The Montreal Canadiens have overcome wave after wave of adversity in 2021.
From losing streaks to a COVID-19 shutdown to injuries and long odds throughout an improbable playoff run, these underdogs mustered a response each and every time their backs were pressed firmly against the wall.
A franchise in search of its 25th Stanley Cup, and Canada’s first since Montreal last hoisted hockey’s Holy Grail on a June night back in 1993, will have to dig far deeper than at any point in this trying year to keep that now-flickering dream alive.
The Canadiens face the daunting task of climbing a mountain that only one other NHL team has ever conquered — erasing a 3-0 deficit in the final. And it has to happen against the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning.
“We’ve got nothing to lose,” winger Josh Anderson said as Montreal prepared for Monday’s Game 4 at the Bell Centre, which can be seen at 8 p.m. ET on CBC and CBCSports.ca. “Everyone’s going to be ready, I can tell you that.
“We’re not finished yet.”
As tough as the challenge is against a well-oiled opponent without weak links that pounces on mistakes with lethal precision, being written off is nothing new for a team left for dead time and again.
‘It’s been a difficult season’
After firing its coach in February and enduring a coronavirus outbreak in March, the battered and bruised Canadiens limped into the post-season with the NHL’s 18th-best record at the conclusion of its pandemic-shortened schedule.
Montreal looked done and dusted through four games of the opening round against the Toronto Maple Leafs, but down 3-1 in the series, won three straight against a heavily favoured adversary to take it in seven before a stunning sweep of the Winnipeg Jets.
The grinding Canadiens continued to roll against the Vegas Golden Knights — the league’s biggest third-round favourite in more than 30 years — and triumphed even after interim bench boss Dominique Ducharme tested positive for COVID-19, which forced him to watch his team from isolation for two weeks.
The Canadiens were once again a longshot in the final, but also quietly confident in their formula.
But here’s the problem: Tampa possesses its own blueprint for success and, except for Game 2 when Montreal probably deserved a better fate, has executed it to a T.
WATCH | Late turnover ends Habs late rally:
Ondrej Palat capitalized on a late turnover from Joel Edmundson to put an end to any potential comeback from the Montreal Canadiens in game two. 1:03
Now the Canadiens require another counterpunch or they’ll be saying their physically distanced goodbyes in short order.
“It’s been a difficult season,” Montreal defenceman Jeff Petry said. “It’s presented challenges throughout challenges in different ways.
“This is another one. I wouldn’t expect it any differently with the year we’ve had.”
Ducharme said his players, who are hoping to join the 1942 Leafs as the only team to come back from a 3-0 hole to win the Cup, will fight until their last breath.
“That group has grown stronger together throughout the moments, adversity, and facing those situations,” Ducharme said. “We show it every day. Sometimes we lose a game or it doesn’t go exactly like you wanted.
“But there’s one thing that’s for sure — it’s not a lack of trying, it’s not a lack of will.”
‘Our focus is to make sure we play the right way’
The Lightning, meanwhile, are on the cusp of capturing their second straight title, and third overall, after winning inside last year’s post-season bubble.
Tampa can become just the second team in 22 years to claim back-to-back championships — joining the 2016 and 2017 Pittsburgh Penguins — the first team to sweep the final since the 1998 Detroit Red Wings, and just the second visiting club to lift the Cup on Canadiens’ ice, following in the footsteps of the 1989 Calgary Flames.
“It becomes like a legacy thing,” Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said of repeating. “It’s street cred for the guys, for the organization.”
Petry said denying Tampa that moment at the Bell Centre doesn’t provide any added motivation.
“We don’t want to see the Lightning win the Stanley Cup at all,” he said. “You’re not going to win four games by winning (Monday).
“Our focus is to make sure we play the right way a strong, hard game.”
‘One more job to do’
Down 2-0 in the series, the Canadiens fell behind 2-0 early Friday thanks to a series of errors, and faced a three-goal deficit before the second period was four minutes old. Outscored a combined 14-5 through nine periods of action, Montreal hasn’t led for a single second against Tampa.
“The adjustment is not major,” Ducharme said. “We know what we need to do and we know it’s about executing. It’s about executing under pressure. It’s about making those plays at the right time.”
WATCH | Caufield can make history with Cup win:
The Stanley Cup final is filled with interesting storylines, including the Habs rookie filling up his trophy case. 5:00
The Canadiens faced elimination three times against Toronto in the first round and survived.
Now some 5 1/2 weeks later — it feels a lot longer in this crazy playoff spring that’s morphed into an unlikely Cup final summer — they once again have zero room for error.
“Everybody in that locker room believes in each other,” Anderson said. “The guys have been through a lot this year. We stuck together and we made it this far.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
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