The train could have – even should, according to some – derailed, Saturday evening at the Bell Center. However, the Canadian won against the Toronto Maple Leafs, hours after the announcement that Cole Caufield will miss the rest of the campaign.
The shock wave was still felt when the meeting started. Caufield is omnipresent in the video montages broadcast on the giant screens of the Bell Centre.
But about two and a half hours later, after a 3-2 overtime victory, the Canadiens players could breathe a little easier. Yes, the absence of the American sniper will hurt the Habs, but that doesn’t mean the team will necessarily sink even deeper in the NHL standings.
” He [Caufield] is a huge piece of the team. He brings a lot of energy on the ice and in the locker room, but the train must continue to move forward,” said Josh Anderson after the game, using the Canadian’s metaphor of the day.
Head Coach Martin St-Louis spoke to his players before the game. His message was that no matter what happens, the culture has to be strong enough to keep the team performing well.
“It doesn’t matter who’s in the roster, if we play our way and work, we can compete with any team,” said goaltender Samuel Montembeault.
It’s one thing for a coach to say that before a game. It’s another thing to see the team get there afterwards.
“Our energy level has been good from the first line to the fourth line and among the defensemen, and ‘Monty’ [Montembeault] played as well as he does recently,” Anderson said. It’s encouraging. »
“We talked a lot about playing for the logo on the front of the jersey,” he added. It doesn’t matter who plays each night, you have to work as hard as you can. It’s special to be able to play for this team. We have a job to do. You have to go on the ice and win games. That’s what we want to do, but we’ll take it one game at a time. »
Flowers for Houle
If the Canadian managed to keep the train on track on Saturday, it is thanks to a total collective effort, as pointed out by Anderson. Moreover, two players recalled from the Laval Rocket recently scored, namely Rafaël Harvey-Pinard and Rem Pitlick, author of the winning goal in overtime.
The Harvey-Pinard trio, Alex Belzile, called up earlier in the day on Saturday, Michael Pezzetta was a spark plug for the Habs throughout the game.
St-Louis praised the work done by his Rocket counterpart, Jean-François Houle, and his assistants.
“All the recalled players help the train keep going,” said St-Louis. They bring something to the team. They don’t just fill a hole. »
The Canadian was enjoying a day off on Sunday. He is scheduled to return to practice on Monday before hosting the NHL’s No. 1 overall Boston Bruins on Tuesday night.
Once again, no one will give a lot of the Habs’ skin, but the victory against the Leafs reminds us not to sell the bear’s skin before having killed it.
“It allows the guys to believe that no matter who’s on the train, everyone is important to keep it going,” said St-Louis. Sometimes you will lose important players, but the train has to keep moving. It’s the responsibility of the guys on the train. They have to take care of the culture, the way we do things, to keep the bar at the right level. »
” This evening [samedi]we have taken an important step forward,” concluded St-Louis.