.

The Capitals’ Peter Laviolette needs one more win to overtake Pat Quinn (684) for the 11th most wins by a head coach in NHL history. Laviolette’s 684 victories rank fifth among active coaches.

Romanov keeps getting better

Wednesday’s game will be the 10th in a row for Canadiens defender Alexander Romanov since hitting a healthy scratch in one game.

One of the few bright spots for the Canadiens this season has been the improved play of the 21-year-old defender, who was 1-1-2 in 19 games and was under-4 heading into the game against the Capitals.

Article content

“We like the way he’s playing now,” Ducharme said. “It’s more predictable and it’s easier for him.

“The distance between point A and point B does not have to be that great,” added the coach. “When you start going too far from east to west, you go off the beaten track and put yourself in difficult positions. Doing those readings is easier when you’re a little more linear and that’s what we’ve been working on a lot with him since last year. I think last year’s experience and the fact that he stepped back, stepped into the stands (like a healthy scratch) and looked at the game from above and went back to work on video. I think he realizes the impact of playing that way. It simplifies the game for him. “

Article content

Nice mustache

Poehling has a pretty impressive mustache in support of the Movember campaign to raise awareness of men’s health issues.

When asked if he was superstitious and could keep a mustache beyond the end of the month, he said: “I don’t know. Probably not. Although we will see. My mom hates it so I might end up shaving. “

Whats Next?

The Canadiens will fly to Buffalo after Wednesday night’s game and face the Sabers on Friday (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM) before wrapping up their road trip Saturday in Pittsburgh against the Penguins. (7 pm, CBC, SNE, SNO, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM).

[email protected]

twitter.com/StuCowan1