Finnish Connection line set stage for rookie’s ‘most memorable night’
Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored his first two NHL goals Thursday, including a tying goal in the third period that sparked the Canadiens’ 6-4 come-from-behind win over the Washington Capitals, and said it was “the most memorable night of my life.”
While Thursday night was memorable, Kotkaniemi said Friday was a new day and he joined nine teammates for an optional practice in preparation for Saturday’s home game against the Tampa Bay Lightning (7 p.m., SN360, CITY, TVA Sports, TSN Radio 690).
Kotkaniemi said he hadn’t gotten around to calling his parents in Finland and he hadn’t opened any of the emails and text messages he received from well-wishers and media types back home. He said he didn’t feel any pressure to score his first goal, but he did say “it was easier after I got the first one. I need to keep shooting and I hope to find the net.”
The Washington game marked the debut of the Finnish Connection line with Kotkaniemi between countrymen Artturi Lehkonen and Joel Armia. Kotkaniemi said the trio has a secret weapon because they speak Finnish on the ice, but more importantly “they ’re great to play with because they work hard.”
Armia set up Kotkaniemi’s first goal, while Lehkonen had an assist on the second. Armia also scored an empty-net goal off the faceoff following Max Domi’s game-winner. Two seconds separated the goals and that’s an NHL record for the fastest two goals by one team.
Julien has tried to protect the youngster by not using him in defensive situations, but that changed Thursday. The Canadiens had 11 defensive zone faceoffs and Kotkaniemi took five of them. Julien was asked whether that showed increased confidence in the rookie.
“There’s that, but at the same time it depends on the situation,” Julien said. “Honestly, I don’t think I would have put him in for a defensive zone faceoff against the (Alex) Ovechkin line. Hopefully that’s good coaching. But for him to get better, he has to learn to take those faceoffs and we’re trying to find a balance. We want to give him the responsibility so he understands how important it is to win those faceoffs in the (defensive) zone, but you don’t want to do that to the detriment of our team.”
The win over Washington means the Canadiens haven’t lost two consecutive games this season, but they have been unable to string wins together with the exception of one three-game streak. Julien hopes his team can carry the momentum from the Washington win into Saturday’s game, which is a battle for first place in the Atlantic Division.
“We just had an emotional win, a comeback win last night and you hope the guys can build on that and bring some of that to tomorrow’s game,” Julien said. “But there are some things that we have to get better at, things which allowed (the Capitals) to get back in the game in the second period. We keep working on those things and try to get better.”
One thing the Canadiens did better was to play a disciplined game. They took one penalty and killed it without allowing the league’s best power play to take a shot.
Carey Price will start in goal Saturday. Paul Byron may return to the lineup after missing one game, but Julien may not want to mess with a winning formation. Charles Hudon replaced Byron Thursday and played a strong game with four shots on goal and a couple of hits.