It has become a proud tradition at the start of the season: after each game, win or lose, there is music playing at full volume in the Canadiens locker room.
Posted at 12:14 p.m.
We wouldn’t want to overlook any detail, so let’s point out that during the last match nights, we could hear renowned artists such as Queen or Tom Petty in this locker room, a sign that someone at CH has excellent musical taste.
This quest for excellence also carries over to the ice, obviously; By taking the measure of the Pittsburgh Penguins in overtime by a score of 5-4 on Saturday night at the Bell Centre, the Canadiens players collected a third victory in a row, and collected seven points in their last five games.
Of course, in this league, no one has ever won anything in November, but when they left the Bell Center on Saturday evening, the members of the CH found themselves in the National League playoff table.
Who could have believed in such a scenario in September?
“I would have believed it, answered Jonathan Drouin Saturday evening while smiling. All the players are on board, and we can see that we are going in the right direction. With the mix of veterans and young people we have here, we have a really good core, I think. »
It’s never easy to play hockey in the NHL, but here, we know what we have to do every game, because the coaches know how to prepare us. You can change things from time to time before a game, during a game too, but the guys all stay on the same wavelength.
Jonathan Drouin
What is also special in this season, which is already quite special as it is, is the presence of a member of the Canadiens who borders on the top 10 NHL scorers, namely captain Nick Suzuki, who surprised with 19 points in 15 games. Such a pace, if maintained and even more, could enable him to reach the 100-point mark, a feat that no member of the Canadian has been able to achieve since… Mats Naslund during the 1985-86 season!
Again, Jonathan Drouin is not so surprised.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Nick Suzuki
“Wearing the C, sometimes it can be heavy for a player… but it’s not heavy for him!, joked the Quebec striker about him. He hasn’t changed, he’s the same guy we knew before the C, and I would even say that he has improved his game compared to last season. »
Martin St-Louis likes to repeat that the NHL ranking is not displayed anywhere in the Canadiens’ locker room, but if it is, his players may start trying to watch it in secret by November 24 .
Because it is on this date that the American version of Thanksgiving will take place, a celebration of football and turkey, but also a celebration that now has a very special meaning in the world of the NHL. Since the advent of the salary cap, the clubs that are in the playoff portrait on that date are also in the true playoff portrait at the end of the season, in a proportion of some 77%. Which is far from just a detail.
The Canadiens still have five games on the schedule before arriving at this fateful date, including the three games this week, including the next one, Tuesday night at the Bell Centre, against the New Jersey Devils.
Everyone is surprised, so… except the members of the Montreal club.
“Because we have a good team, explained Josh Anderson on Saturday evening. There were no expectations before the start of the season, probably because nobody believed that we were going to have a good team. But look at our formation… We have a lot of good players in attack, and in defense the youngsters did the job. Also, our goalies gave us a chance to win every night. So no, I’m not surprised…”