Corey Perry is not the first veteran Marc Bergevin places a bet on. Sometimes the bet smiled on him, as in the case of Ilya Kovalchuk. Other times he jumped in her face. The hiring of Alexander Semin is probably the most convincing case. This is why there was reason to wonder about the acquisition of the 35-year-old striker. Even for the modest sum of $ 750,000.
However, we are approaching mid-season and no matter what happens by the end of the campaign, the general manager will be able to include the arrival of Perry in the column of his successes.
After spending five games on the reserve squad for administrative reasons, Perry has proven to be an important part of the squad. And this, despite a skating stroke that bears the weight of his age and his 16 seasons in the NHL.
Since the start of the campaign, the Habs have scored 85 goals, including 17 with Perry on the playing area (20%). This puts him in ninth place among the Canadiens’ 13 forwards, according to data from sportslogiq.
Perry has been left out in seven games, which skews the stats a bit. If we rather rely on the average goals per game (17 goals in 19 games, or 0.89 goals per game), he is sixth among the Habs forwards.
The veteran’s positioning in front of the net was directly responsible for seven of those 17 goals: he obscured the goalkeeper’s view on three of them, he served a backhand pass to Brendan Gallagher on two occasions and he himself deflects two shots from the point.
Old rivals
In fact, that’s how he scored the Canadiens’ only goal in Calgary on Thursday night. That said, while the Canadiens’ opponents know Perry’s way of playing, it’s not easy to move a 6-foot, 3-inch, 205-pound frame. In the old days, a few solid double-failures in the lower back would do the job. Which is no longer allowed today.
“Packing a striker in front of the net is not easy. The regulations regarding the use of the stick have changed. Now is a battle for space that must be won. The defenseman must make sure he is there first, ”said Darryl Sutter, on the eve of the second clash between the Flames and the Canadiens.
The Flames head coach is in a good position to attest to Perry’s style. He was finishing his first stint behind the bench when the Ontarian began his career with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in 2005-2006.
Later, during his six seasons at the helm of the Los Angeles Kings, from 2011-12 to 2016-17, Sutter saw Perry and the Ducks on a regular basis. The two men are therefore old rivals in the Pacific section.
“Perry is probably one of the best in hockey history at this aspect of the game. There are players who get in front of the net but are unable to complete a play or deflect a shot,” he said. praised the venerable coach.
“That’s what makes Corey a special player. That explains why he has had such a long career and why he is still so dangerous around the net, ”he added.
By the spring of 2014, the Kings had managed to limit Perry to two goals in their second-round clash. This ability to limit Perry’s impact had arguably been a big help to the Kings in winning seven games on their way to their second Stanley Cup in three years.
Better opposition
After playing three games in four days, including two in the span of 22 hours, Perry and his teammates were given a day off. The gas tank should therefore be at its maximum on Saturday night.
In fact, the Flames expect to face a very different opponent than Thursday.
“With fresh legs, they will definitely come out stronger. We know that it’s difficult to play two games in as many nights. So, we definitely expect more fierce opposition from the Canadian, ”said Sam Bennett.
Since Dominique Ducharme has not held training, it is impossible to know if he will make any changes to his training or if Carey Price will return to his place in front of the net.
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