The Canadian has finally won a first game this season, but is he out of the storm?
After conceding five straight losses to start the season – a first since the 1995-1996 campaign – the Canadian offered a 6-1 feast against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night at the Bell Center.
The less optimistic will recall that the Red Wings finished at 27e ranked overall in the NHL last season. They were also without leading scorer Tyler Bertuzzi and defenseman Filip Hronek on Saturday. Regardless, the victory will do good to the confidence of the troop of coach Dominique Ducharme.
“When the floodgates are open and the goals come in, everyone feels better,” said defender Ben Chiarot after the game on Saturday. It was important for us to win before going on a trip. “
The Canadian will play his next four games on the US West Coast. His first stop will be in Seattle on Tuesday for a first duel against the Kraken.
“The flight would have been less pleasant if we had lost,” admitted forward Mike Hoffman. It changes our perspective. We feel good, we regain our confidence. We can have fun the next few days before getting back to work. “
Even though he kept a cool head during his team’s run of failures, Ducharme said it had been a long day.
Ducharme insisted, however, that the team came out of this experience enhanced.
“The reason I say this streak is going to make us better is because nobody is going to want to go through it again,” said Ducharme. No one will want to feel those same emotions. It’s been ten long days. You come home, and it stays with you, even if you don’t want to think about it. It’s not pleasant and we want to make sure we don’t relive those feelings. “
“We now understand the level of urgency we need to have in our game, the level of competition, etc. Will we always be perfect? No. But we will be better. And the season is still long and we still have work to do. And that’s what we’re going to do. “
For his part, Chiarot recalled the importance for the members of the Canadian to control their emotions.
“If you get carried away by every win or loss, it’s going to drain you mentally,” he said, reflecting on the lessons to be learned from the losing streak to start the season. Physically, it will be the same if you are affected by every mistake. You can’t live like that when you’re in the NHL. “
“You have to know how to weather the storm when things are bad. You have to keep your head down and work hard. This is what we have done and this is what will help us be better in the future. “
In addition, Ducharme confirmed after the meeting that defenseman Joel Edmundson returned to Montreal after a visit to his native Manitoba to be at the bedside of his father, who has cancer.
Ducharme added that Edmundson wouldn’t be on the trip next week, but that he had hopes to see the 28-year-old defenseman reunite with his teammates in training when the team returns to Montreal.
Edmundson was already on the sidelines since the start of the camp due to an injury, the nature of which has not been disclosed.
In 55 games last season, his first for the Canadiens, Edmundson registered 3 goals and 10 assists in addition to posting a plus-28 rating. He added 6 assists in 22 games during the playoffs.