NHL: Big step forward for Cayden Primeau, who rebounded against the Sabers

Juraj Slavkovski’s shootout goal sealed the win for the Montreal Canadiens, who beat the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 on Saturday.

Cole Caufield and Jesse Ilonen also hit the target in the shootout, while Kayden Primeau stopped two of the four opposing shooters. The goalkeeper was solid this evening, taking 48 shots, including no less than 17 in the first third. His 46 saves are a career high.

“We didn’t help him much during the first period and there were a lot of numerical advantages,” captain Nick Suzuki said. “He stood up and made some big saves. He excelled while the game was on the line.”

Primo was relieved to have bounced back from a poor performance in his last game, a 5-1 loss to the Florida Panthers. Knowing how to turn the page after this type of match was a learning experience and required a lot of mental reinforcement. He believes this is the biggest change in his playing style.”

“Not dwelling on the past, accepting defeat and moving forward without wanting to change everything, that is the biggest change. Sometimes you just have to take defeat and move on,” said the 24-year-old goalkeeper.

“I wanted to step back and not think too much about the last game against Florida. It was good to get my game back.”

According to head coach Martin St. Louis, this is a big step forward for Primo.

“Not only has he bounced back, I would say this performance has made him even better (Not a bounce back, but a bounce forward). He’s gone further than he was before his bad game. »

“It was a game in the trenches. It was feeling From the series. It was great Game Since Primeau and our numerical disadvantage performed well, we found a way to get the two points.

Primeau also had a special moment when he faced Quebecer Devon Levi at the other end of the ice. He and Levi, who played against his childhood team, are graduates of Northeastern University in Boston. Just like Jayden Strobel, who scored his first career NHL goal, so does Canadian goaltender Jordan Harris, who is out with an injury.

“It was an excellent goalkeeper duel. I didn’t play with him at school, but we come from the same program. He’s a competitor, and he’s doing great things. I hope I can play other duels against him in the future.”