(San Jose) It was very sunny Thursday afternoon in San Jose, but Josh Anderson chose to lock himself in the arena before anyone else to shoot pucks.
It may seem trivial, throwing pucks, but in the case of a player searching for himself, who hasn’t scored all season, and who in fact hasn’t scored since March 14, it’s likely all that’s left to do is throw the puck. Then throw again. Hopefully it will end up being an entry someday.
“This is probably the toughest series of my career,” Anderson admitted at the end of Thursday’s practice. I don’t think I’ve ever had to experience anything like this before. But as I said before, we must not give up…”
This season, the veteran forward has gone 19 goalless games, and he will try to shake off this bad luck in the next match, Friday, against the Sharks. He had already seen worse; Once, as a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets, he went 21 games without scoring.
He has now reached the point of trying everything, anything; At Thursday’s practice, he even wanted to borrow teammate Justin Barron’s stick, perhaps to try something new.
So should we believe, as Dave Helton Jr. puts it, that the damage occurs “inside” the head?
He replied: “I don’t know if it’s psychological.” Obviously it’s frustrating. But I think I’m in a good place. I have to keep my head up and keep trying to be the player I know I can be. »
While waiting to find answers, Josh Anderson remains a player searching for himself, and who better to revive him than Martin St. Louis? The coach, himself an accomplished goalscorer in his younger days, says he is working closely with his player to put an end to this never-ending drought.
He must not lose his identity while trying to score a goal. Josh has to continue what has allowed him to play in this league: his skating, his power, his shooting, sure…but he shouldn’t just think he has to score. He must continue to take positive actions that will help him score.
Martin St. Louis, by Josh Anderson
“I don’t want him to forget the details of his game just because he’s trying to score a goal. If you forget the details of your game, just wait until you have an easy opportunity, next to an open net… If you do, you might score one goal, but not many. So Josh needs To continue working on the details.”
Anderson himself admits he has difficulty shooting where he wants, and besides, he spent part of his solitary lunchtime routine on Thursday near the goal, looking at the posts, as if the goal’s dimensions were suddenly not the same.
“To be honest, I’m not comfortable with the way I’m shooting the puck, serving the puck these days… I’ve always been pretty good at putting the puck exactly where I want it. It’s a matter of inches, but I haven’t put the puck where I want it lately.”
What will happen next Friday night in San Jose and who knows? Maybe Josh Anderson will end up putting one in there.
However, Martin St. Louis is confident. “He will get through this,” he added.
Primeau vs. Sharks
Photo by Martin Chamberland, Press Archive
Kayden Primo
No, Samuel Montembault will not be in San Jose on Friday night, despite returning from a very big game. Why ? Martin St. Louis didn’t provide details, but it appears the Canadian has recently established some sort of goaltending rotation, and this Friday, it will be Kayden Primeau’s turn. Montembault was starting to get used to it. “Of course I want to play a lot, but there are pros and cons,” the Quebec goalkeeper explained. It gives us more time to work with the goalkeeping coach during training, and it also gives me more time to improve my game.
No Monahan in training
Photo by Dominique Gravelle, Press Archive
Sean Monahan
There was one person absent (except for those injured, of course) from Thursday’s training with the Canadian: Sean Monahan, who was excused from undergoing treatment. Al-Kindi did not provide any other details regarding this absence.
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