Claude Julien said Jake Allen made a statement in his first game as a Canadien.
“There was never any question for us but the one thing you hope for is that he has a good outcome and it builds confidence for him and builds confidence for the team,” Julien said Monday after Allen backstopped the Canadiens to a 3-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place.
“If it had gone the other way, let’s say he had a tough night, we know he can do the job but there would be question marks,” Julien added. “People would start wondering whether he’s the answer but tonight he showed everyone he’s the real deal. We were better defensively but, at the same, he had to make some big saves at certain times when it could have gone the other way.”
Julien could have easily come back with No. 1 goalie Carey Price, who was outstanding in a 5-1 win over the Oilers Saturday, but Allen’s start shows the Canadiens are serious about easing Price’s workload.
“The goal for me coming in this season was to make Carey be the best goalie he can be,” Allen said. “When he’s on his game, he’s the best in the world. My job is to come in here and collect points as well. Points are crucial. My mindset coming into this year is no exhibition games is no excuse, it was just to build my game, keep building and find pieces of my game that are going to continue to get better. I thought it was a good start, but still a long way to go.”
Allen said the biggest challenge was dealing with the traffic in front of his net.
“That’s something you don’t get in practice,” he said.
Allen had to share the spotlight with the penalty-killing unit. The Oilers, led by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, had the best power play in the NHL last season but they went 0-for-7 Monday and 0-for-10 over the two games.
McDavid and Draisaitl have combined for three scoring titles but were limited to one assist from McDavid in Saturday’s game.
There has been a lot of talk about the Canadiens’ depth and it was on display as Julien used seven different forwards on the penalty kill.
“That’s what we liked when we acquired certain guys,” said Julien. “I’m a lot more comfortable with the number of players I can use on the penalty kill. That’s why we’re fresh and more aggressive. It makes a big difference.”
The Canadiens’ offensive production had a little bit of everything.
Rookie defenceman Alexander Romanov scored at even-strength for his first NHL goal.
Veteran defenceman Shea Weber scored a power-play goal that was originally waved off and then counted after a challenge from Julien.
And Artturi Lehkonen put an exclamation point on the superb effort on the penalty-kill with a shorthanded goal.
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