Josh Anderson has been waiting for this moment for 24 games and just over 59 minutes. He scored his first goal of the season with a simple clearance in his own territory after the Kraken had removed Philipp Grubauer for a sixth player.
• Read also: Martin St-Louis had nothing but praise for Juraj Slafkovsky: “I found him excellent”
• Read also: Who has improved at CH according to the robots
• Read also: The awakening of the sleeping
With this empty-net goal, the Canadian confirmed his 4-2 victory against the Seattle Kraken. For Anderson, it was a liberation.
Samuel Montembeault immediately recognized the importance of this play by rushing to the right corner of the ice to celebrate with Anderson and his teammates. The masked man gave number 17 a big hug.
“A little more and I went to the bench to shake hands with my teammates,” laughed Montembeault. But I was really happy. It confirmed our victory, but it was also Josh’s first goal. Everyone was happy for him. Even after the match, all the guys were congratulating him.”
“I don’t know if it was my biggest empty-net goal, I’ve scored a few in the past,” added Anderson. However, I can tell you that I am relieved.”
“I wasn’t really surprised by Monty’s reaction [Montembeault], he continued. It shows that there is love in this locker room between the players. Sam plays big hockey for us, but he also has leadership qualities.
Martin St-Louis also spoke about the reaction of his players after his team’s fourth goal.
“It’s a group that loves each other a lot,” noted the head coach. We have a lot of empathy. We were all happy for him.”
There was no happiness only among the CH players after this goal in an abandoned cage. Fans at the Bell Center, those who had not yet turned back to avoid traffic or to escape the METAL! mascot, recognized the symbolism of the moment by offering warm applause to Anderson.
“There are so many good fans in Montreal,” Anderson said. I know it can be difficult at times, but they continued to encourage me through my difficult times. That’s why I love playing here so much.”
Another good start
Montembeault didn’t just give a hug in this game. He also blocked several pucks. In his first start since signing a three-year, $9.45 million contract extension (3.15 million per year), number 35 blocked 31 shots.
Photo Martin Chevalier
He made two gems in the first period with quick pad saves against Alex Wennberg. At the end of the match, he also frustrated Jordan Eberle, who found himself alone in front of him after a clearance from a Kraken teammate.
“I felt good, I moved my legs well,” said Montembeault. I also wanted to put out a big match after the emotions of this week with my contract.
We already wrote it. But we will do it again. Montembeault deserves to play more often. He did it again against the Kraken.
The end of lethargy
It wasn’t just Anderson who curbed a lethargy. Sean Monahan, who scored two goals, had not hit the target in his last 14 games. Tanner Pearson, meanwhile, stopped a 19-game scoreless streak.
In the morning, St-Louis spoke of an intuition for his choice to use Juraj Slafkovsky to the right of Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. Slafkovsky proved his coach right by playing a good match. He recovered several pucks at the back of the territory and kept pace with his two teammates.
“I liked the way our trio played, we skated well and it was a fun game to play,” explained Slafkovsky. When I am effective in forechecking, I gain confidence.”