Samuel Montembeault, all smiles, recited the list of the best starts of his career with the same meticulousness as another famous Quebec goalkeeper: Fern, boys. A 49-save game against the Vegas Golden Knights. Another 48, against the Dallas Stars. “Do you remember your last shutout? », Tested a colleague.
” Yes. It was against Buffalo here my first year. In March, it seems to me. »
Almost.
It was at the end of February.
But of all his matches, he believes that Wednesday night’s was “probably” his best. I think so too. A 48-save shutout against the powerful Toronto Maple Leafs at home in an opening game televised from coast to coast was a performance that left its mark.
His brilliance was the exclamation point of an otherwise emotional evening, begun three hours earlier with a well-felt partisan speech delivered by actor and director Luc Picard.
“I have always had this team in my blood. I experienced extraordinary moments with them. Moments that I shared with my friends, my family, but also often with strangers. Strangers. Because that’s what the Canadian is. It’s the place where we can all experience the same things, at the same time, while being on the same side. »
His speech was followed by a video, also narrated by him, entirely in French. Judging by the reaction of the spectators, it was appreciated. The focus was on local legends born here, namely Maurice Richard, Jean Béliveau, Guy Lafleur and Patrick Roy. Something to inspire the Canadiens players. At least, those who understand the language of Gilles Vigneault.
However, when I asked Samuel Montembeault about this montage, he had no idea what I was talking to him about. This is because during its broadcast, the players were backstage at the Bell Center, waiting to be presented to the crowd. One by one, they entered Fix youby Coldplay, performed by both an orchestra and a rock group. A nice flash, which all the players we spoke to after the meeting appreciated.
“I really liked the pre-match presentation with the orchestra,” said Montembeault. I was nervous before I jumped on the ice, but once they named me and I got to the line, I got goosebumps. It was a beautiful moment. »
The Quebec goalkeeper was not the most acclaimed player before the match. The biggest rounds of applause instead went to Patrik Laine, Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, Arber Xhekaj, Lane Hutson and, of course, head coach Martin St-Louis. Except that at the end of the game, it’s “Monty!” Monty! Monty! » which the spectators chanted at the top of their lungs.
Samuel Montembeault, helped three times by his posts, was masterful. He set an NHL record for the most saves in a shutout in an opening game, in addition to registering a mind-blowing total of five goals saved, according to the compilation of the specialist site Evolving Hockey.
Obviously, if so many shots reached him, it was because up front it was imperfect. At five against five, the Canadian was dominated. The Leafs got five times as many high-scoring chances as him. In the second half of the game, we remembered why the Habs were among the worst defensive teams in the NHL last winter, and why everyone, their brother, their sister, their cat and their neighbor put them out of the series for this season. We will have plenty of time to overanalyze all of this in the coming weeks.
But for the next 24 hours, let’s give Samuel Montembeault his due. The merit of having brought to life for the 21,000 spectators present at the Bell Center on Wednesday one of those moments of communion evoked by Luc Picard.