2023-12-29 17:02:17
The Justin Barron we see right now is not the Justin Barron of a month ago.
The defender has been experiencing a lot of difficulties defensively in recent matches… And this comes after Kent Hughes praised his progress recently.
The following two sequences from yesterday’s match frankly sum up the situation well:
Barron, this is not at all how you block a shot. pic.twitter.com/peXDI3mLIB
— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) December 29, 2023
Justin Barron is Bill Buckner on skates. pic.twitter.com/B77ixUhSC7
— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) December 29, 2023
The young defender makes mistakes in his zone, he makes turnovers, he loses his battles along the boards, he drops easy pucks in offensive territory…
It just seems like he’s completely lost his confidence.
Things are so bad right now that the idea of leaving him behind to send him a message is starting to be quite popular.
Sometimes, that’s what it takes to make a young player like him understand things. Because in the end, it’s boring… But it can’t continue like this.
At least, if Martin St-Louis wants to give himself the best chance of winning night after night, he will have to act. For the good of his club, and that of his protégé.
It seems, moreover, that the Habs pilot really wants to win recently.
Last night, only David Savard and Mike Matheson played more than 18 minutes among the defenders, which is quite revealing thank you…
Meanwhile, there’s Arber Xhekaj in Laval waiting for another chance to make his mark in the NHL.
Everyone thought of the Sheriff last night during the game against the Hurricanes, in fact.
Stefan Noesen hit Juraj Slafkovsky hard and no one came to the young man’s defense, which probably wouldn’t have happened with #72 in le line-up…
And that seemed to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Many, including Matt Drake of Eyes On The Prize, consider that the Canadian must recall Xhekaj to give Barron a little respite:
Bottom Six Minutes: Habs should recall Xhekaj, send Barron down
— Eyes On The Prize (@HabsEOTP) December 29, 2023
We know what Arber Xhekaj brings to the ice and it’s true that he also has certain deficiencies at the defensive level.
That’s why he was demoted to the American League… But right now, it’s almost impossible to do worse than Barron.
As long as you have an atrocious defender defensively that Martin St-Louis can’t trust… You might as well have a defender who has defensive shortcomings, but who brings a positive element to the coach’s training, right?
At the end of the day, the Canadian simply must find a solution to help Justin Barron. You have to give him the “chance” to realize that he has to give more because everyone knows he is capable of doing it.
It’s not for nothing that Kent Hughes spoke highly of him, after all.
Whether by sending him to Laval or leaving him aside for a few games… There must be something.
A lot of
– He dominates at the moment.
CAPS TODAY: Over his last five starts, Charlie Lindgren has recorded a 1.73 GAA and a .937 Sv%. Among goaltenders with at least 10 starts this season, Lindgren ranks third in the NHL in save percentage (.928) and fifth in GAA (2.29): pic.twitter.com/O0o7CqjXVW
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) December 29, 2023
– This will be interesting.
Joël Bouchard and the Syracuse Crunch are in town for two games this weekend. The Crunch is fresh and available after a victory Wednesday in Rochester. The Rocket did not practice this morning and returned in the early morning hours yesterday from Belleville. pic.twitter.com/6RL7Lk8BxW
— Anthony Marcotte (@anthonymarcotte) December 29, 2023
– Voilà!
Friday feels. pic.twitter.com/6PPq715oap
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) December 29, 2023
– Nice.
Kevin Bahl plays his 100th NHL game tonight and his billet family will be at the game.
Bahl played his Jr hockey with the Ottawa 67s and last night he had dinner with his billet family.
He added that even though they’re from Ottawa they’ll be wearing #NJDevils gear tonight.
— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) December 29, 2023
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#time #send #message #BarronAnd #call #Xhekaj