The last game was a heartbreaking defeat for the Montreal Canadiens.
They hosted the Vegas Golden Knights for their 17th game of the season.
Martin St-Louis gave Jake Allen and Samuel Montembeault the day off, while giving Cayden Prmeau the start.
Despite allowing six goals and posting a 0.857 save percentage, Primeau did very well in defeat.
He was bombarded with 42 shots and kept his team in the game throughout.
Without Primeau, chances are the score would have been much more disastrous than it was.
For that, you need to have watched the game, according to Stéphane Waite, former Tricolore goaltending coach.
In the latest episode of La Presse Sports’ Sortie de zone, Alexandre Pratt and Simon-Olivier Lorange discussed a number of topics, including Primeau.
You can watch the entire episode right here.
Sortie de zone, season 5 | Episode 16: What do the two Vegas games reveal? https://t.co/ANbdaIMoCa
– La Presse Sports (@LaPresse_Sports) November 17, 2023
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In the excerpt on the young goaltender, you can hear Waite give his opinion on Primeau’s work, and he said he was very impressed with his performance on Thursday night.
“His positioning is a little more advanced or more hollow, depending on the passing options. He was very good. Me, he impressed me yesterday.” – Stéphane Waite
Those are very nice words for Primeau.
The fact that the Tricolore still has three goaltenders in its lineup may raise several questions about Jake Allen, but especially about Primeau.
Allen could very well help a team looking for a good mentor with experience and a Stanley Cup as a backup goalie.
But in Primeau‘s case, his young age attracts all kinds of teams, from the New Jersey Devils to the Philadelphia Flyers.
As we all know, goalkeepers are rarely dominant in their NHL debut.
If the CH wants to send him back to the AHL, he’ll have to go through the ballot, and there’s a good chance he’ll be claimed, something the Habs want to avoid.
With his performance yesterday, he certainly attracted the interest of several teams. What’s more, several scouts were on hand for the game.
Lots of NHL scouts in Bell Centre press box for tonight’s game between Canadiens and Vegas Golden Knights #Habs #HabsIO pic.twitter.com/Wht5vcmAAp
– Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) November 16, 2023
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His value has certainly just increased, but we shouldn’t get too excited about this performance, because it takes a lot more than two or three games to convince an organization to want to complete a trade with the CH.
No, we won’t be getting another first-round pick for Primeau.
Waite also made it clear that he likes Primeau’s style of goaltending.
“What I liked is that he’s a much more fluid goalie, much less robotic, much more instinctive. His lateral thrusts are incredible.” Stéphane Waite
Instincts can be very useful to a professional goalkeeper, but you still need a certain technique.
On the other hand, what helps a goalie develop the most is to play more, and being the CH’s third goalie won’t give him enough of that…
Breaking news
– Florian Xhekaj is having a great season.
6th consecutive game with at least 1 point for young Xhekaj. https://t.co/CfppbCsXgr
– Maxime Truman (@MaximeTruman) November 18, 2023
– This is going to be good for the Panthers.
Panthers’ Ekblad, Montour to make season debuts vs. Ducks https://t.co/TrprrwSPI4
– theScore NHL (@theScoreNHL) November 18, 2023
– Training was no picnic.
CH players were tongue-tied 🥵 https://t.co/WWxHWPcoVG
– TVA Sports (@TVASports) November 18, 2023
– Now that’s power.
Zion Williamson takes it strong to the hoop. 💪 pic.twitter.com/EjWmcLxch0
– Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 18, 2023