If there is one thing that has defined the Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes-run Montreal Canadiens, it is conviction. They have a plan, they believe in their plan, and they will stick to it. The plan won’t always take the conventional route, either.
Hiring Martin St-Louis was not a conventional hire. Taking Juraj Slafkovský was not the conventional selection at first overall. Even Gorton hiring Hughes wasn’t conventional.
It was all calculated, however. Through two periods on Sunday night, things didn’t look great. The Canadiens stuck with their game plan. The game was much closer than the shot clock indicated, but Montreal used the third period and the start of overtime to make even that element look closer. In reality, the five-on-five scoring chances were 15-11 for Montreal with the Canadiens holding a 8-1 high-danger lead.
There were times when the decisions they made didn’t always look like they would work. The first season under St-Louis wasn’t great, and Slafkovský didn’t look dominant in his rookie season even before his season ended early because of an injury. No panic. They believed things would eventually work out. You can’t argue the results.
On Sunday night, things didn’t come easy either. They took an early lead, but when they appeared to go up 2-0, the goal was struck with a high stick. When the Lightning finally got on the board, they scored just 29 seconds later and suddenly the Canadiens were down 2-1. They didn’t panic. They didn’t change their approach. Without calling his timeout, St-Louis was able to allow his team to refresh and regroup. Things didn’t snowball and get worse. That timeout came in handy later.
Even on the power play, things didn’t come easy. The Canadiens needed to regroup after clears on almost every chance they had, even the ones where they eventually scored. They were persistent and it led to three power play goals, all scored by Slafkovský (and Matt will have more on him in the bottom six minutes). You can’t argue the results.
The Canadiens just proved that they are able to win an NHL playoff game on the road even when everything doesn’t go their way. It’s something they did during the regular season as well. They have now assured themselves of at least a split before coming home to what should be an insane environment at the Bell Centre for Game 3. They still have business to take care of in Game 2 on Tuesday.
There will be ups and downs in a playoff game, and even in a playoff series. The Canadiens are young, scrappy, and hungry and they aren’t about to throw away their shot.
